I don't actually know, perhaps others do, is there a clear cut off point between peri and full on menopause.
Menopause is when you haven't had a period for a year. So you wouldn't be aware of the actual cutoff because it is retrospective. It sounds as though Mamma's doctor is using confusing terms and that she is in peri.
Although some contraceptives (desogestrel and Mirena, and probably others) do stop periods completely in some women so I'm not sure how they determine menopause in those cases.
Mamma, repeated urine infections can be a symptom of peri/menopause, as can brain fog and reflux/heartburn (I didn't know this last one but I looked it up). I'm not sure about thrush, quite possibly.
It can take a while for HRT to have an effect, 2 weeks isn't really long enough to see much happening. They normally suggest 3 months at least to see improvements.