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Your Guide to Pre-Menopause Symptoms

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For most women, the symptoms of menopause will begin to appear about the time a woman nears the age of 50. However, for women that begin the process of menopause prior to age 40, the condition is known as pre menopause. Pre-menopause can occur for a number of reasons, including chemotherapy, autoimmune disorders like lupus, or a hysterectomy. On top of the more common signs of menopause, pre-menopause symptoms bring a host of concerns, including the loss of fertility and the increased risk of conditions like osteoporosis at a much younger age. While there is no way to reverse pre menopause symptoms, it is important to see your doctor if you suspect that this is happening to you. Your doctor can run tests to determine for sure if you are experiencing pre menopause symptoms, and offer you advice, support and treatment to deal with it.


What you Might Experience

There are a number of early menopause symptoms that you might experience and the only difference between them and regular menopause symptoms are the time of life in which they appear. pre menopause symptoms can include irregular periods or periods that are missed completely, a change in the flow of your periods, or hot flashes. While these are the most common telltale pre menopause symptoms, other symptoms can include vaginal dryness, dry skin, moodiness or depression, or bladder problems. If you experience any or all of these pre-menopause symptoms, it is important to see your doctor to determine if this is indeed what is going on. Your doctor will do a bit of exploring to see if there might be a reason for your early symptoms, such as an autoimmune disorder diagnosis or a past history of cancer and chemotherapy.

Just as women that go through menopause at the average age, women experiencing pre-menopause symptoms will find that most of these complaints are the result of a drop in estrogen levels. Unfortunately, this hormonal drop can also raise the risk of other health conditions like osteoporosis, periodontal disease and some cancers like ovarian and colon cancer. Because of these risk factors, you will need to work closely with your doctor to alleviate some of these risks through regular health screenings and possible nutritional supplementation. 

First symptoms of menopause can be scary for many women to experience, but your doctor can help you to manage the more uncomfortable symptoms and prepare you for what lies ahead. Keeping your pre-menopause symptoms in check will be the first step on the road to better health after menopause.

 

What To Expect-First Symptoms of Menpause

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What to Expect Symptom-Wise

Perhaps one of the most significant first symptoms of menopause is the hot flashes which can cause you to sweat at night or even during the day when everyone else is comfortable or even cold. These hot flashes may or may not be accompanied by red blotchy skin, flushed skin or even a prickly kind of heat. 

As a woman and a mom, I can give you a non-clinical or college educated medical description of some of the early menopause symptoms.  I can define menopause for you in my own words.  It is a women’s final menstrual period. This phase may take anywhere from one year to several years.  Every woman’s experience with their period is slightly different.  During the years that a woman is menstruating, her body produces estrogen and progesterone.  She has a higher production of estrogen prior to each ovulation and high estrogen and progesterone levels after ovulation.  These hormonal changes cause the mood swings, headaches and other adverse symptoms during the time leading up to her period or during her cycle.      

Urinary problems may also be early signs of menopause but should always be checked out by a doctor to re-affirm the cause. Frequent need to urinate, development of a urinary tract infection and even leakage of urine when sneezing, coughing or exercising can also be attributed to perimenopause.

Irregular periods, of course, are early signs of menopause as well. However, because perimenopause can last years, whenever you start exhibiting signs of irregularity, you should be examined by a doctor to rule out other health issues like tumors, fibroids, cancer and more. There are many things that can cause irregular periods and should not be the “end all to end all” signs of menopause. 

Exercise Prescription

Hot flashes, gaining weight, and lack of sleep can result in moodiness and depression.  There are a few things you can do to prepare for this time of life or relieve some of these first symptoms of menopause if you are already experiencing them.  I started an exercise program.  Exercise can help reduce these symptoms and decrease the possibility of heart disease, osteoporosis, and obesity.  I joined a local gym and sought the advice of a female personal trainer.  She helped develop an individualized exercise routine according to my medical and exercise history.

The actual event itself will likely come with little fanfare as you have been experiencing the early signs of menopause for years. You are in true menopause when you have not had a period for at least one year. Of course, those symptoms will likely continue for a while longer past the perimenopausal stage. The real kick in the pants comes with the fact that you can still get pregnant while still exhibiting the early signs of menopause. As long as you are still having periods, that means you are still ovulating and thereby there is always a small chance of pregnancy.

What To Expect After Menopause

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Many women going through menopause secretly hope that their uncomfortable symptoms will end when their menopause officially does, but unfortunately that isn’t necessarily the case. Even if those years of dealing with heat flashes and mood swings have finally finished, you may still have some unwanted post menopause symptoms to deal with.

The close of menopause is the end of ovulation and menstruation, and it usually finishes about 8 to ten years of the onset of symptoms. Nonetheless,Even so, you can still continue to have post menopause bleeding up to 6 months or so afterwards. Periods after menopause aren’t common, and there’s an increased likelihood you’ll experience them if you are on hormone therapy or if you are significantly overweight. If you do experience bleeding after menopause, make sure you have a check-up with your doctor because it may be a symptom of a serious disease such as endometrial cancer.

Health Issues To Watch For

Post menopause bleeding is not the only symptom to watch out for. Other bothersome post-menopause symptoms is vaginal itching and dryness, which is both irritating and potentially embarrassing.  However, the most distressing of all possible symptoms is stress incontinence, which is the involuntary trickling of urine because there is extra stress on your bladder, caused by a weakness in the pelvic floor muscles.

Other post menopause symptoms include the increased likelihood of conditions such as hypertension and osteoporosis. You may also start to notice more lines and wrinkles on your face. Post menopause symptoms are not fun, but they are something that every woman has to deal with at some point. Luckily medications are available to mitigate many of the symptoms you may experience. This can include face creams, lubricants, prescription medications and panty liners which can improve the experience of life after menopause.

It’s good to remember that not all women experience post menopause symptoms. And of those that do, most are not serious. As well as the many regular medications that can help with them, there is a great selection of vitamins and supplements that can be surprisingly powerful.

The Signs Of Menopause

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Signs Of Menopause Video

It has been estimated that the average menopause age in the Western world is 51 years.  The typical age range for the first signs of menopause is between the ages of 45 and 55.  If the last period occurs between the ages of 55 to 60 this is known as a “late menopause”. When a woman experiences “Early menopause” this is when the final period occurs between the ages of 45 to 50.  The word menopause literally means the cessation of monthly cycles or
menstrual cycles, from the Greek roots meno (month) and pausis (a halt).

Once signs of menopause start to occur the periods are usually very erratic and it can take several months or years of this type of cycling to completely cease.  This makes pegging down an actually menopause age difficult.

The average menopause age in the Western world is 51 years.  The typical age range for the first signs of menopause is between the ages of 45 and 55.  When the last monthly cycle occurs between the age of 55 to 60 this is known as a “late menopause”. If a woman’s final monthly cycle ends sometime between the ages of 45 to 50 this would be considered an “early menopause” .  The word menopause literally means the cessation of monthly periods or menstrual cycles, from the Greek roots meno (month) and pausis (a halt).

Once signs of menopause begin the monthly cycles are usually very random and irregular, it can take several months or even up to a couple of years for this type of cycling to subside. We can only estimate but not give someone an exact menopause age.

The time leading up to the last monthly cycle ever is referred to as premenopause. This describes the menopause age when the levels of reproductive hormones have started to decrease and the periods have started to become irregular, and the signs of menopause and hormone withdrawal may have begun.

Postmenopause is described at the time that follows the point when a woman’s ovaries have become inactive.  This menopause age or stage takes place after a woman’s final monthly cycle and most signs of menopause seem to have subsided.

Once a woman has gone one full year with no flow at all, not even any spotting, and she still has her uterus, she can be said to be postmenopausal. When a woman reaches that point, she is one year into postmenopause.  This is the Menopause Age most women look forward to.  A woman who has her ovaries removed will immediately be in “surgical menopause”.

The menopause age and signs of menopause are a natural life change, not a disease state or a disorder. The transition itself can be challenging for a number of women, but for others it may not be as difficult, but all will experience some signs of menopause.

 

Identifying the Early Signs of Menopause aka Perimenopause

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First Symptoms of Menopause

Menopause has been the butt of many jokes not only from comedians but also from women themselves who are either going through it or negatively are anticipating it. The bottom line is that it all boils down to the fact that different bodies will exhibit different first symptoms of menopause. Some women will experience every known symptom attributed to “the change” while other women will experience few if any symptoms other than a lack of menstruation.

There are certain early menopause symptoms that you will notice and these could occur in a greater or even lesser degree depending on your individual case, and if you are lucky, you could escape with just the barest symptoms, though in other instances the symptoms could be pretty severe causing a lot of distress and anxiety to the affected person.

If you normally experience pre-menstrual symptoms like cramps and mood swings, chances are that these symptoms will worsen as time gets closer to menopause. Other early signs of menopause include irregular periods, tenderness of the breasts, sleeping problems and fatigue. In terms of sex, your libido may decrease and there may be some pain during sex due to vaginal dryness.

Urinary problems may also be early signs of menopause but should always be checked out by a doctor to re-affirm the cause. Frequent need to urinate, development of a urinary tract infection and even leakage of urine when sneezing, coughing or exercising can also be attributed to perimenopause.

Countless problems with your bladder and vagina are also among your first signs of menopause as your hormone levels fluctuate. The vaginal dryness may be an issue and sex could become painful as the skin thins out and surrounding areas becoming more sensitized. In addition, urinary problems count as some of the first signs of menopause due to that same thinning of the skin, in this case, the bladder. Some muscle tone in the bladder may be lost as well due to hormonal changes attributed to menopause.

The first signs of menopause are quite a bit to handle but many of them gradually present themselves as a way to ease into the transition.  These signs can also include mood swings, fatigue, sleeping problems and even changes in your body like not being able to lose weight as easily as you once could.

The actual event itself will likely come with little fanfare as you have been experiencing the early signs of menopause for years. You are in true menopause when you have not had a period for at least one year. Of course, those symptoms will likely continue for a while longer past the perimenopausal stage. The real kick in the pants comes with the fact that you can still get pregnant while still exhibiting the early signs of menopause. As long as you are still having periods, that means you are still ovulating and thereby there is always a small chance of pregnancy.

 

To get more info on menopause go to Menopause and Weight Gain

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