Just need to know

How do you know if you are going through menopause. I am 47 yrs old and my period came on in Dec.24,2007 and this year the 20th of Jan. Is it common for your period to do this.

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

At 47, the commonest reason for a period being off its usual schedule is perimenopause -  the window of time around menopause. The easiest way to test for that is to ask your doctor to get a blood test for FSH or follicle stimulating hormone. This hormone will rise as the ovary becomes more resistant to making a follicle (the sac that contains an egg). Changes often occur with the periods getting lighter, then closer, then further apart. But this is far from true for everyone. These changes may occur over a number of years. They are very common.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD

[JENBURNETTE]

it is for mine. it seems like everything has went crazy inside my body. that's the easiest way to describe it.