Preparing For A Major Life Change: The 5 Signs Of Perimenopause

Posted by: KHTS Articles in News Articles September 25, 2020 - 4:48 pm 0 971 Views

For women, the next major change that occurs to our body after the reproductive years is menopause. But before menopause itself is when our bodies undergo changes that may feel uncomfortable and unsettling. This period is called perimenopause and can last anywhere from four to eight years. It ends 12 months after your last menstrual period, which is when you’re considered to be on menopause.

Getting to know the signs and symptoms that come with perimenopause can help us understand the changes our bodies undergo. With this knowledge, we’ll be better equipped to address them.

The 5 Signs of Perimenopause

Perimenopause is when your ovaries start to decline in function, resulting in lowered levels of estrogen and other hormones. These hormonal fluctuations are what drive many of the signs and symptoms of perimenopause.

1. Hot flashes and night sweats

One of the most common symptoms that perimenopausal women experience is hot flashes. As the name suggests, hot flashes are sudden waves of heat usually accompanied by rapid heartbeat, sweating, and reddening of the skin. These often occur in the face, head, and chest areas.

Hot flashes usually last just under five minutes and are followed by chills. When these happen at night, they can cause night sweats, which can disrupt sleep and make it difficult to get enough rest.

2. Worse PMS and irregular menses

Due to the hormonal fluctuations, you may start experiencing worse premenstrual syndrome. This may include breast tenderness caused by erratic estrogen production. You may also experience headaches, food cravings, and feelings of impatience and edginess. Because the production of progesterone is also declining during this period, there’s no softening effect to balance out the edginess. Most women begin to feel better when their period starts.

Speaking of periods, because our ovaries are declining in function during this time, ovulation may become erratic. This can result in changes in the menstrual flow and in the length of time between periods. You may also experience severe cramps.

If you’re experiencing persistent changes in your cycle, you may be in the early stage of perimenopause. On the other hand, if the cycle between your menses lasts about 60 days, you may be on the last stage before menopause.

3. Mood swings

It’s estimated that around 10% to 20% of perimenopausal women experience mood symptoms. Many factors can contribute to these, like the sleep disturbances caused by nightly sweats, hormone fluctuations, life stress, and poor overall health. If you have a history of depression, you may be at risk for mood symptoms.

4. Vaginal dryness and lowered sex drive

Usually occurring in the later part of perimenopause, falling levels of estrogen produced by the body can result in our vagina losing lubrication and elasticity. This can cause irritation and itching and may even make intercourse painful. Low estrogen levels can leave you more vulnerable to infection while the loss of tissue tone can contribute to urinary incontinence. With regards to having urinary incontinence, this can be eliminated through taking Confitrol24 which can help in strengthening the tissues of your bladder.

Decreased hormone levels, which contribute to the feelings of tightness and pain during intercourse and other perimenopausal symptoms, may cause you to be less interested in sex during this time.

5. Weight gain and loss of bone density

Slower metabolism is another symptom caused by hormonal changes in our body during perimenopause. Because of this, you may find that your pants are starting to feel a little too tight. But you may also be experiencing transient weight gain due to increased fluid retention that happens during erratic estrogen production.

While we can’t completely stop the signs and symptoms that come with perimenopause, we can still reduce their severity. Switching to a healthier diet and lifestyle, doing the things that you love more often, and taking probiotics for perimenopause and menopause can help make this period of our lives more bearable.