|
The Symptoms of Menopause
By
Kathryn Whittaker
Overall, medical professionals agree that there are at
least 37 indicators of menopause, ranging from the mild
and easy-to-overlook, to the more dramatic and
potentially disruptive to your lifestyle. While the
average age of onset for menopause is between 50 and 52,
bear in mind that most women start experiencing the
symptoms several years beforehand. Here is brief
information about the more common symptoms, followed by
a list of the remaining ones. When you read this, don’t
be worried. Every one is merely a sign that your body is
functioning like a normal woman’s body should!
1. Hot or cold flushes:
Many women report having hot of cold flushes, as well as
feelings of associated clamminess or sweatiness. Indeed
the hot flush has become one of the more ‘stereotypical’
signs of menopause. Both hot and cold flushes reflect a
change in your body’s internal thermostat, a factor that
is regulated by the hypothalamus. During menopause, less
estrogen is produced by the ovaries. The hypothalamus
detects this drop in estrogen levels, and responds by
altering your body’s temperature hence causing these
otherwise unexplained feelings of hotness or coldness.
2. Periods of rapid or irregular heart rate:
This is one of the lesser-known and more frightening
symptoms of menopause. In fact, some women say they feel
as if they are having heart failure, palpitations, or a
panic attack. Despite research into this matter, the
medical community has no clear answer as to why heart
arrhythmia occurs in some menopausal women. It often
begins during the lead-up to menopause proper (during
the “peri-menopause” phase) and naturally it causes
concern. It is important to report this symptom to your
physician to eliminate other, potentially more serious
causes.
3. Moodiness, ill temper and feelings of
irritability:
See-sawing emotions can make menopausal women feel as if
they are on a rollercoaster they can’t control. Like
pre-menstrual-syndrome, feelings of irritability or
moodiness during menopause are very common and easily
explained. They are caused by natural hormonal
fluctuations. Most women learn to cope with mood swings
by doing regular exercise, or performing relaxation
techniques such as meditation, and yoga.
4. Becoming easily upset and teary:
Because their hormones are changing so dramatically,
menopausal women can also find they become teary and
emotional at the drop of a hat, and sometimes for no
reason at all. Again, dealing with unpredictable mood
swings isn’t easy but by learning coping mechanisms,
such as breathing exercises and relaxation techniques,
you can start to lessen the impact.
5. Disrupted or disordered sleeping patterns:
For various reasons, menopausal women can often develop
calcium deficiencies. Because calcium acts as a sedative
on the human body, this deficiency can lead to
restlessness, an inability to fall to sleep, as well as
poor sleeping patterns throughout the night. Naturally,
this can be extremely frustrating and tiring for women.
Not surprising, a lack of quality sleep can also
compound other problems such as feeling emotional or
experiencing moodiness. The answer for many women is a
calcium supplement, as well as engaging in gentle
relaxation exercises to help them better sleep.
6. Unusual or irregular menstrual cycles, including
lighter or heavier bleeding:
Since menopause is the cessation of menstruation, it
seems self-evident that women would experience changes
to their menstrual cycle, finally culminating in a
failure to menstruate at all. What women might not know
is that disturbances to their periods can occur well
before menopause begins. Indeed some women report
unusually long or short periods, different bleeding
patterns, as well as skipped periods well before
menopause takes place.
7. Decrease or loss of libido:
With menopause comes a decrease in hormonal levels,
including a drop in estrogen levels. This can cause a
reduction in libido or lowered interest in sex. That
said, some research points out that although many
menopausal women report having a lower libido, their
level of sexual activity nevertheless remains steady,
suggesting the relationship between normal menopausal
hormonal changes and libido is a complex one.
8. Vaginal dryness:
As mentioned earlier, menopause involves a reduction in
estrogen. Estrogen is the so-called “female” hormone,
which amongst other things, is responsible for
maintaining healthy, supple vaginal tissue and
lubrication. When estrogen drops, as it does during
menopause, this leads to vaginal dryness. An unfortunate
consequence can be painful sexual intercourse.
9. Gastrointestinal problems, such as nausea,
indigestion, gas and bloating:
Many women aren’t aware that balanced hormones help keep
their gastrointestinal tract functioning normally.
Indeed, it’s not until there is an imbalance (such as
there is during menopause) that they come to realize how
important hormones are to digestion. For instance,
estrogen is a stimulant for the gastrointestinal tract,
and therefore the drop in estrogen levels can cause any
number of symptoms, such as gas, constipation, diarrhea
and indigestion. Likewise changes to progesterone levels
during menopause can cause disruptions to your usual
bowel patterns. Menopause also places pressure on your
liver, leaving it less energy to do its usual cleansing
duties.
Other symptoms of menopause include:
10. Anxiety
11. Morbid thoughts and feelings of dread and
apprehension
12. Mental vagueness and inability to concentrate
13. Memory loss
14. Incontinence and “frequency” of urination
15. Unusual sensation on one’s skin, such as phantom
itches, and crawling skin
16. Sore joints
17. Muscle tension and soreness
18. Tender breasts and hypersensitive nipples
19. Headaches and migraines
21. Feeling bloated
22. Depression
23. Changes to, or worsening of, existing health
problems
24. Exacerbation of allergies
25. Weight gain and metabolic imbalances
26. Thinning or loss of hair on the head
27. Increase in facial hair
28. Giddiness, loss of balance and light-headedness
29. Strange or unpleasant body odors
30. Increased perspiration
31. Poor circulation, tingling sensation in limbs and
extremities
32. Sensitive and/or bleeding gums
33. Gingivitis
34. “Burning Mouth Syndrome” or the sensation of one’s
tongue, or mouth burning as well as strange taste in the
mouth
35. Osteoporosis
36. Tinnitus (ie. Ringing or strange noises in the ears)
37. Lethargy
Not all women will experience everything on this list or
may go through a combination of several. The secret to
getting through menopause is to remember that each
symptom is normal and will eventually pass.
Kathryn Whittaker has an interest in Menopause topics. For further information on Menopause please visit http://www.natural-menopause-relief-secrets.com/menopause.html or http://natural-menopause-relief-secrets.com/blog/2006/08/11/the-symptoms-of-menopause/
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathryn_Whittaker
|
