First Symptoms of Menopause
When a woman suspects she may be experiencing the first symptoms of menopause this will usually cause her to begin some personal research. This is what I did, casually at the beginning. One of the first articles I read, in on of the many women’s magazines available today, suggested talking to your mother. I was 50 years old when I thought that I may be beginning this phase of life. My mother had passed away a few years earlier. So I was not able to have a conversation with her about this topic. Generally a mother and daughter will have very similar experiences with their menstrual cycles. For instance the age they began menstruating, the length of each cycle, cramping, headaches, and the age they begin entering the menopausal stage.
As a woman and a mom, I can give you a non-clinical or college educated medical description of some of the first symptoms of menopause. 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.
Hot Flashes and Weight Gain
I then began to experience another one of the first symptoms of menopause, hot flashes. These are called, in clinical terms, vasomotor symptoms. These happen mostly at night. They would occasionally surprise me during the day. Being a fair skinned blond, I blush easily. I would be sitting in a business meeting and suddenly begin feeling very warm and flush. This would be quite apparent to others in the room. During the night I would wake during one of these hot flashes, my clothes damp and sweaty. The ten pounds I gained during the next few months is another one of the first symptoms of menopause.
Diagnosis of Menopause
The early signs of menopause can help point the way to perimenopause, which mentioned early, can last for years. A doctor can perform a blood test to check hormone levels but these are not always conclusive. Therefore, you may have to take blood tests at various intervals in order to check for true hormonal fluctuations that can be early signs of menopause.
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.
For more information visit First Symptoms of Menopause as well as Menopause and Weight Gain
Get Medical Advice Before Trying Out Any Treatments For Early Menopause Symptoms
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.
Among the more common early menopause symptoms are night sweats and hot flashes as too changes that cannot easily are explained such as changes to the menstrual cycle, level of blood sugar, your becoming depressed for no apparent reason and being very irritable as well.
A paradigm shift in your thinking about sex is among the first signs of menopause as well and those thoughts can go either way. Some women lose desire to have sex and it is coupled with vaginal dryness and lack of arousal. However, other women may feel sexier and enjoy it more, even with the physical symptoms like the vaginal dryness which can be aided by a number of lubricants on the market today.
Irregular periods, of course, are also 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” signals of 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.
For more information visit Natural Menopause Treatment as well as Natural Remedies for Menopause
