11 Things Women Should Know About Menopause

Whats Menopause:

whats menopause

This is the stage they will stay in for the rest of their life. But if symptoms are severe or bothersome, it’s a good navigate here idea to talk with a doctor about treatment. In some cases, individuals may experience panic attacks during menopause.

whats menopause

Menopause that occurs before the age of 45 is called early menopause. Menopause that occurs at 40 or younger is considered premature reference menopause. When there’s no medical or surgical cause for premature menopause, it’s called primary ovarian insufficiency.

About 8 in 10 women going through the change have hot flashes and night sweats, which can affect their quality of life. The new study found that these changes limit many women’s working lives. As Midi’s Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Goldman brings her decades of experience as an OB/GYN to all patient care, but survivors of breast cancer and at-risk women are a special focus for her.

This stage can also come with symptoms, which may last for several years ‘ sometimes up to 14 years. If you aren’t having any symptoms, a blood test can determine if your ovaries are still functioning. This test can be used to help doctors find out your estrogen level, which may be beneficial if you’re at risk of osteoporosis. That’s because knowing your estrogen status may be important in determining whether you need a bone density assessment.

Some people can experience sensations that resemble electric shocks during perimenopause and menopause. It is not clear what causes this, but it may be the result of changing hormone levels in the nervous system. Scientists are not sure why they occur, but it appears that falling estrogen levels can affect the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature. The years leading up to menopause are called the menopausal transition, or perimenopause.

Osteopenia is a disease where bone density is decreased and this can be a precursor to later osteoporosis. There are several ways your healthcare provider can diagnose menopause. The first is discussing your menstrual cycle over the last year. Menopause is unique in that your provider diagnoses it after it occurs.

The pattern will be another clue to your doctor that you’re perimenopausal or nearing menopause. ‘Eventually, as you get closer and closer to menopause, you start skipping periods for months at a time,’ Dr. Batur notes. Before menopause comes perimenopause, which you can think about as the runway to the big event. Perimenopause can start as early as a decade before menopause, though the average amount of time spent in perimenopause is four years. During these years, menopause symptoms usually taper off, but other health issues may begin, such as osteoporosis.

Women who undergo early menopause naturally may face a higher risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. Menopause is the time when a woman’s menstrual periods stop for good, and she can no longer get pregnant. You’ve reached menopause when you haven’t had a period for one year. But the transition to menopause affects every woman differently. Individuals should also consider speaking with a healthcare professional if their menopause symptoms are causing distress or disruption to their lives. If they are having difficulty sleeping, finding it difficult to work, or experiencing severe mood changes, some treatments may help.

Other names for the male version of menopause are age-related low testosterone, male hypogonadism or androgen deficiency. You’ll know you’ve reached menopause when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. Contact your healthcare provider if you have any type of vaginal bleeding after menopause.

You might have memory problems, and your joints and muscles could feel stiff and achy. Researchers are exploring such changes and how they relate to hormones and growing older. She’s excited to be starting a new phase of her life as her children leave home and she has more spare time for her other interests.

It is not possible to predict when an individual woman will experience menopause, although there are associations between the age at menopause and certain demographic, health, and genetic factors. In post-menopausal women, however, any unscheduled vaginal bleeding is of concern and requires an appropriate investigation to rule out the possibility of malignant diseases. The loss of estrogen linked with menopause is tied to the following health problems that become more common as women age. As for those with a vegetarian diet, researchers found they experience menopause about a year earlier than meat eaters.

As you get older, your ovaries produce less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Without these hormones, periods become erratic for a time, and then eventually stop. Even though people experience menopause differently, certain trends in the age of onset and symptoms can provide some guidance on what you can expect as you get older. Prescription and OTC medication for vaginal dryness and sleep problems. You can try topical estrogen, lubricants, and non-estrogen prescriptions for dryness and painful sex. OTC or prescription sleep aids can help if you have trouble falling asleep.

Mood changes are unpredictable shifts in mood unrelated to life events. They can cause someone to you can try these out feel suddenly sad, weepy, or angry. Mood changes are common during perimenopause and menopause.

If your surgeon also removes your ovaries, you’ll have symptoms of menopause immediately. All of these emotional changes can happen outside of menopause, too. You’ve probably experienced some of them throughout your life.

Hot flashes between ages 60 and 65 are infrequent, but some individuals can have hot flashes often enough that they become bothersome. Researchers believe that prolonged exposure to estrogen protects the heart and bones. During your early 50s, you may be in menopause, or you may be making the final transition into this phase.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top