Menopause symptoms

Menopause can be natural or driven by surgical removal of ovaries for medical reasons. The natural menopause process is staged in three phases:

• Perimenopause: It usually starts in a woman's 40s and lasts until menopause. During perimenopause, many women may experience menopause symptoms, although they are still having menstrual cycles and can get pregnant
• Menopause: It is the point when a woman no longer has menstrual periods for twelve consecutive months. This is the period when symptoms are mostly manifested
• Postmenopause: The phase after a woman has not had her menstrual period for a year. Some women continue experiencing menopausal symptoms. More important in this stage is that, as a result of a lower level of estrogen, women are at increased risk for a number of health conditions, such as osteoporosis and heart disease

Symptoms, including changes in menstruation, are different for every woman. Most likely, you'll experience some irregularity in your periods before they end. In addition, the following are indictors of menopause:

• Hot flashes
• Vaginal dryness and discomfort
• Chills and night sweats
• Sleeping problems
• Urinary urgency
• Emotional changes (irritability, mood swings, mild depression)
• Dry skin, dry eyes or dry mouth
• Weight gain and lowered metabolism
• Thinning hair and dry skin
• Loss of breast fullness
• Low energy