I’m 54, been through menopause and hadn’t had a period in a year. Suddenly, I had a very heavy one. Is this normal?

It’s not unusual to stop having periods, think you are over them, and suddenly get a period. Menopause is a misnomer. It is defined as no period for a year, but that definition is old and outdated. We now know that it’s not about periods but hormones.

The loss of hormones between the ages of 45 and 55 will leave women depleted and in need of hormone supplementation, so we do not succumb to heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and other diseases of aging.

Getting a period after a year of no periods means your body made hormones again and as their levels dropped you got a period.

The best thing to do is get a pelvic ultrasound to see the thickness of your uterine lining and blood tests of your levels of thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Then supplement them with bioidentical hormones prescribed by a knowledgeable physician.