The word menopause literally means when your periods stop. Meno refers to your menstrual cycle and pause refers to the cycle stopping. The medical definition of being menopausal is when you have not had a period for one year.

The menopause occurs when your ovaries no longer produce eggs and, as a result, the levels of hormones called estrogen, progesterone and testosterone fall.

Estrogen protects a number of different systems in your body: your brain, skin, bones, heart, urinary functions and the genital area – low levels of estrogen can affect all these parts of your body. Prior to this you may experience menopausal symptoms but still have periods, this is known as the perimenopause. During your perimenopause and menopause, hormone levels fluctuate greatly and this imbalance can result in a range of symptoms.

The average age of the menopause in the UK is 51 years – therefore the last period occurs, on average, at 50 years old – however, this can be earlier for some women (see below). Symptoms of the perimenopause often start at around 45 years of age. Often when you read about menopausal symptoms, it also includes perimenopausal symptoms as they are the same, and both are due to your hormones changing.