This is regardless of whether the menopause was induced (eg by surgical removal of the ovaries) or spontaneous. Surgical menopause is timed precisely but natural menopause can only be determined retrospectively, 12 months after the cessation of periods.
Once in postmenopause, the symptoms may continue for an average of four to five years, but will usually decrease in frequency and intensity but some women report that their symptoms last well into their 70ies.
