I need to know the signs of menopause?

Answer 1

What Are the Signs of Menopause?
Women may have different signs or symptoms at menopause. That’s because estrogen is used by many parts of your body. So, changes in how much estrogen you have can cause assorted symptoms. But, that doesn’t mean you will have all, or even most, of them. In fact, some of the signs that happen around the time of menopause may really be a result of growing older, not changes in estrogen.

Changes in your period. This might be what you notice first. Your period may no longer be regular. How much you bleed could change. It could be lighter than normal. Or, you could have a heavier flow. Periods may be shorter or last longer. These are all normal results of changes in your reproductive system as you grow older. But, just to make sure there isn’t a problem, see your doctor if:

your periods are coming very close together,
you have heavy bleeding,
you have spotting,
your periods are lasting more than a week.
Hot flashes. These are very common around the time of menopause because they are related to changing estrogen levels. They may last a few years after menopause. A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat in the upper part or all of your body. Your face and neck become flushed. Red blotches may appear on your chest, back, and arms. Heavy sweating and cold shivering can follow. Flashes can be as mild as a light blush or severe enough to wake you from a sound sleep (called night sweats). Most hot flashes last between 30 seconds and 10 minutes.

Problems with the vagina and bladder. Changing estrogen levels can cause your genital area to get drier and thinner. This could make sexual intercourse uncomfortable. You could have more vaginal or urinary infections. You might find it hard to hold urine long enough to get to the bathroom. Sometimes your urine might leak during exercise, sneezing, coughing, laughing, or running.

Sex. Around the time of menopause you may find that your feelings about sex have changed. You could be less interested. Or, you could feel freer and sexier after menopause. You can stop worrying about becoming pregnant after one full year without a period. But, remember you can’t ever stop worrying about sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs), such as HIV/AIDS or gonorrhea. If you think you might be at risk for an STD, make sure your partner uses a condom each time you have sex.

Sleep problems. You might start having trouble getting a good night’s sleep. Maybe you can’t fall asleep easily, or you wake too early. Night sweats might wake you up. You might have trouble falling back to sleep if you wake during the night.

Mood changes. You might find yourself more moody, irritable, or depressed around the time of menopause. It’s not clear why this happens—is there is a connection between changes in estrogen levels and emotions or not? It’s possible that stress, family changes such as growing children or aging parents, or always feeling tired could be causing these mood changes.

Changes in your body. You might think your body is changing. Your waist could get larger. You could lose muscle and gain fat. Your skin could get thinner. You might have memory problems, and your joints and muscles could feel stiff and achy. Are these a result of having less estrogen or just related to growing older? We don’t know


Signs of change
A woman's body changes around the time of menopause, often before periods have actually stopped. One change is that periods become very irregular. Sometimes bleeding is very heavy or very light. Some women skip periods, or have more than one period a month. It's still possible for you to get pregnant during this time. If you don't want to get pregnant, keep using birth control even if your periods are irregular. Some women have irregular periods for several years before their periods stop. Others have regular periods right up to the time of their last period.
Hot Flashes
The hot flash is probably the best known sign of menopause. Some women start getting hot flashes several years before their periods stop. During a hot flash or "flush" you suddenly feel hot. It may begin with a sudden tingling in the fingers, toes, cheeks, or ears.

Sometimes only certain parts of your body get red or flushed. The most common parts of the body to get fully flushed are the face and the neck. Each hot flash can last from 30 seconds to five minutes. Some women go from feeling hot to feeling cold. You may also get very warm and sweaty as you sleep. Sometimes these "night sweats" are uncomfortable enough to wake you up. Hot flashes happen because your body is making less estrogen, a female hormone.
About 85 out of every 100 women approaching or going through menopause have hot flashes. About one out of 10 women still have hot flashes 10 years after their last period. Overweight women are less likely to have hot flashes than thin women because their bodies continue to produce more estrogen from stored fat.

Other Problems
Another menopause discomfort is vaginal dryness. This is also due to decreased estrogen. Vaginal dryness can make sex painful for women and can also lead to vaginal and urinary infections and other problems.

Some women get osteoporosis after menopause. With osteoporosis, your bones get weak and can break more easily. It is probably related to the loss of estrogen. Heavier women are less likely to get osteoporosis than thin women. Smoking adds to your risk of osteoporosis.

Answer 2

The signs will be unique to you. Everyone is different. You may experience hot flashes, mood swings, forgetfulness, changes in flow - more or less, headaches, the list may go on and on. Or you may be like me and just breeze through.

You may want to think about what you are going to do about HRT. I never dealt with this issue either. Something to discuss with your doctor. Did you know there is a test your doctor can do to let you know what stage you are in; if you indeed are in the change of life process?

If you are, it really helps to keep a positive attitude. Menopause was a blessing to me. No more messy spills, and you save money not buying sanitary supplies, those things are expense. No more cramps! No more separating your eveyday panties from the period special ones. What a relief.

Menopause means the best of life has begun. No more dirty surprises.

Answer 3

Quite easy, night sweats, hot flashes and lack of menstrual cycle, other than that, its a good thing.

Answer 4

weight gain, hot flashes, crying often for no reason. The good news is, most of these will taper off in about six months.

Answer 5

hot flashes....
no menstrual cycle......
hormones changes.....
acting weird.... (wait women do that all the time)
emotional swings.......
not feeling yourself....

I'm not a woman but that's what I've heard...

Answer 6

hot flashes and mood swings

Answer 7

MISSED PERIODS....EXCESSIVE WEIGHT GAIN...NIGHT SWEATS BITCHYNESS...NIGHT SWEATS...OH DID I SAY THAT ONE....I AM 38 YRS OLD AND GOING THROUGH IT....IT SUX