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Understanding
Menopause Symptoms
Understanding your menopausal symptoms is the first
step to treating them. Symptoms
can be caused by hormone deficiency or dominance and your body is
giving you clues that will help you find balance again. Just
as a detective collects evidence to solve a case, you too can collect
information and solve YOUR case. Your symptoms will guide you
throughout your menopausal journey and will continue to change until
you reach post menopause. We all know experiencing menopausal
symptoms is no fun, but it can be fascinating to witness your body
expressing an amazingly sophisticated orchestration between you and
your hormones. Document your symptoms and discuss them
with your doctor. Once I started recording my symptoms early
in perimenopase, it became clear to me that I was experiencing estrogen
dominance. I immediately contacted my doctor, got a hormone
level blood test and adjusted my hormone replacement therapy. Whether
you are experiencing too much or too little of one of your hormones,
understanding the symptoms will allow you to manage your menopause.
Review the symptoms listed below affecting you. Is
there a pattern? Low estrogen? Low progesterone? Low androgens? Low
testosterone?
- Irregular Periods: At the onset of
perimenopause, irregular periods can be the first symptom you
notice. Because your natural cycle is changing, some
months you may ovulate and some months you may not. When
ovulation doesn’t occur, there isn’t enough progesterone
produced to have a period and the uterus lining builds up. As
a result, irregular periods may occur. Balancing
progesterone levels will regulate periods
- Weight gain: Another early symptom which
is often the hardest to live with is weight gain. I wish I could say all weight
gain could be blamed on menopause; that would just make the
experience a little easier to life with. But only some
weight can be blamed on our ever-changing hormones. Many
of us over the years had less time to exercise and eat properly,
and when we enter menopause the effects are unforgiving. Getting
back in shape and loosing weight may feel like an uphill battle. But
remember, you are not alone in feeling frustrated. A
commitment to a lifestyle change involving healthy choices
regarding food intake and exercise is now a necessary step
in feeling better. This weight gain is a wake up
call. As you gather information and make eating and exercise
choices for your plan, you will start seeing and feeling results.
- Breast Tenderness: Because of hormonal
changes you may experience fluid retention in your breasts,
just as you did during your monthly cycle. Bloating
can make you feel fatter and uncomfortable. Bloated breasts
are often painful, and may feel tender. Once your hormones
are in sync again, you will notice this uncomfortable symptom
alleviated. But cutting back on caffeine and salt consumption
added with your 8 to 12 glasses of water a day will help.
- Mood Swings: When you are experiencing
change in your life, whether emotional or physical, getting
moody is perfectly understandable. Just before your period you get
moody. When your husband forgets Valentine’s Day
you get moody. Well, throw in hot flashes, weight gain,
and a dry vagina, and you wonder why you are moody? During
menopause there are also biological reasons you may get moody
and irritable. When your ovaries start making less estradoil
(the active form of estrogen made in your ovaries) it starts
affecting other bodily functions including the estradiol in
the brain and that causes a decrease in your endorphin levels
(the body’s natural feel-good regulator). When
your endorphin levels drop, your brain sends out adrenaline
that can increase your heart rate and dilate your blood vessels
causing hot flashes and anxiety. This cycle can make
the best of us cranky and moody. Then through life’s
general ups and downs, you are now on a moody roller coaster. Declining
estradoil that is fluctuating daily can ensure moods swings
in many of us and make it difficult to cope with daily challenges. If
you are experiencing mood swings, this is a good time in your
life to start making time to relax, mediate, get a massage,
take yoga, enjoy herbal teas and pamper yourself. Some
women with severe mood swings that lead to depression consider
taking Serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) a drug that can
balance your brain chemicals.
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