|
Common Symptoms of Menopause |
PDF
|
| Print |
|
E-mail
|
Menopause is a natural process in the life of women. It typically occurs
in the early to mid-forties, and, unfortunately, it is accompanied by a
number of symptoms that can cause women much concern. Learning to identify
those symptoms for what they are, may be your first step to learning to
deal with this new life stage.
One of the first and most noticeable
symptoms of menopause is irregular or missed periods. At the onset of
menopause, the body suffers a great decrease in estrogen and progesterone
levels, stimulated by the ovaries. The ovaries are no longer signaled to
release the egg, meaning that a woman will notice a disruption in her
normal monthly cycle. Following puberty, the only occurring menstrual
cycle disruptions are as a result of disease or other ovarian or pregnancy
problems. However, once menopause begins, it is not uncommon to experience
serious menstrual disruptions.
Another common symptom of menopause
is the hot flash. Greater than seventy five percent of menopausal women
suffer hot flashes, in varying degrees of severity. A hot flash makes a
woman feel flush. For example, she may be in a room that is only seventy
degrees, but she will feel the overwhelming sense that someone has turned
the temperature up to ninety degrees. In an instant, she may feel as if
the temperature has decreased by fifty degrees, and she is suddenly
shivering. Hot flashes can be accompanied by other symptoms like
faintness, dizziness, and heart palpitations. Many hot flashes can be up
to ten minutes in duration, but not for all women all of the time. In some
cases some women simply acknowledge them and keep functioning as if
nothing is wrong. Extreme hormone fluctuations cause the hypothalamus to
incorrectly regulate a woman's body temperature. Factors such as poor diet
and elevated stress levels have been shown to affect the entire process in
a negative manner. Most women will experience hot flashes for five to six
years, though there are women who endure them for the ten to twenty years
prior to and following menopause.
Hot flashes commonly lead to
another prevalent menopause symptom: insomnia. Because hot flashes can
occur during the day as well as the night, many women will find themselves
awoken drenched in their own sweat. Often they get up to change their
clothes and their sheets due to the dampness caused by the sweat. If a
woman is a light sleeper anyway, she might find it impossible to fall
asleep again. Interestingly enough, though, night sweats are not the only
cause of sleep disturbances. The blood hormone levels also affect the
quality of a woman's sleep. Adjusting these hormone imbalances can
sometimes alleviate sleep difficulties.
|