The first signs of menopause also known as perimenopause can occur as long as ten years before the actual onset of full blown menopause. Basically, women in their late 30s up through the 40s can start the perimenopause cycle which is basically the reduction of the production of estrogen. Once the ovaries stop releasing eggs, then a women is in full blown menopause and will experience a full onset of symptoms, those early signs of menopause you may experience for years leading up to the actual event.
There are certain early menopause symptoms that you will notice and these could occur in a greater or even lesser degree depending on your individual case, and if you are lucky, you could escape with just the barest symptoms, though in other instances the symptoms could be pretty severe causing a lot of distress and anxiety to the affected person.
Hot flashes, one of the first signs of menopause, are also the most joked about of all the symptoms of this biological change. As many as seventy-five to eighty percent of all women experience this uncomfortable feeling which can last as short as thirty seconds or as long at thirty minutes or more. The average time for a hot flash moment is about five to ten minutes for these first signs of menopause. These hot flashes can be a warm flushing sensation on your face and upper body or it can present themselves as red blotchy skin.
Urinary problems may also be early signs of menopause but should always be checked out by a doctor to re-affirm the cause. Frequent need to urinate, development of a urinary tract infection and even leakage of urine when sneezing, coughing or exercising can also be attributed to perimenopause.
The early menopause symptoms are such that they can cause great distress to you and among the other signs are chronic headaches, too much feeling of fatigue as well as problems with sleeping, and there may also are yeast infections, body aches and cramping as too changes to the level of blood sugar. In addition, it is common to experience irregular periods and there is also bleeding which is attributable to the rise and fall of hormone levels.
The early signs of menopause can help point the way to perimenopause, which mentioned early, can last for years. A doctor can perform a blood test to check hormone levels but these are not always conclusive. Therefore, you may have to take blood tests at various intervals in order to check for true hormonal fluctuations that can be early signs of menopause.
The actual event itself will likely come with little fanfare as you have been experiencing the early signs of menopause for years. You are in true menopause when you have not had a period for at least one year. Of course, those symptoms will likely continue for a while longer past the perimenopausal stage. The real kick in the pants comes with the fact that you can still get pregnant while still exhibiting the early signs of menopause. As long as you are still having periods, that means you are still ovulating and thereby there is always a small chance of pregnancy.
