I am 44 years old and my period is 2 weeks late. I hav taken a pregnancy test but it was negative. Do periods just stop dead if you are going through the menopause? Or, is it a progressional process?

It's a lucky dip! Some women find that their periods just stop and that's it, they never have another one ever.

Other women get longer spaces between their periods, over a random amount of time (2-3 years would be average for the menopause to work itself through).

Some women get their periods coming thick and fast before they stop. And some women get first one thing and then another - basically a very erratic cycle that pleases itself. 

So this may be the last period you ever get, or it may just be a 'heads up' that your menopause is hoving into view. You may go back to a regular cycle or continue with something less regular.

There's no way of knowing until it happens.

Eileen Durward