What are the different stages of the menopause transition?
There are three stages to the menopause transition:
- Perimenopause
- Menopause
- Postmenopause
The menopause transition usually starts when a woman is in her mid-to-late 40s, and the average age for a woman to reach the menopause in India is 46.2 years (as opposed to the global 51 years)
8 in 10 women experience symptoms of the menopause, and the duration of these symptoms can vary greatly. For most women symptoms, last around seven to ten years, but can be shorter for some women and longer for others – it’s different for everybody.
Perimenopause
The perimenopause is the time leading up to the menopause when your ovaries start to run out of eggs. This means hormone production decreases and, as a result, periods can be irregular, less frequent, heavier or lighter, and generally erratic and unpredictable. For some women, periods don’t change. You may also experience symptoms during perimenopause as hormone levels can be all over the place and generally drop.
Many women don’t realise they are in the perimenopause because menopause symptoms can creep up on them. They may be subtle, such as feeling a little more anxious, or mood swings can dip lower than usual. Hot flushes are another symptom, but most women do not know what to expect. Symptoms can vary and change in intensity. Symptoms may be also associated with other medical conditions or just put down to ‘ageing’ rather than being recognised as being due to the menopause.
The perimenopause in India typically starts in mid to late 30s.
Menopause
The menopause is said to occur after 12 consecutive months of no bleeding because your ovaries have stopped producing hormones (that is, there is no other obvious cause for your periods to have stopped such as pregnancy, breastfeeding, or taking hormonal contraception).
You’re menopausal literally for a day, and after that you’re postmenopausal.
The average age of the menopause in India is 46.2 and for most women, their periods have naturally stopped by the age of 51.
Postmenopause
As soon as you have been through the menopause, you immediately become postmenopausal and you’re postmenopausal for the rest of your life. In this third phase of the menopause transition, you may still experience symptoms, commonly for a further five to seven years, though many experience symptoms for longer than this.