Before menopause, women go through what is called the perimenopause phase, this is a premenopause phase leading up to menopause. It’s possible for women to experience perimenopause symptoms in their early 30s, but usually perimenopause happens when a woman hits her mid 40. Perimenopause may happen over several months or several years, it can last as long as 10 years. In the US, most women don’t reach menopause until their early to mid 50s, but natural menopause can happen in the early to mid 30s.
Menopause is different for each woman; no two women will have the same experience. Symptoms can be influenced by everything from body weight, stress, exercise, diet, genetics and attitudes towards aging. During perimenopause is when changes begin to occur to the monthly menstrual cycle, blood flow can increase or decrease and bleeding cycles may even become less regular. When bleeding cycles begin to change, this is an early indicator of hormone imbalance changes taking place. Prior to perimenopause, ovulation occurs every month making it possible to get pregnant every month, but after perimenopause ovulation no longer happens on a regular cycle making it increasingly more difficult to get pregnant. It’s estrogen and progesterone that are responsible for regulating and controlling menstruation and ovulation, so when the production of these hormones becomes erratic, it leads to decreasing fertility levels and a variety or hormone imbalance symptoms.
Menopause symptoms and perimenopause symptoms are exactly the same. Typically symptoms during the first three years of perimenopause are when symptoms are the most intense, this may be due to the body adjusting to the hormone changes that are taking place. Perimenopause symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, anxiety, depression, facial hair, ear ringing, muscle soreness, vaginal dryness, loss of sexual drive, depression and anxiety. Not all women get symptoms and certainly not all of these listed. Hot flashes are very common and reported by 90% of women who get symptoms.
