How long to get over worst of your symptoms ?

[vintedandminted]

I am 55 and think my menopause started at 49. I had a womb ablation aged 40 which stopped my periods so I had no obvious way of tracking progress.
I have suffered terribly for years with day and night sweats, joint pain, anxiety and depression. I especially struggled through the winter with cold weather.
Then wow ! I've suddenly realised it hasn't been that bad this winter. My body doesn't ache the same my sweats are very occasional, my migraines have disappeared, my emotions are under control. Does this time frame seem about right ? I appreciate the menopause is not "something you get over" but I feel like I've beaten it and am out the other side.

I will be 70 in August, had a total hysterectomy at 50 and have been on HRT since then.

Every time I stop using HRT the night sweats return! I have no intention of stopping again, so for me it seems like they will go on forever. And on that cheerful note😂....

Everyone is different.
My Mum still had night sweats in her 80s.
I'm late 60s, been on HRT a long time and have had symptoms coming back each time I've had a trial break from it (just for a few weeks.)
A small percentage of women - maybe 10%- never get rid of symptoms (unless they use HRT.)

I would have my bone density checked in your circumstances.

Why ?

I think the PP is suggesting that because 1: 2 women over 50 have osteoporosis. The risk is much higher if periods stop before the average age of 51 and if yours did stop in your 40s, you're at a higher risk.

I'd talk to your GP and say your periods may have stopped any time after 40 (is there a reason you think it could be 49?) and see if they will refer you for a scan.

(If you're not in the UK- looking at the timing of your post) it may be a different system.

Hi thank you. I didn't know this. My periods stopped when I was 40 as I had my womb lining removed. This doesn't send you into menopause just no monthly bleed. I continued having "period symptoms" monthly. PMS, acne, tummy ache ect until I was around 49. I then started having hot sweats, joint pains ect so assumed this was the start of my menopause.

You may as well ask how long is a piece of string tbh, it's such an individual experience as our entire hormonal experience since puberty and sometimes there's never an end.
Some women suffer greatly during the erratic oestrogen shifts of peri menopause (progesterone decreases in a steady fashion from around 35, but oestrogen can go up and down in no regular pattern for years in this stage). Menopause is only the 24 hours after you reached 12 months after your last period (or 24months if aged under 50) so no one suffers during that as such, but for some women their symptoms decrease at that stage, for others they remain for years after, for some the symptoms change. Ive never had a hot flush and the only noticeable symptom of peri was less frequent periods, so I said no to HRT when offered it as I didn't think I needed it and that Women's Health study hadn't been debunked at that stage. My quality of life was drastically effected in post menopause, insomnia, memory loss, joint pain, disassociation with no ability to feel joy or contentment, everything was just meh at best.
The loss of bone density is a silent and v common side effect of losing oestrogen, I was diagnosed as having osteoporosis around the time I hit post menopause, that's a symptom I ll never 'get over' though it doesn't necessarily effect me day to day it does carry risk factors

I didn’t have a good time in perimenopause, with very heavy periods, thinning hair and obsessional thoughts. As soon as my periods spaced out, everything improved and only one single hot flush that made me laugh. Then, following my last period ( realised a few months after) I felt elated that the chemical fire of monthly hormone swings was over - I thought ‘ this must be what it feels like to be bloke - an even keel all month. ‘

My Dr hadn’t been anti HRT but wasn’t particularly pro either and I hadn’t wanted it anyway but, in retrospect, it would have helped with vaginal atrophy which led to all kind of troubles.

I think every woman going through menopause should. Osteoporosis doesn’t have any symptoms.

It does sound like you're over the worst of it (but like someone else said it does vary so much from one person to the next) Just be warned that if you get ill the symptoms might return, both times I have had covid (2022 and 2025) I was back to having frequent hot flushes, mood swings etc it only lasted a month at the most but definitely caught me by surprise 😲