What is Peri Menopause?

It’s not in your head, It’s your hormones!

Peri menopause is a huge problem women because t we do not discuss the changes that occur to us.  We do not tell our doctors until it becomes a larger issue.  Many women do not discuss it among themself. Peri menopause is often confusing for women because the onset age and symptoms vary with each woman. During the pre or peri menopause stage, menstrual periods may become irregular, some coming shorter or widely spaced, but women are still producing eggs.  Your Peri menopause periods that were 30 or 28 days like clockwork become 26 or 24 days apart.

What is Menopause?

Isn’t menopause something my mother has? I am in my 30’s and too young. Menopause is a term used when menstrual periods have ceased for one full year. Your doctor can take a blood test for hormones to determine whether you are in perimenopause or have reached menopause.  A peri menopause pregnancy is still a possibility until you stop producing eggs.

Symptoms of per menopause can begin as early as 10–15 years before menstrual periods completely stop. Women in their late 30’s, 40’s and early 50’s may transition in and out of a perimenopausal state many times before they finally enter menopause. If you are currently experiencing symptoms such as irregular periods, heavy bleeding, hot flashes, sleep issues, headaches, dry eyes, hair loss, fuzzy thinking, brain fog, food cravings and gaining weight, or extreme emotional up and down distress, these are all common signs of peri menopause.

What is Peri Menopause?

Symptoms increase and decrease due to age, stress, and diet.

Common peri menopause symptoms include:

• Changes in length of menstrual cycles
• Hot flashes
• Mood swings
• Irritability, anxiety, depression, frustration
• Fatigue
• Fuzzy thinking
• Heavy bleeding
• Increasing vaginal dryness, itching, discomfort
• Breast tenderness
• Painful sexual intercourse
• Decreased libido
• Urinary tract changes
• Food cravings
• Increase in fibroids or cysts

Each new month, you may experience a different set of peri menopause symptoms and change next month. One month women might sleep great, the next month not at all. These mild changes increase as women enter their 40s, with women typically entering menopause in their mid-40s and early 50s. There needs to be a lot more open discussion about this transition with women. None of my friends discussed any of these issues together.

These early peri menopause symptoms occur because of a decline and fluctuations of estrogen and progestin-producing that decline as women leave the childbearing years. This decline and fluctuating hormone levels are the main cause of most of the perimenopause symptoms, as well as menopause symptoms. It is normal. Some women said through without any issues and others do not. This transition affects you mentally, emotionally, and physically.

The cognitive effects of hormonal imbalance are frequently overlooked in mainstream discussions about perimenopause. Yet ‘”fogging thinking” and loss or inability to multitask can definitely be traced to your physical state, as can increase anxiety, fatigue, depression, and drastic mood swings.