In my previous article on perimenopause I gave an introduction of what it is and how it could affect you. In this follow up article, I will look more closely as to what your symptoms may be.
As discussed perimenopause, is a transition phase before menopause. Many women who are experiencing symptoms find it unsettling to associate those symptoms with menopause because they don’t think that they are old enough for menopause.
They may be right. Menopause is the cessation of menstruation, and these women haven’t stopped having their period yet, although it could be getting sort of erratic. Perimenopause begins when periods start to become irregular on a regular basis (now that’s a conundrum). This stage may continue for years, even 10 years or more. During this time, there are other symptoms that indicate perimenopause is taking place.
Symptoms of Perimenopause
Perimenopause can begin as early as the mid-30s and last until the mid to late 50s depending on family history and other factors. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you may have reached this phase of your life.
- Irregular menstrual periods
- Mood swings
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Vaginal dryness
- Decreased sex drive
- Headaches
- Bone loss
- Decreased fertility
- High cholesterol
- Weight gain (especially around the waist)
- Fatigue
- Heart palpitations
- Difficulty sleeping
- Urinary incontinence or urgency
Yes, that’s quite a long list. Occurring alone, any one of these symptoms could be a sign of another condition. Together, however, they often bring perimenopause to mind.
Diagnosis
There is no definitive diagnostic test for perimenopause. Your doctor will take down your medical history as well as the symptoms that have brought you to the office. Your doctor will ask a series of questions to get a better idea of what’s going on; the questions may follow these lines:
- How long have you had these symptoms?
- How old are you?
- How old was your mother or grandmother when they began menopause?
- Are you still having menstrual periods?
- How have your menstrual periods changed?
Knowing the answers to these questions and notating other issues that have been bothering you will make it easier for your doctor to come up with an idea of where you are in the perimenopause and menopause schedule.
Will you be affected?
Symptoms greatly vary for many women. Some experience this period as extremely hard, while others breeze through it. However, if you have any of the above symptoms and it is impacting your life you may want to consult your doctor about it. There are quite a few things you can do to ease symptoms.
From an anti-aging point of view, many women also feel that they want to avoid many of the side effects of peri menopause and menopause (like loss of libido, weight gain, bone loss etc.). Although you may feel that these symptoms are ‘normal’ and part of aging, please consider that we live a whole lot longer now than we used to. Taking steps like taking additional supplements, hormone balancing and others could make a big difference. More on this in subsequent articles.
If you are interested, here is what Susanne Somers says about menopause and aging.
All the best,
P.S. If (peri)menopause is getting you down you can consider this highly recommended book by Staness Jonekos The Menopause Makeover: The Ultimate Guide to Taking Control of Your Health and Beauty During Menopause
