What is Menopause?
Menopause is a normal part of life, just like puberty. It is the time of your last period, but symptoms can begin several years before that. And these symptoms can last for months or years after. Some time around 40, you might notice that your period is different - how long it lasts, how much you bleed, or how often it happens may not be the same. Or, without warning, you might find yourself feeling very warm during the day or in the middle of the night. Changing levels of estrogen and progesterone, which are two female hormones made in your Ovaries, might lead to these symptoms.
This time of change, called perimenopause by many women and their doctors, often begins several years before your last menstrual period. It lasts for 1 year after your last period, the point in time known as menopause. A full year without a period is needed before you can say you have been “through menopause.” Postmenopause follows menopause and lasts the rest of your life.
Menopause doesn’t usually happen before you are 40, but it can happen any time from your 30s to your mid 50s or later. The average age is 51. Smoking can lead to early menopause. Some types of surgery can bring on menopause. For example, removing your Uterus (Hysterectomy) before menopause will make your periods stop, but your ovaries will still make hormones. That means you could still have symptoms of menopause like Hot flashes when your ovaries start to make less estrogen. But, when both ovaries are also removed (oophorectomy), menopause symptoms can start right away, no matter what your age is, because your body has lost its main supply of estrogen.
What Are the Signs of Menopause?
Women may have different signs or symptoms at menopause. That’s because estrogen is used by many parts of your body. So, changes in how much estrogen you have can cause assorted symptoms. But, that doesn’t mean you will have all, or even most, of them. In fact, some of the signs that happen around the time of menopause may really be a result of growing older, not changes in estrogen.
Changes in your period
This might be what you notice first. Your period may no longer be regular. How much you bleed could change. It could be lighter than normal. Or, you could have a heavier flow. Periods may be shorter or last longer. These are all normal results of changes in your reproductive system as you grow older. But, just to make sure there isn’t a problem, see your doctor if:
- your periods are coming very close together,
- you have heavy bleeding,
- you have spotting,
- your periods are lasting more than a week.
Hot flashes
These are very common around the time of menopause because they are related to changing estrogen levels. They may last a few years after menopause. A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat in the upper part or all of your body. Your face and neck become flushed. Red blotches may appear on your chest, back, and arms. Heavy sweating and cold shivering can follow. Flashes can be as mild as a light blush or severe enough to wake you from a sound sleep (called night sweats). Most hot flashes last between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.
Problems with the vagina and Bladder
Changing estrogen levels can cause your genital area to get drier and thinner. This could make sexual intercourse uncomfortable. You could have more vaginal or urinary infections. You might find it hard to hold urine long enough to get to the bathroom. Sometimes your urine might leak during Exercise, sneezing, coughing, laughing, or running.
Sex
Around the time of menopause you may find that your feelings about sex have changed. You could be less interested. Or, you could feel freer and sexier after menopause. You can stop worrying about becoming pregnant after one full year without a period. But, remember you can’t ever stop worrying about sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), such as HIV/AIDS or Gonorrhea. If you think you might be at risk for an STD, make sure your partner uses a condom each time you have sex.
Sleep problems
You might start having trouble getting a good night’s sleep. Maybe you can’t fall asleep easily, or you wake too early. Night sweats might wake you up. You might have trouble falling back to sleep if you wake during the night.
Mood changes
You might find yourself more moody, irritable, or depressed around the time of menopause. It’s not clear why this happens—is there is a connection between changes in estrogen levels and emotions or not? It’s possible that Stress, family changes such as growing children or aging parents, or always feeling tired could be causing these mood changes.
Changes in your body
You might think your body is changing. Your waist could get larger. You could lose muscle and gain fat. Your skin could get thinner. You might have memory problems, and your joints and muscles could feel stiff and achy. Are these a result of having less estrogen or just related to growing older? We don’t know.
