Peri-Menopause Symptoms

Most people have heard of menopause before, but many are not aware that there are actually different classifications of menopause, namely peri-menopause stage and post-menopause stage.

The Peri-menopause stage is the phase that takes place immediately before menopause actually sets in, and post-menopause is the phase immediately afterwards.

The Peri-Menopause Stage

 The Peri-menopause stage is the stage of a woman’s life that begins several years before menopause, and the average length is four years but this can vary from one case to another. There are some very obvious peri-menopause symptoms that most women notice that lets them know that they are experiencing peri-menopause stage. This is basically the body’s way of telling her that her menstruation cycle is ending.

A few of the most commonly experienced peri-menopause symptoms are hot flashes, breast tenderness, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, urine leakage, mood swings, and difficulty sleeping. Emotional difficulties can be especially troublesome. The problem with these sorts of symptoms is that although some may be very noticeable they are also very general, in that they can be associated with a variety of other health conditions as well.

A missed period for instance is often one of the first peri-menopause symptoms a woman experiences when she begins the peri-menopause stage, and she may mistake this for pregnancy. This is why doctors recommend that if you are over the age of thirty especially and you experience any of these symptoms you get in to see your physician as soon as you can in order to get a proper assessment and diagnosis.

It is also important to know that you can actually still get pregnant even while in the peri-menopausal stage, which is a fact that not many women are aware of. Despite a decline in fertility during this stage, you can still become pregnant and so if you do not want to you should continue to use some form of birth control.

There is nothing that can be done to prevent or stop peri-menopause, but there are certain methods of treatment that will help relieve the peri-menopause symptoms. Exercising more is one of the best things you can do here, and quitting any unhealthy habits that you may have had such as smoking or excessive alcohol drinking. You want to maintain as generally healthy a lifestyle as you can in order to enhance your well being and relieve the peri-menopause symptoms that you may be experiencing as a result of the onset of the peri-menopause stage.