Is this it?

[Lemonfrost]

48 years old, 49 in the autumn. My last period started on May 9th and since then, I have had the usual indicators of coming on each month (sore boobs, irritable, slight cramping etc) but no actual period has arrived. I haven’t really had what I am told are ‘normal’ perimenopause symptoms so is this likely to be it?

Thanks all!

My first symptom was periods changing, so possibly.

Yes, it’s likely the start - but unlikely the end. Cycle disruption can go on for a while. The massive hype around “normal” symptoms is 90% hysteria. You may or may not experience any or all of them. Whatever happens, I wish you luck!

Irregular periods are the first sign of peri menopause for many women.
So yes, at almost 49 this is considered normal.

You may or may not get other symptoms. The irregular cycles can last around 3-4 years or more before your periods stop.

Some things like hot flushes and night sweats may not start till after your last period.

I had no hot flushes, night sweats, rage, anxiety, irregular petiods etc just periods suddenly stopped at 52 and increasing joint pain until I started on hrt about 2 years post last period.

Everyone is different OP. If I were you I'd try not to worry about it.

At 49 yes it is undoubtedly peri leading onto meno. It is the normal age range and as other have said you may have erratic periods for a while or they may stop. There's no exact time scale.

What you should do is really focus on your health. You need lots of physical activity to help sleep and mood, a healthy diet (you need to eat less as weight gain is an almost certain thing in meno) and keep an eye out for vaginal atrophy which is easily treated.

Many women just seem surprised that sleep, mood, bodies all change a bit (or a lot!) so read up on it so you know what to expect.

This is likely Anovulatory cycles
You skip because no egg was released

Mine were like this and when they returned I had severe flooding , followed again by no menstruation etc
This went on for 2 years with severe anaemia until I was put on the mini pill and sailed through until menopause

I had few other symptoms, no hot flushes at all but its misogynistic @sorrynotathome to describe womens experiences as hysteria

I had all symptoms of peri and meno, no period for over two years and then a regular period. Havent been able to get hold of my gp to see if that is normal or not. I thought I was out the other end. Similar age to you.

Thanks all, I have a smear booked in soon and I will raise it then as well.

Hysteria?

Oh the irony. And how bloody dare you minimise women's lived experiences.

Any bleeding after a year or more of no periods should be checked out. It’s most likely your body’s one last hurrah, but please keep trying to speak to your GP to make sure.

What you've experienced is perfectly normal.
It's not something to raise unless you have symptoms which you feel are bothering you and that you might want HRT.

The signs of a period coming but not happening is called 'phantom periods' and is recognised as a peri symptom.

The average age of menopause is 51. The timescale for periods stopping can be anything from a few years to (rarely) overnight.

Periods tend to come further apart or sometimes closer together.
Either is normal and nothing to worry about unless you have very heavy bleeding etc which may need some form of treatment.