Perimenopause stage quiz: which stage am I in?
Researchers map perimenopause and menopause into stages based mainly on how your cycle has changed. Answer two quick questions to see which stage your pattern best matches. This is a pattern match, not a diagnosis, and it's most useful as a starting point for a conversation with a doctor, or for what to start tracking.
This tool matches your answers against the published staging criteria researchers use for the menopause transition (STRAW+10). It isn't a diagnosis. Only a doctor, usually working from your full history and sometimes blood tests, can confirm where you actually are.
How the stages actually break down
STRAW+10 (the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop +10) splits the years around menopause into named stages, mostly by how your cycle has changed rather than by age.[1] A woman at 43 and a woman at 50 can both be "in perimenopause" while sitting in completely different stages, with different symptoms and different odds of what comes next.
| Stage | What marks it | Typical signs |
|---|---|---|
| Late reproductive | Regular cycles, first hormone shifts | Usually few or no symptoms. Cycles may shorten by a day or two. |
| Early perimenopause | Cycle length shifts by 7+ days from your usual pattern | Hot flashes can start here. Mood swings, poor sleep, and brain fog often begin too. |
| Late perimenopause | A gap of 60+ days between periods | Often the most symptomatic stretch of the whole transition. Hot flashes often get worse. |
| Menopause | 12 months in a row with no period | A single point in time, confirmed only in hindsight, not a phase you can feel yourself in. |
| Early postmenopause | The 2 to 3 years after menopause | Hot flashes are often at their worst here, then ease for many women over the next few years. |
For the full stage-by-stage breakdown, including what's happening hormonally at each point, read Perimenopause Stages Explained.
Questions people ask
What is STRAW+10?
The Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop +10 is the staging system researchers and clinicians use to place someone on the reproductive timeline. It splits the years before and after menopause into stages, based mainly on menstrual cycle patterns and backed up by hormone levels.
Can a blood test confirm my stage instead of guessing from my cycle?
Not reliably on its own, at least not in perimenopause. FSH swings month to month during the early transition, high one cycle and normal the next, so a single test can come back normal even after the transition has clearly started.[2] That's why cycle pattern, not a lab value, is what stages the early years.
Why does this tool only ask two questions?
STRAW+10 itself is staged almost entirely by cycle pattern, so that question alone gets you a rough match. Hot flash frequency isn't a formal staging criterion, it's asked here as a cross-check: frequent flashes alongside a still-regular cycle are less typical of the earliest stage and worth mentioning to a doctor. A doctor working from your full history, and sometimes hormone testing, can place you more precisely than two questions ever could.
I don't have periods to track. Does this still work for me?
Not in the usual way. This staging system relies mainly on cycle changes, so without periods to track (after a hysterectomy, or with a hormonal IUD), a doctor will typically lean more on your symptoms, age, and sometimes hormone testing to work out where you likely are.
Sources
- Harlow, S. D., Gass, M., Hall, J. E., et al. (2012). Executive summary of the Stages of Reproductive Aging Workshop +10: addressing the unfinished agenda of staging reproductive aging. Menopause, 19(4), 387-395. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Randolph, J. F., Zheng, H., Sowers, M. R., et al. (2011). Change in follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol across the menopausal transition: Effect of age at the final menstrual period. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 96(3), 746-754. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov