Perimenopause Symptoms – Are Symptoms of Perimenopause Different than Menopause?

Perimenopause is the period when a woman’s ovaries start producing less estrogen every month. The symptoms of perimenopause begin to appear in most women during their 40s and for some women in late thirties.

This is the transition period between normal productive lifecycle of a woman and the menopause.

Reduction in estrogen production accelerates as the menopause come closer. This acceleration ( 2-3 years before menopause) begins to show the symptoms of menopause.

Perimenpopause period may last from a few months to a decade. For some women it is just a year or two and for others it may last up to 10 years.

The perimenopause period is considered to be over when a woman misses 12 consecutive menstrual periods. That is when menopause begins.

The menstrual period becomes erratic in both its duration and in the amount of bleeding. The periods may become shorter or longer. One period may be of shorter duration but the next may be longer or many longer duration periods followed by a short one or any other random combination of subsequent periods.

The amount of flow also fluctuates widely from one period to another during perimenopause.

Some women begins to feel rush of heat from the chest to the head. This phenomenon is called hot flashes. It continues in the menopause period also.

Sweating in the night is very common during perimenopause. It is hot flashes in the night. This creates sleep disturbances.

Most of the other symptoms of menopause are also experienced by many women. These include, dryness in vagina, urinary infections, sudden leakage of the bladder during laughing, coughing and sneezing (called urinary incontinence), Problems of memory and concentration, depression, less interest in sex and increase in body fat around the waist.

Most of the perimenopause symptoms may continue in to the menopause.

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Perimenopause Symptoms – Are Symptoms of Perimenopause Different than Menopause?

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