This is the time during when it all begins to change..
Technically it’s from when hormone levels start to change and periods become more irregular, through to your last ever period and perhaps a little longer, until your hormones have settled into their new pattern.
It can last anything from 2 years to 6 years, although in the early years the signs may be relatively minor, and the duration varies.
It ends 12 months after your last period – it is usual to wait for 12 months without a period before you can be sure it is really the last one.
This is what is more usually described as “going through the menopause”.