Am I having periods or not?

[Wheech]

I'm so confused as to whether I am still having periods. There will be nothing for several months and then a couple of days of cramp and one or two days of very dark blood, often not enough to even justify using a tampon. It has happened again - yesterday I bled enough that it suddenly kind of poured out of me for about 5 minutes which was very unexpected, I literally had to sit on the toilet. I've not experienced anything like that since shortly after giving birth! But today I've barely soaked through a light tampon. I'm on HRT and when the GP asks if I am having periods I wonder if I'm right in saying yes. Or is this post menopausal bleeding that I should be getting checked out?

I think any new bleeding after you’ve been on your HRT regime for a few months (give it time to settle if it’s a new regime) should be discussed with the gp. Just in case it’s not just perimenopause fluctuations.
I have just had a period (first one for 4 months) but I know it’s my own cycle breaking through my HRT - I had PMS symptoms and the bleed was light, dark but lasted 5 days. Like a period. I use the balance app to track my symptoms.
Intermittent bleeding as you described may be due to your own hormones or there may be something else going on. Worth a chat with the gp if I were you - if it is something untoward you’ll be glad you did. And if it’s not, you’ve been reassured.

I ve had that type of dark, old blood, peeing out of you period, followed by nothing, then 2 normal (ish) periods. I thought I was winding down, but it's a bumper road than anticipated. I m 46 next week.

Yes, it's considered a period.

Thanks for your replies. It's definitely not settling into HRT as I've been on it a couple of years (I'm 48) and my periods were relatively regular until about a year ago. I had been going to mention it at my recent HRT review but was taken aback when I went in and the GP was a very young man and so I didn't. That's ridiculous of me I know but I much prefer the practice nurse for gynae issues as she is older and female and I feel she understands. Even the young female GP I see doesn't seem to really get it when I explain how I used to be so sharp and quick and now I'm living in a fog. I'm sure she thinks it's not a big deal for old folk like me, as I too would have thought when I was in my twenties!

What HRT are you using?
If you had regular periods when you started HRT then you should be on a sequential type. This gives a withdrawal period every 4 weeks. It should be regular. It's not your own period- it's the withdrawal bleed that follows the HRT cycle. So once you're on HRT you don't know if your own periods have stopped or not.

The sort you should be on is estrogen every day ( as patch, tablet or gel) and a type of progesterone as well for half the month.
Once you stop using the progesterone each cycle, by the end of the 4th week, you should bleed (but it's not your own period.)

I wonder if you're on the wrong sort of HRT for where you are in menopause?
Unless you'd gone at least 12 months with no natural periods or were over 54, you should be using sequential and having a regular bleed.

Are you on gel, patches, or what?

@JinglingSpringbells that was my understanding. I'm on the gel and only take progesterone on days 1-12 of 28. So puzzled as to why that doesn't result in a bleed.

I wonder if I've not been as good as I should at keeping track of when days 1-12 actually are. Actually might be a good idea to write it up on my calendar rather than rely on my foggy brain.