Because hormone levels are in flux during menopause, the body will exhibit a lot of symptoms. With any luck, you might have little or no problem with menopause. Some women get lucky and have a very fast and easy menopause and others have a bit more trouble with much more severe symptoms.

The most common menopausal symptoms are:

A change in the period and bleeding cycle is very common. The normal period cycle may become irregular with more or less bleeding. Some women may have heavy blood flow for a few days and then very light blood flow for a couple more days, sometimes regular periods are less than 22 days apart and you may have spotting between periods.

For the majority of women, hot flashes are a very common problem. Hot flashes demonstrate with a sudden heat flushing over the torso and redness in the face and neck. Some women can also get hot flashes while trying to get to sleep and these are called night sweats. Both hot flashes and night sweats may vary in severity from woman to woman, usually they don't last more than a few years.

It's not unusual to experience small urine leaks when laughing or straining plus you may need to use the bathroom frequently.

Vaginal dryness is a common symptom, and sex can feel painful. Menopause symptoms may include changes in sex drive and desire; some women have a sudden loss of libido. To a lot of women, not having the worry about pregnancy allows them to feel more free about sex and they report an increase in sexual activity. Although you can't get pregnant after menopause, it is still advisable in this day and age to still use condoms to protect yourself.

Other Menopause Symptoms

During menopause, women often report feeling tired and moody. You may also have more stress and anxiety. Women in menopause also tend to get easily tired, sometimes having fatigue strokes. Even though you may be trying to get enough sleep, you may have difficulty sleeping as a result of night sweats.

An additional symptom of menopause is weight gain; in some instances the midsection becomes thicker, while fat levels tend to increase. Skin begins to lose some of its elasticity. You will have to work a little harder at staying fit as the body's metabolism changes, it becomes more difficult to lose weight.

It's not uncommon to get heart palpitations or other unusual heart rhythms during menopause, this is usually not an indication of other health problems and with time, they usually pass. In some cases though these symptoms may mimic symptoms of other diseases, therefore you should always consult with an expert to avoid complications and additional problems.

The symptoms of menopause will be unique for each woman. One thing to consider is that menopause has been experienced by millions of women throughout history and, if you can try to manage your symptoms, you too can survive if you can keep a sense of humor about it. Try to get plenty of sleep, reduce your stress level, invest in some vaginal lubricant, do weight bearing exercises and just generally try to be good to yourself while you ride out this challenging time.

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