Hi Julestoo - I see your post got missed.
Sorry to hear about your erratic bleeding. I'm afraid this is part and parcel of being peri-menopausal and with HRT it just means that sometimes you will bleed at the "wrong" time. Eventually though once you get into a regular monthly pattern, and your own ovulations become very rare, then the bleeding should become more predictable.
As for your last question - how long is a piece of string?! There is no set answer. If you are someone that is going to get symptoms such as the classic sweats and flushes for several years, then these will eventually return after stopping HRT and you won't know how long they will go on for. For some women they eventually delcine and then only occur rarely and maybe for some lucky women they never return - if you have passed menopause.
If you;re still peri-menopausal and were getting flushes and sweats when you started HRT then they are likely to come back. When I stopped HRT 10 years ago - just for 3 months - they started creeping back and after 3 months opff HRT all my symptoms were back and worse and I have remained on HRT ever since even into my mid 60's.
HRT does not suppress ovulation - not at the strength of Femoston anyway.
Hope this helps? Let us know how you are feeling.
Hurdity x