There are many effective treatments available, from lifestyle adjustments to hormone therapy. In the months or years leading up to menopause perimenopause , you might experience these signs and symptoms:. Signs and symptoms, including changes in menstruation can vary among women. Most likely, you'll experience some irregularity in your periods before they end. Skipping periods during perimenopause is common and expected.
Often, menstrual periods will skip a month and return, or skip several months and then start monthly cycles again for a few months. Periods also tend to happen on shorter cycles, so they are closer together.
Despite irregular periods, pregnancy is possible. If you've skipped a period but aren't sure you've started the menopausal transition, consider a pregnancy test. Keep up with regular visits with your doctor for preventive health care and any medical concerns. Continue getting these appointments during and after menopause. Preventive health care as you age may include recommended health screening tests, such as colonoscopy, mammography and triglyceride screening. Your doctor might recommend other tests and exams, too, including thyroid testing if suggested by your history, and breast and pelvic exams.
Naturally declining reproductive hormones. As you approach your late 30s, your ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone — the hormones that regulate menstruation — and your fertility declines. In your 40s, your menstrual periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent, until eventually — on average, by age 51 — your ovaries stop releasing eggs, and you have no more periods. Surgery that removes the ovaries oophorectomy.
Your ovaries produce hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, that regulate the menstrual cycle. Surgery to remove your ovaries causes immediate menopause. Your periods stop, and you're likely to have hot flashes and experience other menopausal signs and symptoms.
Signs and symptoms can be severe, as hormonal changes occur abruptly rather than gradually over several years. Surgery that removes your uterus but not your ovaries hysterectomy usually doesn't cause immediate menopause. Although you no longer have periods, your ovaries still release eggs and produce estrogen and progesterone. Urinary incontinence. As the tissues of your vagina and urethra lose elasticity, you may experience frequent, sudden, strong urges to urinate, followed by an involuntary loss of urine urge incontinence , or the loss of urine with coughing, laughing or lifting stress incontinence.
You may have urinary tract infections more often. Strengthening pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises and using a topical vaginal estrogen may help relieve symptoms of incontinence. Hormone therapy may also be an effective treatment option for menopausal urinary tract and vaginal changes that can result in urinary incontinence. Sexual function. Vaginal dryness from decreased moisture production and loss of elasticity can cause discomfort and slight bleeding during sexual intercourse.
Also, decreased sensation may reduce your desire for sexual activity libido. Water-based vaginal moisturizers and lubricants may help. There is still a chance that you could get pregnant during this time and if you want to avoid this, a form of birth control is recommended until one year after your last period.
A form of progestin therapy may also be an option to control menstrual bleeding and address vasomotor symptoms. Lifestyle changes are often recommended to help relieve other unpleasant symptoms. On average, most women are about 51 to 52 when they enter menopause. Technically, you are in menopause after you've missed your period for 12 straight months without experiencing other causes, such as illness, medication, pregnancy or breastfeeding.
The transition from perimenopause through menopause to postmenopause can take years. It's important to remember every woman is unique and will experience menopause differently. Some women experience few, if any symptoms, and for those who do, the symptoms can vary widely.
Normal periods occur every days. While many women experience differences in their menstrual periods, there are some ways to determine irregularities. Irregularities in length Menstruation may occur either more frequently or more infrequently Monthly periods may be missed altogether Irregular Flow Blood flow may either increase or decrease Blood clots may appear or increase in size Changes in pain or discomfort may occur Painful cramping may occur[5]. Bleeding through pads or tampons every hour or two Large blood clots bigger then the size of a quarter Bleeding for more than eight days.
Can I become pregnant while menstruation is irregular during the menopause transition? While the chances of becoming pregnant are much slimmer now that hormone levels are in decline and periods are irregular, pregnancy is still possible.
Most women have their periods for about 40 years before entering the phase preceding actual menopause, referred to as perimenopause. Menstrual irregularity is usually one of the first things a woman notices during this important transition. The actual cessation of menstruation does not follow a pattern of slow and steady decline, but rather an erratic succession of stops and starts.
Irregular periods due to perimenopause may last for up to 10 years, before the actual cessation of menstruation. In addition to menstrual irregularity, menopausal symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, vaginal dryness, low libido, and sleep difficulties.
You may experience one or all of these complaints. While a healthy reproductive system is most often indicated by regular menstruation, certain factors may contribute to menstrual irregularity and early menopause. Research finds that women who currently smoke had an earlier mean menopausal age than ex-smokers or non-smokers.
Current smokers had roughly a 1. Smoking for a lifetime also coincided with early onset menopause. While less is known about the impact of stress and obesity, there appears to be some association between high cortisol levels and excess fatty tissue on hormones, aging and menopause.
Menopause occurs once a woman has not had a menstrual period for a period of 12 consecutive months. For most women, menopause occurs between the ages of 45 and The average age of menopause in the United States is This may be harmless as long as it is an isolated incident.
Women who undergo hormone therapy of combined estrogen and progesterone may also experience occasional spotting in the early months of treatment, or light monthly bleeding if on a cyclic hormone regimen. Age-related thinning of vaginal tissues, or uterine polyps may also be to blame for bleeding after menopause.
If discovered in its early stages, endometrial cancer is completely treatable.
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