Perimenopause: The What, When, How, and Why

What is perimenopause?

Type the word into most computers and spell check will correct you with either per menopause or Peru menopause. Perimenopause isn't even in the database -- a symbol, perhaps, of how poorly this phase is understood. But it's not that complicated. Technically, perimenopause is the span of six to 10 years during which your body moves toward menopause. And menopause is really just one day in your life: the 365th day from the date of your final menstrual period.

"Perimenopause is not a disease, any more than adolescence is. It is a physiological life stage," says Marcie Richardson, MD, director of the Harvard Vanguard Menopause Consultation Service, in Boston. That said, it's important to note that all the drugs or hormones in the world won't prevent perimenopause; they'll merely change how you experience it.

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