My gyn, the internet and DCUM are my sources of information. My dear mother is useless
HRT is hotly debated on DCUM. I cannot take it since I have a serious history of breast cancer among my female relatives.
Don't fix something that isn't broken.
One reason your mother may not have told you anything is that she might not have had debilitating symptoms, and the symptoms she had, she might not have associated with menopause. For example, I am suffering from a sharp increase in my insomnia and anxiety. I'm sure that at the time our mothers went into peri, people were not aware this was a frequent symptom.