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.

Source: National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Part 1 - What is menopause?

Part 2 - What are the signs of menopause?

Part 3 - What about health during menopause?

Part 4 - What about those lost hormones?