Perimenopause Symptoms

It is usually after the age of 45 that most women experience the onset of menopause. Menopause means cessation of menstrual discharge, in other words, the indication that the body is not fertile enough to bear children anymore. The woman stops producing eggs like she has been doing for some decades, and can no longer have children. For some it is a time of great relief, others look upon it with some kind of apprehension, especially if they identify their fertility as a major part of life. The body starts preparing for this enormous change in the woman’s chemistry for some time before the actual menopause takes place, and this period is called perimenopause – or the boundary of menopause.

The period of perimenopause can take place up to 10 years before the onset of actual menopause, and there have been cases of women in their thirties starting to experience the symptoms of menopause. While most women are not conditioned to gracefully accept the cessation of their period of fertility, it is a fact that in many cases, perimenopause symptoms start appearing to a woman long before the age of 51, the average age of menopause. This period shows certain changes in the woman’s body, and they are both physical as well as emotional. In most cases, they are ruled by chemicals and the rapid changes in hormones in the body.

The behind the scene symptoms of Perimenopause

So what happens to the body that brings on the symptoms of perimenopause? The actual cause of perimenopause is the fall in functioning of the ovaries. Since the egg is not being released on a regular basis, the menstrual flow may become irregular extremely heavy or even stop altogether for a few months. Wildly fluctuating hormones create mood swings and take their toll on almost every sphere of a woman’s life. There may be times when her system is flooded with estrogen and the symptoms may be quite similar to PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome). Then there may be other times when progesterone is high and then the body reacts differently. Hot flashes or sleeplessness is a major outcome of this condition. The difficult thing here is that every woman’s list of troubles is different, there are no set patterns and the symptoms of perimenopause follow no rulebook, it seems to be the unkindest cut of all, in the way nature has treated women.

The behind the scenes activities that are going on in a woman’s body at this time run on the lines of a train chugging to a halt. The ovaries produce and release eggs erratically, and definitely less regularly. The menstrual cycle, whose main purpose is to carry the egg to the uterus and then out, also becomes irregular. Likewise, when there are no eggs released, chemicals that may encourage conception will also decrease, thus bringing down fertility.

Symptoms of Perimenopause

The activities mentioned above trigger some specific reactions in the organs. For one, the decrease in estrogen or progesterone levels may create havoc with the skin. Suddenly a woman may find her skin to be dry and itchy. Some women experience months of no bleeding while some others may go through frighteningly heavy bleeding. They also induce hot flashes and the most common symptom of all, the crabbiness which science has now thankfully given a name-Pre-menstrual syndrome. Wild changes in mood and depression can be expected. There is a sudden and unexplainable swing in sexual desire, one day the woman is just totally disinterested, another, the desire goes up. Vaginal dryness may occur which can also serve to bring down sexual desire, or cause painful intercourse. The woman may face difficulty in concentrating and find it difficult to sleep. While sleeping or even during the daytime there may be excessive sweating and the need for frequent urination. There may be pains and even swelling in joints and muscles, and headaches. As estrogen levels fall, you may start losing bone mass faster than your calcium intake can replace it, and there is a decided risk of osteoporosis.

With such a long list of symptoms, it is possible that one, few or almost all of them may mimic some more serious disorders like thyroid malfunction. Therefore, whenever a woman feels these symptoms coming up, it is a safe bet to see a doctor to rule out anything more serious. After all, though terribly difficult to live through, perimenopausal symptoms are not as bad as a thyroid problem. In fact the changing ratio of the ratio of estrogen to progesterone may bring different reactions. If a woman follows a diet that is high in carbohydrates and low in protein, the tilt is towards estrogen, she tends to put on weight around her abdomen and hips, that is called the middle age spread. A tip towards estrogen may also increase the low-density cholesterol, which ultimately contributes to the risk of heart diseases in middle-aged women.

A good idea may be to maintain a good protein and calcium rich diet to reduce the hormonal imbalance, thus taking care of some of the symptoms. The good news is that these symptoms, at least most of them, can be dealt with by simple lifestyle changes, good nutrition, stress management and regular exercise can take care of the hormonal tip, and women need not really suffer.

These symptoms are very common but there are some other distress signals that women undergoing perimenopause face. In some, there are short-term memory lapses, while some find a difficulty in focusing their thoughts. In most cases, these effects of hormone imbalance are just put down as over reaction to daily stress on the woman’s part, or that she is getting senile…or worse, old. This may be nature’s way to telling a woman to stop, take a step back and focus on the changing needs of her body. Maybe after years of being a nurturer, and caretaker, she needs to take care of her own weary body.