In brief
In brief
You do not need to choose a label before you are ready. These terms simply help describe where your body may be in a natural transition. Symptoms can begin while periods are still happening, can change over time and can feel different from one person to the next. Having only one or two symptoms does not make your experience less real.
What the three terms mean
- Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause, when hormone patterns and periods may become less predictable.
- Menopause is reached after 12 months without a period when this is not explained by hormonal contraception or another cause.
- Postmenopause describes the years after that point. Some symptoms settle, while others can continue or appear later.
- Surgery, medical treatment and premature ovarian insufficiency can bring this transition earlier or more suddenly.
For otherwise healthy people aged 45 or over with typical symptoms, NICE says diagnosis can often be based on symptoms and menstrual history rather than hormone tests. Testing or specialist assessment may still be appropriate when symptoms begin earlier, the pattern is unclear, hormonal treatments make periods hard to interpret, or another condition could be involved. A clinician can help separate overlapping causes such as thyroid problems, anaemia, sleep disorders or depression.
Sources
Where this guidance comes from
GlowUp checked this article against the sources below on 25 August 2026. This is source-checked editorial information, not a claim of independent medical review.
- Menopause: identification and management (NG23) National Institute for Health and Care Excellence · updated 15 April 2026 · accessed 25 August 2026
- Symptoms of menopause and perimenopause NHS · updated 19 May 2026 · accessed 25 August 2026
- Treatment for symptoms of the menopause Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists · updated 1 May 2026 · accessed 25 August 2026