In general, people experience lighter and less frequent periods as they go through perimenopause. If someone experiences, longer, heavier, and more frequent periods they should see their doctor to discuss possible reasons for this.
From your early 40s and into your 50s, during perimenopause, you may find that your periods change and become erratic as your ovaries slow down and oestrogen levels start to fluctuate. It can be very common for your cycle to become highly unpredictable and periods to be heavier and longer.
What are periods like during perimenopause? Your body is producing less of the hormones that help you ovulate, so your periods can become irregular. Your menstrual cycle could become longer or shorter than usual. Your bleeding could also be heavier or lighter than normal.
When estrogen levels are low, the uterine lining is generally thinner, resulting in shorter and lighter periods. Shorter cycles are are often common in the early stages of perimenopause, varying in both period length (2-3days) and cycle length (2-3 weeks).
In the years preceding menopause, women experience changes in their menstrual cycle. The time between periods can become shorter or longer and periods may last a longer or shorter number of days. Bleeding can be heavier or lighter and change in flow from month to month.
The first sign is typically a disruption of your menstrual cycle. For many women, your period starts earlier or later than normal. For example, if your menstrual cycle has always been 28 days, during perimenopause, your period could come as early as 21 or as late as 35 days.
People often find that their menstrual flow varies from month to month, and some months are simply lighter than others. In some cases, a light period can be due to stress or weight loss. It can also indicate pregnancy or a hormone-related condition.
Brown or Dark Blood
Sometimes blood can stay in the uterus longer, and during this time it becomes oxidized. This causes the blood to change color. This occurs during perimenopause, ovulation, or early pregnancy. During perimenopause, it's common because of hormonal imbalance.
During your 40s, your ovaries slow their estrogen production, so your periods may get shorter and lighter, or come less frequently. Menopause occurs when your period stops completely for 12 consecutive months. For most women, this happens in their late 40s or early 50s.
Changes to your period
Period changes are usually the first signs of menopause. For example, your period may start to happen every 6-8 weeks. Or you may miss a couple months before it comes back again. You may also have a heavier flow or a lighter flow from time to time.
This is when you'll have your final menstrual period. You won't know for sure it's happened until you've gone a year without one. Hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep problems, and other symptoms are common in this stage.
The menopausal transition most often begins between ages 45 and 55. It usually lasts about seven years but can be as long as 14 years. The duration can depend on lifestyle factors such as smoking, age it begins, and race and ethnicity.
It might appear in your underwear, or if you wear one, your pantyliner. The color of the bleeding from spotting during menopause can range from light (pinkish-gray) to brown or even resemble a regular period. No matter the color, it usually does not involve any pain.
Occasional heavy periods, called menorrhagia, are common in perimenopause. One study of more than 1,300 middle-aged women reported that 91 percent of them experienced at least one occurrence of heavy flow lasting three or more days during a three-year timeframe.
It is not unusual to have irregular bleeding for up to 6 months before menstrual periods stop completely. Unless the bleeding is excessive, or a woman it at high risk for uterine cancer, this is generally not of concern.
- Light periods are most common in women who are approaching menopause. This is because, at this time, women tend to produce less estrogen, a hormone responsible for regulating menstrual periods.
Perimenopause and menopause are a natural part of a woman's life course and usually occur between the ages 45 and 55 years of age, as a woman's oestrogen levels drop (although it can start earlier).
Diagnosis of of perimenopause
Hormone testing is done through a hormone panel to test your levels of estrogen and other sex-linked hormones. This kind of testing can often show whether you are nearing or in menopause.
Perimenopause can make your once-regular periods suddenly irregular. Before perimenopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels rise and fall in a consistent pattern during your menstrual cycle. When you're in perimenopause, hormone changes become more erratic. This can lead to unpredictable bleeding patterns.
Perimenopause, also called the menopausal transition, describes the months or years leading up to menopause, when the body goes through vast changes. This transition can be more difficult for some than menopause due to dramatic fluctuations in reproductive hormone levels.
It is very difficult to predict when you will experience your final menstrual period. On average, U.S. women who go through natural menopause, experience last periods at about age fifty one, but the range from forty to sixty years old is considered "normal."
Mark your first day on the day you see this color change and the last day according to this same description. For example: day one (light pink spotting), days two through five (red bleeding), day six (light brown discharge), day seven (clear-whitish discharge). Mark days one through six on the calendar as period days.