Menopause: the basics

Menopause means your periods have stopped for good. You can only say so looking back: once you have had no period for 12 months in a row, your last one marked the start of menopause. It is not a disease. It is a natural change that happens as your ovaries make fewer hormones.

For most women menopause arrives somewhere between 45 and 55. Before 45 it is called early, and before 40 premature, and in that case you do need a medical check. Periods also stop after surgery to remove the womb or ovaries, and sometimes after cancer treatment.

As oestrogen falls, you may notice:

• hot flushes and night sweats
• changes in sleep and mood
• vaginal dryness and bladder problems
• weight settling differently on your body
• bones slowly becoming weaker

Some women barely notice any of this, while others have symptoms for years. Both are normal, and neither says you did anything wrong.

Menopause is not the end of womanhood, of your sex life or of good health. Nor is it something you are expected to put up with in silence, because most symptoms can be eased.

The general rule is to keep using contraception for one year after your last period if it came after 50, and for two years if it came before 50. Check with a doctor how that applies to you.