# Which stage of perimenopause am I in? · Peri Signals > Source: https://perisignals.com/articles/which-stage-of-perimenopause-am-i-in-a-stage-finder-from-your-cycle-pattern Stages and timing ## Which stage of perimenopause am I in? Your periods decide which stage of perimenopause you are in. Shorter cycles come first, then cycle lengths that swing by a week or more, then gaps of 60 days or longer, and a full year without a period marks menopause. Answer five questions below to see which of those stages your pattern matches. By Nora Whitfield, 4 November 2026 The stages come from the [STRAW+10 staging system](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3340903/), which researchers and menopause societies drew up in 2011 and which most studies still use. It deliberately rests on bleeding patterns, because periods are something you can record yourself, while hormone tests vary from lab to lab. The finder asks what your periods have done lately and places you at the furthest stage your answers reach. It gives an estimate from what you tell it and cannot diagnose anything. ### Find your stage 1\. Anything that changes your bleeding Tick any that apply now or in the past year. Leave all empty if none do. Hormonal contraception (pill, patch, ring, hormonal coil, implant or injection) HRT A hysterectomy or endometrial ablation Pregnant or breastfeeding 2\. Your most recent period Count from the first day of bleeding. Less than 60 days ago 60 days to 12 months ago 12 months ago or more Not sure 3\. Long gaps In the past year, have you gone 60 days or more (about two months) from one period to the next? Yes No Not sure 4\. Cycles that swing Has one cycle been 7 or more days longer or shorter than the cycle right before it? A 26-day cycle followed by a 34-day one counts. No Once More than once within about 10 cycles Not sure 5\. Shorter cycles Do periods come sooner than they did a few years ago, say every 24 days where it used to be 28? Yes No Not sure 6\. Two optional details I have had hot flashes or night sweats Your age Show my stage Your answers are saved anonymously, with no name or contact details, so we can see which stages readers come here with. Your result is worked out on this page either way. ### The stages, and the marker for each STRAW+10 counts stages backwards and forwards from the final period, which it calls stage 0\. These are the ones that matter in your late 30s, 40s and early 50s. __STRAW+10 stages around menopause and the bleeding marker that starts each one__ | Stage | What your periods do | | ----- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | −3b | **Late reproductive.** Regular, with no change in length. Only hormone and ultrasound markers have started to shift. | | −3a | **Late reproductive.** Subtle changes begin, most often shorter cycles. | | −2 | **Early transition.** Two consecutive cycles differ by 7 days or more, and it happens again within 10 cycles. | | −1 | **Late transition.** A stretch of 60 days or more with no period. Lasts 1 to 3 years on average. | | 0 | **Final period.** Known only in hindsight, after 12 months with no bleeding. | | +1 | **Early postmenopause.** The years after the final period. | In everyday speech, "early perimenopause" means stage −2 and "late perimenopause" means stage −1\. The −3a changes come before the transition officially starts, though many people notice them as the first sign. Our article on [when perimenopause starts](/articles/when-does-perimenopause-start) covers the ages each stage tends to arrive and how long the whole span lasts. ### How the finder decides It works down from the latest stage and stops at the first marker you meet. Twelve months or more since your last period puts you after the final period. Otherwise, a 60-day gap in the past year, or a current gap that is already that long, puts you at stage −1\. If neither applies, a swing of a week or more that has happened more than once places you at stage −2\. One swing on its own sits on the line between the late reproductive stage and the early transition, because STRAW+10 asks for a second swing within 10 cycles before it calls the change persistent. Shorter cycles with no swing match stage −3a. If none of these apply, your periods show no stage marker yet. Hot flashes and night sweats do not move you between stages. STRAW+10 treats symptoms as supporting detail, since not everyone has them, though it notes vasomotor symptoms are most likely in the late transition. The finder mentions them in your result and leaves the stage to your periods. Your age is used the same way: it changes the advice, never the stage. ### A worked example Take someone aged 46 whose last period was five weeks ago. She has never gone two months without one. Over the past six months her cycles ran 27, 36, 25 and 33 days, and they used to be a steady 28\. That is two jumps of 7 days or more (27 to 36, then 25 to 33) within four cycles, so the finder places her in the early transition, stage −2\. Her shorter cycles also match −3a, but the finder reports the furthest stage reached. If her next period were 65 days away, she would move on to stage −1. Not sure how much your cycles vary? The [cycle length calculator](/articles/perimenopause-cycle-length-calculator-is-your-cycle-changing) takes your period start dates and counts every swing and gap for you, so your answers to questions 3 and 4 rest on real numbers. ### When the stage cannot be read Everything here depends on bleeding you can count. A combined pill, patch or ring sets your bleeds by the packet, and a hormonal coil or implant can make them light or stop them, which is why the [NHS](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/menopause-and-perimenopause/symptoms/) says hormonal contraception can hide the signs of perimenopause. After a hysterectomy or an endometrial ablation, or while you take HRT, there are no natural periods to count. Pregnancy and breastfeeding stop or change periods for their own reasons, and a missed period at 40-something can still be a pregnancy, as our page on [pregnancy in perimenopause](/articles/can-you-get-pregnant-during-perimenopause) explains. In any of those cases a doctor goes by symptoms and age. For people over 45, [NICE guidance](https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ng23) says perimenopause is recognised from symptoms and cycle changes without hormone tests, and an FSH test is kept for younger patients. The [symptom checklist](/articles/could-it-be-perimenopause-a-symptom-checklist-with-what-to-do-next) looks at the changes beyond your periods. ### What the stage does not tell you A stage describes timing. It says nothing about whether a particular bleed is normal. Bleeding between periods, after sex, a period lasting longer than a week, flooding, or any bleeding after 12 months without a period should be checked whatever stage you are in, according to [ACOG](https://www.acog.org/womens-health/faqs/abnormal-uterine-bleeding). The [bleeding checker](/articles/is-this-bleeding-normal-a-perimenopause-bleeding-checker) sorts those signs by how soon to act. ### My take I'd start with the dates before the finder, and I'd judge the result by question 3 above all, because a two-month wait for a period is the easiest marker to recall. I'd treat the stage as an opening for a conversation with your doctor and bring dates rather than impressions. Question 4 is the hard one to answer from memory, and six months of start dates settle it. The [printable symptom diary](/articles/printable-perimenopause-symptom-diary-and-appointment-checklist) has a row for them, and [Her Good Days](https://hergooddays.com/#get), a free app, keeps your period dates and works out each cycle length and any gap of 60 days or more as you go. Then I'd run the finder again in three months, paying most attention to the first 60-day gap, since that move into the late transition is the one STRAW+10 links with hot flashes and night sweats. ### Frequently asked questions Can I be in perimenopause while my periods are still regular? Hormone levels start to shift before cycles do, and symptoms such as night sweats can appear early for some people. Staging by bleeding cannot show that phase, so a doctor goes by your symptoms and age as well. Will a blood test tell me my stage? Rarely on its own. FSH rises and falls from month to month in the transition, and NICE advises against hormone tests to identify perimenopause in people over 45 with symptoms. If my periods settle down again, do I go back a stage? The finder keeps you at the furthest marker you have reached. STRAW+10 dates the late transition from the first 60-day gap, so a run of punctual periods after one does not undo it. What happens to my answers? Your stage is worked out in the browser. Pressing the button also sends the ticks, with no name or contact details, so we can see which stages readers bring here. ### Related reading Everything on when the changes come and how long they run sits under [stages and timing](/topics/stages-and-timing). Once you know your stage, our guide to [irregular periods in perimenopause](/articles/irregular-periods-perimenopause) explains what each cycle change means. If your cycles are getting shorter, start with our page on [having two periods in one month](/articles/two-periods-in-one-month). Written by Last checked 2026-11-04 --- [Peri Signals](/) Perimenopause symptoms, explained and tracked Plain answers on perimenopause symptoms for women 35 to 65: what is common, what to tell your doctor, and how to keep a useful symptom record. Some links on this page may earn us a commission. It never decides what we write about or recommend. © 2026 Peri Signals. Independent and reader-supported.