What's the Difference Between Perimenopause vs Menopause?

Bird&Be 2 min read

What’s the difference between perimenopause and menopause?

Though they have overlapping symptoms and similar treatment, perimenopause and menopause are two different time periods in your reproductive timeline. Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause; the transition that marks a steeper decline of fertility, defined by changing hormones (and the symptoms that go along with them). Menopause directly follows, and begins once you have 12 consecutive months of no period.

They do have a lot in common though. Perimenopause symptoms don’t just stop once you’ve gotten to menopause, and the treatment for those symptoms remains the same in many cases. They both happen over time, and importantly, everyone’s experience of both is different.

Perimenopause:

The bridge between your peak fertile years and menopause
Can begin as early as your late 30s, though more commonly in your 40s
Typically lasts 4 to 5 years
Ovulation and periods are inconsistent and changing from previous norms
Defined by symptoms related to hormonal changes
Treatment: Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT), lifestyle adjustments, and dietary and supplement support are all important
You are still able to get pregnant during this time, but it is much harder thanks to fewer viable eggs and unpredictable ovulation

Menopause:

Follows perimenopause; defined as going 12 months or more without a period
Average age of menopause is 51, but typically happens between 45 and 55
Periods and ovulation are absent
Perimenopause symptoms persist here, but often settle into a new normal after a few years
Treatment: Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT), lifestyle adjustments, and dietary and supplement support are all important
Your chances of getting pregnant are very low—menopause marks the end of your fertile years

Menopause is actually only a moment in time (once you’ve gone 12 months without a period). You’re considered perimenopausal before that time, and post-menopausal after, though the phase “in menopause” is largely used to describe the whole experience.

What happens post-menopause?

Perimenopause ends once menopause begins, but once you get to menopause, you’re in it for life (though, don’t worry, symptoms ease up over time). That said, most refer to the time after symptoms subside as the post-menopausal period. At this point, your period is completely absent, ovulation doesn’t occur, and most of the peri- and menopausal symptoms are lessened or gone.