Been there, done that, got the wet tshirt....
It started for me before 50 with hot flashes. I'd break out in a sweat at the tiniest provocation; even if I had to go to the bathroom, I'd start to sweat.
Then the periods got shorter, maybe lasting three days and then they got irregular. That lasted about 5 years. I had one in April, 2007 and a very very brief one two months ago and that's been it.
The hot flashes have subsided now for the most part. Some of the more physiological things are vaginal wall thinning and drying, but I can still soak my jeans at a moment's notice(I made a mess of my sofa at a solitary moment of need), so no worries there so far. The breasts are softer, not really sagging or thinner, just not firm any more. Supposedly the wrinkles are going to be more prominent as the skin thins and dries but thank heaven for oily skin-no wrinkles yet.
Sex drive hasn't changed at all-I can still live with or without it.
My father's cousin was sexually active well into her 70's.
I won't take hormone therapy as I've seen no need for it, but my doctor says if I want it, she'd write a script for Premarin cream for the vaginal dryness.
I used to hear that birth control pills mimic menopause so if you're on those, you already experience some of the symptoms-dryness, change in breasts, etc. Whether that comparison still holds true, I don't know.