Menopause Symptoms, Cause, and Complications

There are several signs to look for if you think that you might be going through menopause. The most apparent symptom is lack of ovulation or no menstrual cycle; of course, the lack of a menstrual cycle could also mean that you are pregnant, so if you believe that might be the case, you should contact your doctor to test for pregnancy first and foremost. Experts say that menopause begins anywhere between forty and fifty years of age with perimenopause. According to the Mayo Clinic, the average age for a woman to go into menopause is fifty-one. Menopause, as defined by the Mayo Clinic, is the permanent end of menstruation and fertility, occurring approximately twelve months after your last period. Menopause starts with perimenopause which has very definite symptoms.

Perimenopause is marked by irregular periods. For women who have always experienced irregular periods, this might be a little daunting as they will not know if they are going through menopause or if their body is still experiencing irregular periods. There are other symptoms that most women also experience that will be different from the irregular period. Those are unexplained or unexplainable mood swings, vaginal dryness, sleep disturbances, physical changes in gaining weight, losing breast fullness, thinning hair, dreaded hot flashes, decreased fertility, and vaginal dryness. While not all of these symptoms are typical for every woman, you may experience some or all of them when you start menopause.

The good news is there are treatment options available. Herbal supplements on the market can be beneficial, and amberen users speak highly of this product. Other options are, of course, to seek help through medication. However, Doctors generally will suggest dealing with the symptoms of menopause without medication or through the use of supplements before they recommend medication since menopause isn't a disease but rather a naturally occurring event that all women of a particular age experience. Choosing the right menopause supplements is a matter of discussing the issue with your doctor and looking at what kind of symptoms you are experiencing. You do not want supplements focusing on the signs you are not experiencing.

You might wonder what causes menopause, especially if you are younger than the typical age of forty and experiencing menopause or perimenopause symptoms or if your doctor has told you that you are going through early or premature menopause. The causes have to do with your body no longer ovulating. This can occur for any number of reasons, every woman's body only has so many eggs, to begin with, and when they stop ovulating, then menopause begins. Usually, you experience the symptoms of perimenopause before your body's complete stop of ovulation, which is why women experience irregular periods during perimenopause. Early menopause occurs because of a change in a woman's hormone levels. Lower reproductive hormones can occur for any reason ranging from a natural decline in the hormone to a medical reason such as a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and primary ovarian insufficiency. It is important to note that less than one percent of women experience premature menopause, and it has to do with when their ovaries fail to produce normal levels of reproductive hormones.

There are some complications that a woman who goes through menopause might experience. These include cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, and weight gain. If you are experiencing complications and would like help, the women at WebMD's Menopause Community are there for you. They can help you understand all the complications, causes, and symptoms you are experiencing and be a virtual shoulder to lean on as you go through this next phase in your life.