Menopause Signs & Symptoms

The word "menopause" originates from the two Greek words that mean month and
terminate. If it is translated directly, menopause means "the end of the
monthlies"

Most women dread the thought of going through menopause, and as for their
husbands, they dread it even more! This is a time in a woman's life that reminds
her of when she was a girl and first got her period, it's almost the same
feeling, except when you get menopause you know that you are getting older! But
it has to happen some time or the other; you will get it whether you like it or
not, and besides, you should be proud to be a woman!

If you are wondering when you are going to experience menopause, the most common
age to get it is 51, even though it can occur anytime during your thirties to
your fifties. You might also be able to determine when you are likely to
experience it by knowing how old your mother was when she went through it, it
might not always be the same, but that's just to give you an idea.

When To Expect The Menopause Signs Symptoms

Menopause signs symptoms can occur anytime when you are reaching the age of 51,
but it can occur earlier, if this is the case, it will be called early menopause
signs symptoms. This is nothing to worry about and you should just be aware of
the fact that you will be hitting that stage soon and you should mentally
prepare yourself for it. Here are a few of the changes one might experience that
suggests menopause

Signs and Symptoms

· Sudden changes in your menstrual cycle, your periods may become heavier or
lighter than normal or you may just experience irregular periods that you
haven't had before.

· Unexplainable weight gain, especially around the waist.

· Disturbed sleeping patterns that you are not used to or have not experienced
before.

· Insufficient vaginal lubrication

· Night sweats accompanied by hot flushes

· Unusual mood swings

· Depression for no apparent reason

· Nervousness

What Else To Expect

It is likely that you may experience;

· Incontinence - although, if you experience this, you can perform multiple
kegel exercises that might help to strengthen the muscles of your vagina and it
can also help you with urinary incontinence.

· A sudden change in your sex drive - this can mean a decrease in your sex drive
or an increase.

· An unusual change in short-term memory - this you should notice immediately,
but there isn't really anything you can do about it, it is one of those things
life throws at you that you have to deal with for a short period of time.

Many women will experience perimenopausal symptoms for a few years before their
period comes to an end. In this case, they are most likely to experience hot
flushes and night sweats. The hot flushes normally take place for about a year
before termination of the menstrual cycle. It might not be a big deal but it can
lead to sleepless nights, which can then result in numerous negative effects.

You will know when you are experiencing hot flushes as you will feel a sudden
warmness that normally starts in your chest and then goes up to your head and
you may break out in a sweat. They can last for anything up to an hour, but some
may only last for a few seconds.

After Menopause

Women tend to be scared, worried and anxious when it comes to menopause and
having to go through it after they have experienced the menopause signs
symptoms. This is understandable though once they get there, it is a known fact
that they will stop their menstruating cycle and will not be able to conceive
children thereafter.

Some women might feel this, while others may feel relieved and happy that they
have finally reached this peak in their lives. You will not be bound to periods
anymore, as many women hate this time of the month even though they understand
why it is important to have it, and you will also be able to let go of the
thought of becoming pregnant after you have experienced menopause; which means
that you might experience a more pure sex life as the thought of pregnancy will
be clear of your mind.

Dawn M. Olsen is an Advocate for Better Women's Health through Education, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Enthusiast and the Author of "Menopause A to Z - A Definitive Guide to Modern Menopause available online now at a http://www.menopauseatoz.com/ Find out more about how to deal with menopause symptoms.

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Early Signs of Menopause

Menopause and the early signs of menopause is just a part of life. The
symptoms that follow are physiological changes that occur in the lives of every
woman.

Menopause is a normal and natural body change in a woman, and this may halt the
menstrual cycles each month. Menopause occurs in a woman, as she grows older. A
much more simple way of putting this is "the change" in the life of a woman.

The early signs of menopause are clues to the commencement of the symptoms of
menopause. It generally occurs in women aged between 40-50 years. If a woman
younger than 40 experiences the symptoms of menopause, this is usually referred
to as a sequence of a future event.

Some of the early signs of menopause, or perimenopause and premenopause may be:

· Mood swings

· Depression

· Chronic fatigue

· Headaches

· Monthly cycle changes

· Body hair change

· Pain, aches and cramps

· Yeast infections

· Blood sugar fluctuations

· Water retention

· Night sweats

· Sleep pattern changes

· PMS increase

· Love life interest loss

· Vaginal lubrication decreases

Below are a few early signs of menopause, and with it are the reasons behind
them.

Monthly Cycle Changes

These cycles are determined by the ovaries of a woman. Hormones allow women,
during ovulation, to produce the egg. Menopause modifies a women's cycle,
resulting in hormonal imbalance. However, this can also occur in a woman, way
before menopause, and the reason could be that the woman has poor nutrition and
diet.

PMS Increase

This occurs in every woman at the start of puberty. During menopause, the PMS
could either increase in intensity or in frequency. PMS is a very common form of
imbalance, and intensifies during menopause. Women, who experience PMS very
early in life, will experience severe effects before they enter the stage of
menopause.

Depression and Mood Swings

This is not something that is just in your mind. Research has shown that
hormonal changes affect the moods of people. There are hormones that can make a
person passive while others make them more relaxed. Some hormones can also make
a person energetic and active. When a person enters menopause, the hormonal
imbalance affect the emotional state of the person, and this can cause
aggressive behavior, mood swings and depression.

Hot Flashes

Does the lack of estrogen in a woman's body during menopause result in hot
flashes? If it is true then hot flashes should continue from the start of
menopause to the end of a woman's life. But this does not happen. The truth
behind hot flashes is that, it is the result of the woman's body trying to deal
with hormonal imbalance by boosting the metabolism. In addition, a woman's
adrenal glands get the "wrong" signals because of these imbalances and this
comes down to a lot of unwanted energy being pushed out.

Pains, aches and chronic fatigue

Aches, pains and chronic fatigue are symptoms that result from other warning
signs. If you suffer from a lack of sleep and depression, these could lead to
pains, aches and the result is low energy. Older women try crash diets in order
to stay looking young and slim. However, it has been proved that crash diets can
drop energy levels, because they lack nutrition.

Vaginal lubrication decreases

When a woman's estrogen levels drop during menopause, this causes a drying and
thinning of the vaginal walls, leading to less lubrication. Intercourse becomes
painful and this could result in this activity coming to a stop. There is also a
chance that the cause could be that the woman does not consume enough water, and
the simplest solution to this problem could be increasing the water intake.

Love life interest loss

This usually is the result of a lack of estrogen. Hormones are the fuel that is
needed for sexual intercourse. With hormonal imbalance, most women lack the
desire to have intercourse. This coupled with depression- that comes with
menopause- can leave the most beautiful woman feeling unattractive and old.

Dawn M. Olsen is an Advocate for Better Women's Health through Education, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Enthusiast and the Author of "Menopause A to Z - A Definitive Guide to Modern Menopause available online now at a http://www.menopauseatoz.com/ Find out more about how to deal with early menopause symptoms.

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Signs And Symptoms Of Menopause

Have you been feeling tired, suffering from headaches, noticing that you get irritated at the slightest thing, and just do not feel like the happy go lucky person you normally are? If you are a woman in her late forties or early fifties, chances are you are starting into the years of menopause, otherwise known as the "change of life". At first, you may just think that other people are being annoying and that life has suddenly become hard but as the symptoms continue and often become worse, you start to put two and two, together. Interestingly, most women will be into menopause for years before they "get it".

Part of the problem is that your signs and symptoms of menopause could very well be different from your sister's, your mother's, and your best friend's. That means as you begin to compare what you are feeling with other people, it never quite matches so you just assume like is being difficult. In many cases, a family member, friend, or perhaps a doctor will make a comment about menopause. Then when you begin learning about the various symptoms, it all makes perfect sense.

The key is that if you do notice things changing, pay attention. While chances are good that what you are and will be, experiencing is menopause but on rare occasion, something else could be taking place. Therefore, you might consider keeping a journal and simply paying attention to your body. As an example, thyroid disease and certain types of cancers can produce similar symptoms to that of menopause so again, you should probably start by talking to your doctor to rule out anything other than the change of life.

Now, not to make things confusing, but when you first start into menopause, you will actually be going into a stage known as perimenopause, or the beginning. You see, actual menopause does not start until you have been without a menstrual cycle for a full 12 months. Therefore, when we talk about signs and symptoms of menopause, we are actually referring to perimeopause. Regardless, hormones in the body are changing, typically fluctuating widely. When this occurs, you will begin a journey that is nothing less than adventurous!

One of the first and most complained about signs and symptoms of menopause that you can expect are hot flashes. With this, you might be sitting down watching your favorite television show and suddenly feel as if the house caught on fire. From your chest all the way up to the top of your head, you feel as if someone just lit a match - that is a hot flash. Unfortunately, hot flashes come on suddenly and without warning. To make matters worse, while most will last between 15 and 45 seconds, some women experience hot flashes for five minutes! In most cases, the first time this happens, you are a little unnerved.

Again, you will not go into full-fledged menopause until you go without a menstrual cycle for 12 consecutive cycles. However, when you head into perimenopause, you will begin to notice changes such as a lighter or heavier period, less or more frequency, or the period lasting much longer or shorter than normal. These too are completely expected when you start into the change of life but again, we cannot stress enough that if you have any kind of pain, blood clots, fever, or suspect something else, pay attention and talk to your doctor to make sure nothing more serious is going on with your body.

The second most complained sign and symptom of menopause is the night sweats. With this, you would wake up during the night with your clothing and sheets literally soaked with perspiration. Usually, the cold and clammy feeling of everything being wet wakes you up although you might experience the hot flashes too, doubling your fun. Just as with the other signs and symptoms of menopause, this is completely, harmless but if you were to notice fever, pain, or anything else that seems out of place, notify your doctor.

While most women will tell you that the hot flashes and night sweats are by far the worst signs and symptoms of menopause, husbands, boyfriends, family members, and friends would probably disagree, saying the mood swings are the worst. Typically, you would fid that the little things just get under your skin whereas before, they were not big deal. You may also find that instead of just crying at "chick flicks", you cry over everything, toast that got too dark, a bad hair day, sitting in traffic, and so on. In addition, mood swings means feeling anxious, perhaps something that you never faced before.

Although this time of your life will involve many different signs and symptoms of menopause, you need to feel confident knowing this is simply a part of aging and that all women go through this. Additionally, you may be one of the lucky ones that go through menopause with little to no problem but if not then you have a huge range of options for dealing with the signs and symptoms of menopause, ranging from prescription drugs to natural remedies. Just remember, this phase of your life will not last forever and by understanding, the changes going on in your body and looking at all your options for relief, you can and will successfully get through this a better and wiser woman.

Dawn M. Olsen is an Advocate for Better Women?s Health through Education, Recipe Developer, Soy Food Enthusiast and the Author of "Menopause A to Z - A Definitive Guide to Modern Menopause available online now at a http://www.menopauseatoz.com/ Find out more about how to deal with menopause symptoms.

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