Am i menopausing?

[YesNoMaybeWhat]

Sorry, this might be long one, but chatbots have failed me so I need to hear from real women and I want to give all the relevant information. Here goes...

I moved to France a year ago and as yet my French is not good enough to speak clearly to a medical professional and I dont have any close female friends here.

I'm 46. I had a nexplanon implant since 2010, save for the 18 months before and during pregnancy (at 37). I had very few periods the entire time i had the impalnt. I had PMDD before the implant and severe periods, I was on the pill from age 13 to control the bleeding. In February I had the implant replaced but the insertion was poor and it fell out. I decide to see how things went without it and as I said, my french is crap and I couldn't face going back to the GP.

I bled at the end of June and then almost had pregnancy like tiredness and sore boobs. I panicked and took several pregnancy test through August, all negative. I put on about 15kg in the last 2 years, had many sleepless nights and fell out with red wine for a while as it burned me up all night, but I also lost 2 jobs and moved countries so its been a weird time.

I asked my mum about her experience, she says her periods just stopped at 40 and she was immensely relieved (i suspect she also had PMDD, or at least severe PMT). I'm not sure if she is remembering correctly or not, there may have been more to it, and she may have been a little older but as she forgot she was hospitalised with pre eclampsia (as I was) I'm taking her info with a pinch of salt.

So, first off, I know I need to go a year without a period but its confounded slightly from never normalising after the implant fell out, still if July 2027 comes around and no bleeding I guess I'm done? Second, do i need to see a medic? Both my maternal grandmother and mum had/have osteoporosis and at 46 I may not be premature but I'm still quite young. Third, my hair dresser tells me my already super fine hair is now thinning. Is there anything I can do about that and who would I see?

Honestly I just assumed this would be a late 40's to 50's thing to deal with so my knowledge is piss poor and being in france i have no clue how to get support. If anyone can share some wisdom or point me to the right medical professional I would be super grateful.

Periods can be very wonky for up to a year after stopping a long-term contraceptive, so that may not mean anything. But especially with (possible) family history of early menopause you could well be in permenopause at your age so you really should see a doc. France is very HRT friendly, and it's well worth it for the bone protection.

I'm a bit out of date on how the French system works, but I think you can self-refer to a gynae service.

Thanks @BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn I'll have a read up about HRT as I really know nothing about it. I can try and find a gynecologist who speaks English, waiting times can be quite long but I dont feel it's urgent.

I know I need to go a year without a period

That's to be actually menopausal. Perimenopause can start 5-10 years before that, and around age 45 is average for that.

Well, i went to the gp who is sending me for a bone density test to check for osteoporosis risk. I asked to see a menopause specialist and he told me I didnt need to. I dont know. Im sick and feeling so run down im just a bit fed up with everything this week.