Signs that menstruation is coming to an end include a significant decrease in the volume and flow of the period, the blood becoming lighter in color (changing from dark red to pink or light brown), and a shift in the consistency, often becoming thinner or even just spotting [1].
Periods will usually start to become less frequent over a few months or years before they stop altogether. They might be more irregular and become heavier or lighter. For some women, they can stop suddenly. Postmenopause is the time after a woman experiences her last period.
Towards the end of your period, you should experience a decrease in the volume, or amount, of menstrual blood until it stops all together. You might also notice a change in color towards the end of your cycle and see brown period blood.
Clue assumes your period starts on the first day you track 'Light', 'Medium', 'Heavy' or 'Super heavy' bleeding, and that your period ends when you stop tracking these options. After there is 1 complete day without this bleeding being tracked, the Clue algorithm will understand that your period has ended.
The luteal phase
The uterus lining continues to thicken in preparation for pregnancy. If you fall pregnant, you won't have a period.
The last day of your period is the final day where you experience any menstrual bleeding. This could be anything from three to seven days after the first signs of bleeding.
The end of your period will be logged automatically according to the period length specified in Menu (your avatar in the top left corner) > Cycle and ovulation. If you want to edit your period dates or add past periods, tap the Calendar icon in the top right corner > Edit period dates > Mark the required dates > Save.
At the beginning and the end, your period could look more like discolored discharge ranging from pink to brown than the very red blood that you see on the heavier days of bleeding. Mark your first day on the day you see this color change and the last day according to this same description.
You might notice darker or brown blood near the end of your period. Some women experience brown discharge for one or two days after their period ends, while others may see it for up to one or two weeks. That really just depends on how your uterus sheds its endometrium and the rate at which blood exits the body.
Continue counting each day of your cycle until your next cycle starts. On days 1-7, you're not considered to be fertile and can have unprotected sex, though you may have menstrual bleeding on those days. On days 8-19, you're considered to be fertile. Avoid unprotected sex or abstain from sex to avoid pregnancy.
Changes to your period
In addition to each period becoming further apart, you may also notice other variations in your menstrual bleeding that signal your final period is close including: Missed periods. Heavier or lighter periods. Longer or shorter periods.
In fact, some people are more likely to get pregnant a few days after the end of their period. This can happen if that's when they ovulate (release an egg from the ovaries). With ovulation, the body gets ready for a possible pregnancy. You could get pregnant up to 72 hours (3 days) after having sex.
It's easy to cry during your period, even when you can't understand what's happening. This is due to the menstrual cycle and ovulation causing hormonal changes throughout the month. The result of this disruption is emotional turmoil in the weeks leading up to menstruation, often part of premenstrual syndrome (PMS).
Any light bleeding you experience at the beginning of your period should be logged as Period. Similarly, you should continue logging Period if you have light bleeding at the end of your period until the bleeding stops.
During perimenopause, estrogen — the main female hormone in your body — rises and falls. Your periods may get longer or shorter. You may skip ovulation, which means your ovaries don't release an egg. You also may have symptoms such as hot flashes, trouble sleeping and vaginal dryness.
The hormone changes can cause symptoms such as:
As the bleeding slows towards the end of your period, it may appear darker red or brown again. Any shades of red you see during your period will change depending on the balance between the amount of blood and other components and the time they have been exposed to oxygen.
It's not uncommon to have brown or light brown discharge for a few days at the start or the end of your period. This is menstrual blood that's taking a bit longer to be expelled from your uterus because there's less of it at these times and the flow is lighter.
The first day of menstrual bleeding is considered Day 1 of the cycle. Your period can last anywhere from 3 to 8 days, but 5 days is average. Bleeding is usually heaviest on the first 2 days. Once the bleeding stops, the uterine lining (also called the endometrium) begins to prepare for the possibility of a pregnancy.
This is when you'll have your final menstrual period. You won't know for sure it's happened until you've gone a year without one. Hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep problems, and other symptoms are common in this stage.
Common symptoms of menopause include:
The length of the menstrual cycle varies from woman to woman, but the average is to have periods around every 28 days. Regular cycles that are longer or shorter than this, from 21 to 35 days, are normal.
Pink is used for periods, teal for ovulation and fertile days, and grey indicates a period delay.
If you are using a manual method, take your calendar and note the start date (the first day you notice bleeding) and end date (the day bleeding ceases) whilst describing the flow heaviness of your period for each day during menstruation.