It's Getting HOT In Here

If you’re a woman and you live long enough, menopause is going to happen. Read on for some helpful information to guide you through the "Change of Life.”

Some stages may overlap, which adds to the confusion of a clear definition:

Pre-menopause:

Time before menopause (may include months or years) that may include changes in menstrual cycle. Menopausal symptoms may begin.

Peri-menopause:

Time around menopause as a woman’s body moves toward the cessation of the menstrual cycle. Also referred to as “menopausal transition.” Estrogen levels rise and fall. Irregularities in menstrual cycle occur. Menopausal symptoms continue. Typically starts in the mid-40s, but some changes may occur as early as the mid-30s. (Peri-menopause includes both pre-menopause and early menopause.)

Menopause:

Peri-menopause ends and permanent infertility occurs. You’ve officially reached menopause after going 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle. Menopausal symptoms may continue into the late 50s and early 60s—or longer, for some women.

The it’s been described as the “change” and a “second spring.” How a woman thinks of this inevitable phase of life depends on how it unfolds for her. Some breeze through, others have a few troubling but not alarming issues, while still others struggle with debilitating symptoms that can be both confusing and frustrating. ofmenopause is 51.6.

Covering in a single article a topic that many books have been written about is impossible. When I was given this assignment, I simply set out to write the article I wish I’d read myself before menopause.

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Theaverage age of menopause is 51.6—although it can occur much earlier for some women and later for others. Despite the exact time that menopause takes place, the physical changes are universal and include:

COMPLETE CESSATION OF MONTHLY PERIODS

REDUCTION AND ALMOST COMPLETE CESSATION OF THE MANUFACTURING OF ESTROGEN AND PROGESTERONE

CHANGES IN THE GENITALS AND BLADDER

BRITTLE BONES

SKIN CHANGES

“The changes are physical, while the symptoms are what you feel. For example, upon examination, I might notice thinning of the skin on the vulva or a pale color to the vaginal mucosa, which are physical changes, while the patient may be experiencing discomfort with intercourse, which is a symptom,” explains Owen Montgomery, M.D., FACOG, NCMP, chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia.

Among the most common symptoms are hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. The majority of symptoms for most women occur in their 50s, decline in their 60s, and are, for the most part, done by their 70s. Some women experience multiple symptoms, while others make it through “the change” with few symptoms.

Hot flashes

Night

All of the following have been linked to menopause:

VaginalIrregularsweatsperiods

Itchinessdryness

Vulnerability to urinary and/ or vaginal infections

Fatigue

Decreased libido

Mood

TroubleDepression/anxietyswings/irritability

Dizzinesssleeping

Heart palpitations

Hair loss/thinning