Menopause Symptoms

When a woman starts to enter her late forties to early fifties, she will sometime begin to go through the change of life. The initial phase of this transition is called perimenopause, which is the time when the ovaries stop producing eggs and levels of estrogen and progesterone begin to diminish. This particular phase of menopause will last anywhere from two to ten years, depending on the woman. As her menstrual cycle begins to fluctuate, it will eventually reach a point where it stops altogether. Once this cycle has stopped for 12 consecutive months, the woman is in the next phase known as menopause.

Both processes are gradual during which many different symptoms will present. During the perimenopause phase, the woman will generally go through several things that include night sweats, hot flashes, headache, joint pain, mood swings, depression, insomnia, headache, irritability, and forgetfulness, difficulty with concentration, erratic bleeding, and weight gain. As you can imagine, when the woman is going through several of these symptoms at the same time, it can be a bit overwhelming.

Keep in mind that on rare occasion, a woman will start into menopause at a very early age, sometimes as young as 30 or 35. With this, the symptoms are the same, just last longer. The perimenopause phase generally lasts from three to four years. While she will still have a period during this time, again it changes to where one month the bleeding is light and the next month the bleeding is heavy. Because she is going through all of these other symptoms, she often feels exhausted. Then, once the vaginal dryness sets in, her romantic life is also disrupted.

The post menopause time again starts after her menstrual cycle has ended completely for 12 straight months. Although some menopause symptoms will be less frequent and not as severe, she will still find that she has very little energy, is constantly dealing with mood swings and some level of depression, and hot flashes, although these do tend to fade. During this phase of the change, estrogen production has shifted from the ovaries to the fat cells within the woman’s body. Just as with perimenopause, the menopause symptoms during postmenopause are also annoying and upsetting.

Effective treatments for menopause symptoms do exist. Remember, that although menopause is a normal part of life for every woman, it does not have to be a miserable time. Just as there are many menopause symptoms there are also many remedies for relief. As an example, kava kava helps with insomnia, promoting good sleep. Black cohosh is an excellent herbal remedy for hot flashes and night sweats. The combination of vitamin E, calcium, and vitamin C helps with overall health, helping a woman to feel better and more energetic. Rather than just suffer through menopause symptoms, know there are great options that work.