Understanding the First Symptoms of Menopause
When a woman suspects she may be experiencing the symptoms of menopause this will usually cause her to begin some personal research. This is what I did, casually at the beginning. One of the first articles I read, in on of the many women’s magazines available today, suggested talking to your mother. I was 50 years old when I thought that I may be beginning this phase of life. My mother had passed away a few years earlier. So I was not able to have a conversation with her about this topic. Generally a mother and daughter will have very similar experiences with their menstrual cycles. For instance the age they began menstruating, the length of each cycle, cramping, headaches, and the age they begin entering the menopausal stage.
As a woman and a mom, I can give you a non-clinical or college educated medical description of some of the early menopause symptoms. I can define menopause for you in my own words. It is a women’s final menstrual period. This phase may take anywhere from one year to several years. Every woman’s experience with their period is slightly different. During the years that a woman is menstruating, her body produces estrogen and progesterone. She has a higher production of estrogen prior to each ovulation and high estrogen and progesterone levels after ovulation. These hormonal changes cause the mood swings, headaches and other adverse symptoms during the time leading up to her period or during her cycle.
Urinary problems may also be early signs of menopause but should always be checked out by a doctor to re-affirm the cause. Frequent need to urinate, development of a urinary tract infection and even leakage of urine when sneezing, coughing or exercising can also be attributed to perimenopause.
Irregular periods, of course, are early signs of menopause as well. However, because perimenopause can last years, whenever you start exhibiting signs of irregularity, you should be examined by a doctor to rule out other health issues like tumors, fibroids, cancer and more. There are many things that can cause irregular periods and should not be the “end all to end all” signs of menopause.
Diagnosis of Menopause
The early signs of menopause can help point the way to perimenopause, which mentioned early, can last for years. A doctor can perform a blood test to check hormone levels but these are not always conclusive. Therefore, you may have to take blood tests at various intervals in order to check for true hormonal fluctuations that can be early signs of menopause.
The actual event itself will likely come with little fanfare as you have been experiencing the early signs of menopause for years. You are in true menopause when you have not had a period for at least one year. Of course, those symptoms will likely continue for a while longer past the perimenopausal stage. The real kick in the pants comes with the fact that you can still get pregnant while still exhibiting the early signs of menopause. As long as you are still having periods, that means you are still ovulating and thereby there is always a small chance of pregnancy.