The 34 Symptoms of Menopause

The Most Common Symptoms of Menopause

You may already be familiar with the most common symptoms of menopause, but they are worth mentioning anyway. Most of the time those going through menopause will experience hot flashes, night sweats, loss of libido, mood swings, vaginal dryness, and irregular periods. If you are experiencing a combination of these symptoms you may be going through menopause.

These symptoms will usually last throughout menopause, but it is possible a woman could experience some of the most common symptoms of menopause for the rest of their lives. The most common symptom is hot flashes and it is estimated that between 75 and 85% of women will get hot flashes throughout menopause.

Hot flashes can seem very sudden and they basically are a transient sensation of heat throughout the entire body. This can cause flushing in the face and upper body and they can be very intense or very delicate. Every woman is different and these can vary quite a bit from one woman to another.

The night version of hot flashes is known as the night sweats and this can keep you from getting proper rest. You may also experience variations in your sex drive along with irregular periods and vaginal dryness. These are all very common and most women will experience all of the symptoms of menopause in one way or another.

Symptoms of Menopause – The Changes you May Experience

There are quite a few changes your body may go through and the most common is fatigue. Most doctors say that fatigue is by far the most common of the changes women face when going through menopause. It is not a feeling of needing to sleep, but rather a lack of energy and a feeling of just not wanting to do much of anything.

You may also experience hair loss, memory lapses, dizziness, weight gain, incontinence, bloating, brittle nails, depression, anxiety, panic disorder, irritability, allergies, difficulty concentrating, sleep disorders, change in odor, and irregular heartbeat. These are the symptoms of menopause that can be considered changes to a woman during menopause.

Weight gain is the change most women fear the most and this is caused due to your body simply not needing the same caloric intake as it used to. Since the reproductive system no longer needs the support of your diet your body will not need as much food everyday as you are used to eating. Changes in diet and exercise can help to prevent weight gain.

Sleep disorders are also very common when women go through menopause partially due to night sweats. You may find you are sleeping less and less restful, which could lead to insomnia. This can as much as double during menopause due to many different factors and not just night sweats.

Some of the other changes you may go through are much less common, but more serious. If you find you are struggling with concentrating, you have an irregular heartbeat, or you feel confused and disoriented quite often, then it is time to seek the help of a medical professional. These are symptoms of something more serious than just menopause.

Symptoms of Menopause – The Pains you May Experience

There are a handful of pains you may experience as symptoms of menopause including: headaches, burning tongue, gum problems, muscle tension, tingling extremities, breast pain, joint pain, electric shocks, digestive problems, and itchy skin. You may not experience all of these different pains, but most commonly breast pain and headaches will come with menopause.

Breast pain will come in the form of tenderness and soreness in one or both of your breasts. Your chest will be very sensitive and you may feel discomfort on a general level, but the actual pain is usually associated with touching or pressure on the breast. It the pain is severe and last for two months or longer it is time to consult your doctor.

Headaches are also very common and usually are caused by one of the other pains like muscle tension. They can also be caused if you drink too much alcohol during menopause or you become ill during menopause. Some of the stages of menopause will come with worse headaches than others.

The final one of the symptoms of menopause is Osteoporosis. This is more of a side effect that can show up later after menopause, but it is still work discussing. Due to all the changes your body is going through with menopause it can cause osteoporosis after several years.