The symptoms of menopause are different and unique for each woman. Some women experience no signs and symptoms of menopause, while others observe many physical and emotional changes.
SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE INCLUDE:
* Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
* Irregular heart beat
* Irritability
* Mood swings, sudden tears
* Problems with sleeping at night
* Irregular periods
* Loss of libido
* Dry vagina
* Crashing tiredness
* Anxiety and/or feelings of dread and/or apprehension
* Problems with concentration, disorientation, mental confusion
* Problems with memory
* Itchy, crawly skin
* Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
* Increased tension in muscles
* Breast tenderness
* Headaches
* Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
* Bloating
* Depression
* Exacerbation of existing conditions
* Increase in allergies
* Weight gain
* Hair loss or thinning of hair
* Dizziness/light-headedness
* Changes in body odor
* Burning tongue, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
* Gum problems, increased bleeding
* Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
* Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, ‘whooshing,’ buzzing etc.
WHY DO THESE SYMPTOMS OCCUR?
HOT FLASHES
Estrogen levels decrease, blood vessels expand rapidly, the skin temperature increases.
This results in a feeling of warmth moving upward from chest to shoulders, neck and face, which leads to sweating. As the sweat evaporates from the skin, a woman may feel chilled, weak and faint, and her face may look flushed. This is a hot flash. In most cases, hot flashes last from 30 seconds to several minutes.
The occurrence and duration of hot flashes is different for each woman. You may experience them often or seldom, and they may appear either during the day or night. Some women have them and some women don’t.
SLEEP DISTURBANCES & NIGHT SWEATS
Night sweats often result from hot flashes. A woman tends to awaken soaking in sweat, followed by chills. This also leads to problems with falling back to sleep.
CHANGES IN APPEARANCE
After menopause, women often gain more weight around their waist and abdomen. Women’s breasts look less full, the hair thins and the skin wrinkles easily.
EMOTIONAL CHANGES
During menopause women suffer from mood swings, become more irritable and subject to emotional upsets. These emotional changes can often be managed by learning how to relax and decrease the level of stress.
DECREASED FERTILITY
When ovulation begins to fluctuate, a woman’s likelihood of becoming pregnant is decreasing. However, until a woman has not had a period for a year, pregnancy is still possible.
VAGINAL CHANGES
When estrogen level decrease, the tissues lining in the vagina and urethra becomes drier, thinner and less elastic. Due to it, women may also experience burning or itching, along with greater risk of infections of the urinary tract or vagina. These changes may also make sexual intercourse uncomfortable or painful.
