Understanding the Signs of Perimenopause

There are three essential stages in every woman's life. They include youth, the reproductive years and post-menopause, with differential transitional stages between them. As a woman gets older, perimenopause offers some subtle and some not-so-subtle symptoms of the transition from the reproductive stage to menopause.

As their reproductive years end, the ovaries begin to shut down and the hormone production begins to diminish. This causes numerous interrelated changes in how the body functions. About one-third of the women reach menopause with few side effects, and those they do suffer are minimal. Another third will severely suffer many of the symptoms. The remaining third will have many of the symptoms, but not suffer quite so bad. Some of the most common signs that a woman is approaching menopause, the period known as perimenopause, include hot flashes and irritability.

While the exact cause of hot flashes remains unknown, it is understood that the blood vessels near the surface of the skin may dilate to help cool down the body, resulting in the flushing of the skin, especially the face. The body's internal thermostat may have trouble regulating temperature. Although the precise reason may not be known, there are a few triggers that have been associated with the rise in temperature. Stress, caffeine and alcohol are some of the more common triggers. In addition, tight clothing, spicy foods and cigarette smoke have also been linked to periods of hot flashes.

Irritability may be caused by a number of things resulting from the hormonal imbalance experienced during perimenopause. Difficulty sleeping can cause fatigue, prompting a negative mood. Additionally, hot flashes during the night can cause a woman to wake up with night sweats, adding to her sleep difficulties. As the levels of different hormones change, how they work together also changes and is blamed for some of the other symptoms of perimenopause. These include declining libido, lowered sex drive and vaginal dryness during sex.

Women in the perimenopause stage may also suffer urinary leakage, especially when coughing or sneezing or they may suffer urgency in needing to urinate frequently. Irregular periods or more intense premenstrual syndrome are also common to many women as they transition into menopause. While the average age of menopause is 51, it can start as early as 35. When menopause is at an earlier age, many of the symptoms of perimenopause are attributed to some other medical disorder. Unfortunately, there are no distinctive medical tests that can be run to conclude the woman is going through perimenopause.

Some doctors may use blood tests to determine hormone levels in an attempt to diagnose perimenopause. But due to the rapid fluctuations of the hormone levels, it is difficult to obtain a precise hormone level since they are constantly changing. For the most part, doctors and their patients rely on the symptoms as well as the woman's age to determine their process into menopause. The doctor may also run some other tests to rule out some medical problems, bringing perimenopause to the front of a list of suspect causes for the symptoms of which they suffer. There is also natural help with menopause.