Your description is incredibly accurate-most people don’t glide into menopause, it’s more like a patchy improvisational performance. That erratic pattern of skipped periods, sudden heavy bleeding, and unpredictable spotting is a classic hallmark of perimenopause. Only a minority experience an abrupt stop; for the rest, it’s often months or years of unpredictability.
Survival tips: track your cycles so you can spot trends (even if they’re erratic), always carry backup supplies, and keep a dark pair of pants handy. If bleeding becomes extremely heavy or prolonged, check in with your gynecologist-sometimes it’s just hormones, but it’s important to rule out other causes. Hydration, pads with wings, and sometimes a bit of humor really do help.