Pre Menopause Symptoms: You Need To Make Yourself Familiar With Them

Pre menopause is often referred to as a transition stage in women's lives which serves as a signal that they are already approaching the stage of menopause. Menopause is known as the time when menstruation ceases and serves as the end of the reproductive phase of women. In general, menopause doesn't start abruptly. Instead, the body prepares itself for this stage for a certain period of time when women experience different physical and psychological changes. These are referred to as pre menopause symptoms.

The first set of pre menopause symptoms can happen as early as 10 to 15 years before the actual stage of menopause. However, these menopause symptoms are generally manifested by women when they reach their 40s. Even though the average age as to when final menopause happens is 51, a lot of women can experience their last period even when they're already in their 40s.

Let's take a look at the different pre menopause signs and symptoms. Pre menopause is characterized by a gradual slow down of the reproductive cycle as well as hormonal changes. The ovaries start to produce lesser amounts of estrogen and progesterone. Because of these changes, women suffer from different mental, emotional, physical changes. Among all of the changes that women encounter, irregular menstrual cycles would be the most important one. Their menstrual cycles can become shorter and more frequent or they can become longer and less frequent. In addition, they can be characterized by light or heavy bleeding. Overall, a lot of different irregularities can be observed in women's menstrual cycles because of skipped ovulation.

Other physical symptoms of pre menopause include vaginal dryness, hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain especially around the hips and abdomen, breast tenderness, hair loss, joint pains, headaches, water retention, palpitations, increased frequency of UTIs, decreased sexual drive, and osteoporosis. In addition, the hormonal changes can also cause irritability, mood disorders, anxiety, depression, and forgetfulness in some women. Among the long list of different pre menopause symptoms, insomnia is considered as the most uncomfortable one. A woman suffering from this, can find it really hard to get enough hours of sleep at night. Moreover, she can also feel that she's losing the ability to handle stress and anxiety sufficiently. However, not all women will experience all of the symptoms of pre menopause. The severity of the symptoms will also vary from one woman to another, which means that the phase may not be difficult and uncomfortable for all women.

Even though menopause is a normal phase in women's lives, it's possible to treat the symptoms that it produces in order to prevent serious physical and mental stress. The most important thing that women can do is observe a healthy lifestyle. Eating the right kinds of food and doing regular exercise can help a lot in lessening the severity of different symptoms. Fruits, vegetables, cereals, whole grains, and low fat dairy products should be included in one's diet. Intake of foods rich in sugar and fats should be lessened.