Since I had a partial hysterectomy years ago I have not had a menstrual cylce in over 20 years, I am 48.

So since I do not have a cycle per say, then some of the weird symptoms I am having to me are a little harder to determine if they are part of peri or something else.

Other than having your levels checked what other way is there to know?

I do not mean to sound "stupid" but it seems it would be easier to tell when your cycle starts to change that you were starting this process.

When my mom -- who had a hystie at 29 -- was in her early 50's, she had all kinds of weird symptoms that sent her to loads of doctors to find out what was wrong with her. They never did find anything, but hindsight tells me that they were hormonal in nature and that the old ovaries were shutting down. I KNOW she was having hot flashes, but she wasn't connecting them as such. She would grab my arm and say "Feel how hot my hands are." My hands get hot too when I'm having a flash. The doctors probably didn't think to check that because she probably told them about her surgery and so the docs didn't snap that her hormones could still be going wacky. I mean, it's hard enough getting a doctor to admit you're peri WITH a period still happening!