How long does menopause last?
The full transition can last a decade for some and be super-speedy for others. Here’s the range for each stage and what factors may play into it.
From the moment the first hot flush hits or periods become unpredictable, most women have one question running through their minds: How long is this going to last? Are we talking a year, five years, ten? In a time of uncertainty and change, having some certainty about the length of the process would sure be helpful, but not everyone experiences it the same way or for the same amount of time.
Your menopause experience will be unique, but knowing what to expect at each stage can help keep this time manageable, whether your body’s process is on the shorter or longer side. All told, the process can last anywhere from 5 to 15 years.
When does menopause start?
Menopause is technically just one day — when you’ve gone a full year without a period. But usually when people ask this question, what they’re really wondering is when perimenopause starts, the stage preceding menopause that’s hallmarked by symptoms like hot flushes and mood changes.
Exactly when perimenopause kicks off varies from person to person within a wide range, just like how some girls get their first period when they’re 11 and others don’t get it until they’re 15.
For that reason, “It’s completely normal for someone to start to experiencing changes in their late 30s or early 40s. Definitely by the mid-40s, many people are experiencing symptoms related to hormonal fluctuations,” says Dr. Monica Christmas, M.D., an OB/GYN at UChicago Medicine and the associate medical director of The Menopause Society.
How long will menopause last?
Once you’re reached menopause — and haven’t had a period in a year — you’ll be in that stage, sometimes called postmenopause, for the rest of your life. In terms of the whole menopause transition, however, you go from a person having a period to a person not having a period over the course of two to ten years, but YMMV (your mileage may vary).
Some women start experiencing symptoms in the premenopausal stage. But for the majority of women, noticeable symptoms don’t start until the stage after that — perimenopause. This is when your estrogen and progesterone levels are going down, but not at a steady decline. Think of it more like a stock chart during a recession, with a general downward slope but lots of peaks and valleys along the way.
Perimenopause can last anywhere from two to eight years — with the average being four years — though some luckier women’s bodies jump right to menopause and skip this phase.
Also, research shows that Black women spend 3.5 more years than white women in perimenopause, the stage leading up to menopause; Black women can experience certain menopausal symptoms for almost twice as long as white, Chinese, and Japanese women.
When will menopause be over?
Menopause or postmenopause lasts the rest of your life; perimenopause ends once you’ve reached menopause. When this will happen for you can depend on factors like your genetics and your lifestyle, everything from your race to when your mum reached menopause to whether you have obesity or smoke. While the median age for menopause is 52, “the average range that 95% of people fall into is between the ages of 45 and 55,” says Christmas.
Once you enter menopause or postmenopause, your symptoms might linger for a few more years. That means all in all, the transition can last anywhere from 10 to 15 years.
Remember, “many of those symptoms, specifically hot flushes and night sweats, typically are most intense those last couple of years before the menstrual cycle ends and the first couple of years after the final menstrual period,” says Christmas. “But then for many people they go away.”
As a result, even if someone has been in postmenopause for years, they might not feel “done with menopause” until their symptoms are fully gone, which is about four to five years after menopause on average.
During this wild ride of a decade, you may not know how long your personal ride will last — but you can find relief in knowing this too shall pass.
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