I'm nearly 50 years old and it's been 61 days since my last period. How will I know if this is the menopause?

You are in the right age group for the start of the menopause, and one of the key pointers is when the cycle starts to go awry - periods missing or coming too soon.

So my guess is that you are starting the menopause. You can ask your doctor for a blood test to see if your hormone levels have fallen.

There's no real way of predicting how the menopause will go though - your periods may just be late for a while or never turn up again: it's a case of waiting and seeing!

Eileen Durward