What is going on with my body?

I will be 51 in December. For the past year, year and a half, I have been barely spotting, or did not have a period at all. This morning, I woke up to the heaviest period I had in months. I thought this was over! I had to scramble to find suitable pads, wearing 2 at one time!

Is this normal? Is this the beginning of the end for me now? How long is this going to last?

[Machelle Seibel, MD]

Many kinds of bleeding patterns can be normal as menopause approaches. Sometimes, when you haven't had a period in a while, there can be a build up of the lining of the uterus and a heavy period can follow just as you described. It is also possible that you could have a polyp or other cause of increased bleeding.

This type of bleeding can go on for several more years before it stops permanently. If the bleeding is heavy again, ask your doctor about it. He/she might want to check the lining tissue with an endometrial biopsy which is an office procedure in which a few cells are scraped from the lining of the uterus and looked at under a microscope. They might suggest other office tests as well.
Machelle M. Seibel, MD