34 Menopause Symptoms

Menopause is the change every middle-aged woman experiences. It is the ceasing of the menstrual cycle and typically occurs between the ages of 45 and 55. As there is a decline in the ovarian function and a woman approaching menopause starts to show symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and hair loss.

Though in the article we will be discussing only a handful of symptoms, many women do not experience all of them. At times, there can be other symptoms as well. In order to understand what these symptoms are, read the rest of the article carefully.

Symptoms of Menopause

Hot Flashes
Many women have been known to experience hot flashes during their menopause. This is the most common symptom. Hot flashes can lead to sudden, brief sensation of heat, rushing of blood to the face or chest, feeling hot to touch the skin as well as sweating.

Depression
Unexplained sadness, low self-esteem, feelings of gloom, and inadequacy are often found in women undergoing menopause. This is due to a decline in the estrogen levels.

Although, depression is not a symptom, there are other factors like family issues and personal crises that increase the chances of these symptoms in women. Depression can also lead to eating and sleeping disorders, anxiety, and discouragement.

Night Sweats
Waking up, in the middle of the night, with clothes wet means you are having night sweats. Along with hot flashes, night sweats may also occur; sometimes together. At night, some women may feel cold, while their bodies are sweating. The reason is that women go through hormonal changes, which leads to night sweats.

Mental Fatigue
Drained due to thinking too much about the menopausal period, can result in mental fatigue. Constant worrying can put women in such a situation. Exhaustion due to mental and physical exertion, and lack of stamina results in mental fatigue.

Physical Fatigue
Loss of strength and energy to lead the daily life activities is hindered by physical fatigue. Malnutrition and hormonal imbalance can also cause physical fatigue.

Mood Swings
When you can't control your emotions, regardless of a situation, it is called having mood swings. Cluster of emotions like joy, sadness, anger, and fear can trigger mood swings. This can occur while doing normal day-to-day chores around the house or at work.

Anxiety
Sudden feelings of panic and family issues can also advance the feelings of anxiety.

Itchy, Crawly Skin
Not just dry itchy skin, there is a feeling of ants crawling under the skin. The tingling feeling is called formication and is known to occur in the extremities.

Vaginal Dryness
Vaginal dryness may lead to uncomfortable intercourse. Though, it is one of the symptoms that is not openly discussed, it can be a cause for depression in women.

Loss of Libido
Several women may experience low sex drive and lack of interest.

Hair Loss
Loss or thinning of hair on head can result from excess stress and depression.

Water Retention
Retention of excess fluids and/or bloating is observed in some women.

Breast Tenderness
This can be linked with water retention, as it may cause tenderness in breasts.

Incontinence
It is defined as involuntary urination and is experienced by many women.

Sudden Headaches
Fluctuations in the hormone levels, tend to increase the frequency of headaches.

Irritability
Women may tend to get easily annoyed. The emotions are triggered more than they actually are supposed to.

Anger
Strong emotions, ranging from minimal annoyance to full-blown rage, are not uncommon.

Weight Gain
Weight gain due to hormonal imbalances, has been observed during this phase.

Insomnia
Sleep disorders like insomnia or sleeplessness is quite common occurrence.

Memory Problems
Forgetfulness is another symptom of menopause. Some women may experience problems related with forgetfulness.

Dizziness
Menopause in women is also characterized by sudden dizziness.

Indigestion and Bloating
Failure to digest may cause abdominal discomfort or heartburn.

Vaginal Yeast Infection
Caused due to overgrowth of a fungus called Candida albicans, the vaginal infection results in dryness of vagina and painful intercourse.

Changes in Periods
Fluctuations in hormone levels lead to irregular, heavy or light periods during premenopause or the first stage of menopause.

Rapid Heartbeat
One of the symptoms of menopause is sudden escalation of heartbeat.

Bladder Problems
Frequent urination, which is also due to water retention, can affect many women.

Distraction
Due to being distracted, some women may have difficulty in concentrating in daily chores.

Increase in Allergies
Hypersensitive response to certain types of allergies is another symptom of menopause. If some women have allergies to fur, dander, or pollen, chances are that these aliments can get heightened.

Body Odor
Changes or frequent fluctuations in body odor are not unknown among menopausal women.

Thinning of Bones
Some women may experience loss of bone tissue, weakening of bones and there may be subtle changes in the overall body structure. This can contribute to the risk of fracture.

Joint and Muscle Pain
Aching or sore joints, muscles and tendons are other common symptoms.

Burning mouth syndrome
Bad taste in mouth, along with burning sensation may be experienced.

Changes in Fingernails
Some women may observe that their fingernails become brittle or soft.

Tinnitus
Ringing or booming sensation in one or both ears or tinnitus is another common symptom of menopause.

The main idea behind listing these 34 menopause symptoms is to inform you of the inevitable; like they say 'forewarned is forearmed'. There are women who don't feel anything during menopause, and on the other hand, some women go through a collective of the above-mentioned symptoms.

So, instead of worrying and getting depressed, a few tips can be followed to ease yourself into one of the beautiful experiences of life. Make it a point to get regular check-ups with your doctor, get sufficient exercise, eat healthy, get good amount of rest. Moreover, don't forget to seek medical advice on how to manage the symptoms you experience.