Menopause isn't one moment. It's a transition with stages.
Knowing roughly where you are changes everything — what's normal, what to expect next, and what to ask for. The most reliable signal isn't a blood test. It's your bleeding pattern.
How staging actually works
Clinicians use a framework called STRAW+10 to place women along the menopause transition — and the main thing they look at is how your periods are changing, not a one-time lab value. The four broad stages below are simplified from that framework. The self-check walks you through a few questions about your cycle and shows you which one you may be in.
Late reproductive
The signal: regular cycles, but with subtle changes — periods may be a little shorter, heavier, or lighter than they used to be.
Read about this stage →Early perimenopause
The signal: a persistent difference of 7 or more days between the lengths of consecutive cycles. Often the most confusing stage.
Read about this stage →Late perimenopause
The signal: a gap of 60 days or more between periods. The end of the transition is getting closer.
Read about this stage →Postmenopause
The signal: 12 consecutive months with no period at all. You've crossed into postmenopause.
Read about this stage →One thing worth knowing: a single FSH blood test can't reliably tell you your stage during perimenopause — your hormones swing too much from day to day. Don't be talked out of your own experience by one lab value. Your bleeding pattern is the more dependable signal.
Detailed pages for each stage — what's happening in your body, the symptoms most common there, and the questions to bring to your doctor — are on the way. For now, the fastest way to orient yourself is the self-check.
Ready to place yourself?
It takes about a minute, it's private, and there's no sign-up. You'll get a plain-language read on your likely stage and what tends to come next.