Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Premenopause Symptoms Explained

Menopause is a process in the normal development of women. Many women go through this phase when they reach their late 40s or early 50s.

Premenopause affects almost 70 percent of all women today. Sometimes women may not realise what is going on with them when they are going through menopause. It is very important that women are informed that their symptoms may be related to menopause. These symptoms include night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, vaginal itching, mood swings, insomnia or other sleep disturbances, poor memory, and general itching of the body. Many women begin to experience these symptoms for menopause while they continue to have their monthly cycle. The skin can become thin during menopause and this may be a cause for bother. This is a problem because skin will begin to lose its elasticity. Women may also find that they begin to have very oily skin as well. At this point, fine lines are more noticeable as well. Women may also experience weight gain as a premenopausal symptom. The body's natural metabolism begins to decrease and slow down and as a result weight is gained, sometimes at a rapid speed. The "middle-age spread" is a term that is often given to women who experience menopausal weight gain. Often women gain weight in their mid section, and it is very hard to lose the extra weight. In addition, some women may experience balding or hair thinning at this stage. Some women may develop unwanted facial hair. Other women report a weird feeling on their skin known as formication. There can be a sensation of crawling spiders or bugs on the skin. This can be a very unpleasant feeling.

Not only do women experience physical symptoms related to premenopause, there are also many emotional symptoms as well. With many stressful symptoms menopause can really take a toll on your mental health. It is very common for women to experience extreme depression when they are in this stage. Women become worried with their new appearance that just showed up so quickly. Self confidence may be lost in some women. This can cause extreme anger for some who do not understand the change. Some women may become rather anxious and avoid going out in public. With anxiety, some experience dizziness and even fatigue. Stress levels are drastically increased and many women use medications to control their stress and emotions.

So what exactly causes symptoms of the menopause? Estrogen loss is noted to be a primary cause of menopausal symptoms. Some women may report a reduced libido at this time as well. Another cause of these symptoms is FSH. Follicle Stimulating Hormone FSH causes the growth and development of eggs during a woman's menstrual cycle. When women are approaching later years in life, the woman's egg becomes far more resistant to the FSH hormone. Because of this, the ovaries of the woman do not produce as much estrogen that is needed. Basically, the slowing production of estrogen is primarily related to when a woman starts premenopausal symptoms. Any of the above symptoms should be reported to a physician. There is a wide variety of treatments that are used to regulate the hormones in the body. Estrogen therapy treatments, and other non hormonal treatments are often used to treat symptoms. It is important to have all symptoms evaluated by a physician so that the best treatment is recommended. Not all of these symptoms are strictly menopausal, they could indicate other conditions as well. With proper treatment from the physician, a woman can live a normal life without the bothersome symptoms of this natural part of life that all women will experience.

Faye Finlay has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Health Sciences and works as a Health Researcher. Her main area of interest is in Women's Health. For more information on the symptoms of the menopause, please visit her website at http://www.thesymptomsofthemenopause.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Faye_Finlay

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