Advice

[Martyjake]

I am posting this message not to brag but for advice. I can’t ask my mum as she had a hysterectomy in her early 40s so never went through the menopause and my mother in law died 6 years ago.
Im 50 this year and so far the only symptoms I’ve had are that my periods just stopped in October last year. I’m definitely not pregnant as that was the first thing I checked. I do find I forget people’s names or the name of objects when I’m stressed sometimes. But I haven’t had any other symptoms. Is this normal or should I be speaking to my GP about it?

Sounds very normal!

Your Mum did go through menopause, as she had a hysterectomy, if her ovaries wete removed, it was a surgical menopause.

At 52 I’m fairly similar. Although I warn you, my periods came back after 6 months. One thing you should definitely be doing is strength training.

Yes your symptoms are normal. If you don’t find them challenging, you don’t need to speak to your doctor. If you do feel you’d benefit from trying systemic HRT you could see your doctor, mentioning what your symptoms are.

I had no menopause symptoms. I had regular monthly periods, and then one month it just stopped. No hot flushes, mood swings, or any other symptoms. I was lucky, but I don’t think it’s that unusual.

Some symptoms of menopause can be hidden. Everyone knows the headliners - hot flushes, night sweats, brain fog. But the hidden effects of hormone changes - heart issues, bone issues, blood sugar issues, muscle wastage, vaginal atrophy - these can end up being just as debilitating - not always immediately. Would chat with your doctor, or a women's health practitioner if your practice has one, just to make sure any underlying issues are covered.

There is still time.
Some women have no symptoms until their periods have stopped for a while - a year or more. There are often posts here by women who have decided to take action in the form of HRT, maybe 4-5 years after their last period.

You're also slightly on the young side at 49 (average age is 51-52) and it' s possible your periods may come back, even after a 6 month gap.

You don't need to see your GP.
Around 25% of women have no menopause symptom, half have them for a good few years and another 25% have them for a long time (sometimes forever.)

I agree with @ChubbyPuffling that there are many signs of loss of estrogen which many women don't recognise and start dealing with them in other ways, rather than thinking it's menopause and that they may need HRT.

I'd also look at your family history especially fractures, osteoporosis, heart disease etc which are all linked to menopause and have no symptoms until something happens.