Symptoms Of Menopause
Every
woman experiences menopause differently and everyone’s
signs and symptoms are likely to be unique. Some
women breeze through menopause with next to no
signs and symptoms, while other women experience
a number of 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
- Trouble sleeping through the night
- Irregular periods
- Loss of libido
- Dry vagina
- Crashing fatigue
- Anxiety and/or feelings of dread and/or apprehension
- Difficulty concentrating, disorientation,
mental confusion
- Memory lapses
- 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
As a woman’s estrogen levels drop blood
vessels tend to expand rapidly, and this causes
the skin temperature to rise.
This leads to a feeling of warmth that moves
upward from your chest to your shoulders, neck
and face, and this leads to sweating. As the sweat
evaporates from the skin, you may feel chilled,
weak and faint, and your face looks flushed. This
is a hot flash. Most hot flashes last from between
30 seconds to several minutes.
The occurrence and duration of hot flashes varies
from person to person. You may have them often
or occasionally, and they can occur any time during
the day or night. Some women have them and some
women don’t.
Sleep Disturbances & Night Sweats
Night sweats are often a result of hot flashes.
You tend to awaken soaking in sweat, followed
by chills. This also causes difficulty falling
back to sleep.
Changes In Appearance
After menopause, women tend to gain more weight
around their waist and abdomen. Women’s
breasts look less full, the hair thins and the
skin wrinkles easily.
Emotional Changes
As women go through menopause, they experience
mood swings, become more irritable and prone to
emotional upsets. These emotional changes can
often be managed by learning how to relax and
reduce stress.
Decreased Fertility
As ovulation begins to fluctuate, a woman’s
chances for becoming pregnant become less likely.
However, until a woman has not had a period for
a year, pregnancy is still a possibility.
Vaginal Changes
As a woman’s’ estrogen level declines,
the tissues lining in the vagina and urethra becomes
drier, thinner and less elastic. This also causes
women to experience burning or itching, along
with an increased risk of infections of the urinary
tract or vagina. These changes also tend to make
sexual intercourse uncomfortable or painful. |
