The Early Signs and Symptoms of Menopause

Women in the USA usually start to show the first signs and symptoms of menopause when they reach their mid to late thirties or early forties. A woman does not fully enter into menopause and the post menopause stage until she has gone for a full year without a period. Once that has happened, then she is considered to have fully reached menopause. The average age for this to happen in the USA is around fifty-one years of age, although in developing countries that age is much younger.

The earliest signs and symptoms of menopause are an irregular period that is much lighter or much heavier in flow than the woman's normal periods have been over the course of her life. These signs signal the woman to seek advice from her doctor on how to deal with the progressing stages of menopause, although no two women are identical on how they go through the process.

Commonalities

Although no two women are the same, their bodies are going through the same sorts of changes and many require the same types of menopause relief methods, such as pain relievers, lifestyle modification and hormone therapy, just to name a few. A woman's body, around thirty-five years of age, begins to lessen its production of estrogen and progesterone in preparation for the reproduction system's shutting down. The body of the woman is no longer as fertile as it way, so it may be harder for the woman to become pregnant at this age, as well as the risk factors for pregnancy becoming greater.

The body also does not produce as many eggs that are ripe, so the ovulation is irregular also, which is a sign and symptom of menopause. In the woman's forties, these symptoms become more pronounced as the woman reaches toward her early fifties when the process is usually complete. Another sign and symptom of menopause is mood swings, which sometimes require therapeutic drugs for depression as well as hormone therapy in extreme cases. In addition, women often experience hot flashes, which cause the woman to get extremely hot all of a sudden in various situations, including sleep, so that she breaks out in a sweat and her face gets red until it passes.

Other signs and symptoms of menopause include sleeping disorders and an increase in abdominal fat. Sleeping disorders can cause exhaustion and also depression and must be monitored by a doctor. Some women also experience vaginal dryness and a decrease in sex drive, as well as the decrease in fertility. Hair thinning and loss of breast fullness can also be signs and symptoms of menopause.

The signs and symptoms of menopause can show up years before the woman actually goes through it. Many women suffer a great deal first because they cannot recognize the signs and symptoms of menopause and secondly because they don't know how to deal with it. Here are a few guidelines to help you deal with the signs and symptoms of menopause and thus, enjoy this time and change in your life as well.

Regular Checkups

Regular checkups will help you identify some signs and symptoms of menopause as soon as they occur and that is the best way to approach it as most of us have the inclination of blaming some of the symptoms on stress, job or other things happening at the same time in our life.

In order to face and deal efficiently with menopause, you have to deal first with the signs and symptoms of menopause and there are several ways to do so, which are: again, you will need to consult your doctor in order for him or her to prescribe you medication that will help rectify the hormonal imbalance you are going through at menopause, help you with your eating disorders as well as mood swings.

While drugs will help greatly with the hormonal imbalance, you still need to follow a healthy diet and also add some exercise to your daily schedule in order not to gain unexpected weight overnight. Most women at first don't realize their unusual cravings and increased appetite, and that can cause many problems in the future to your health if not addressed right away as it occurs.