Menopause in women is absolutelya normal and natural phenomenon that awaits every woman over 45 years old. It would be very stupid to worry about this. But you should prepare for some changes in the body. This period requires special attention to the reproductive system of the body. You need to be prepared for the fact that you may have to undergo a special comprehensive examination at least once a year. Modern medicine allows you to determine when exactly menopause will occur, as well as identify a predisposition to any diseases. What is menopause and what are its symptoms? What is climacteric syndrome and how does it manifest itself?
The first symptoms of menopause in women
What are the first signs that will come fromapproaching menopause? It is quite difficult to say, because the symptoms of menopause are different for everyone, everything depends on the characteristics of the body. But there are also symptoms that most often accompany climacteric syndrome. Such symptoms include menstrual irregularities, when menstruation comes whenever it wants; hot flashes, rapid heartbeat, weight gain, frequent insomnia. If you are already over 45 years old and have observed these symptoms more than once, do not panic. If some of the listed symptoms appear, you should not diagnose yourself, but if all the syndrome characteristic of menopause has been accompanying you for quite a long time, this only means that you have entered the initial stage of the climacteric period. This syndrome should not cause you stress and serve as a reason for panic. But there are some points that every woman should know. So, among the main signs of climacteric syndrome, several can be distinguished.
Violation of menstruation during menopause
As you know, menopause is the periodwhen the activity of the sex glands fades. The menstrual cycle is first disrupted and then stops altogether. Menopause finally occurs in people over 50 years of age. The loss of reproductive function of the body and changes in the body occur with the onset of perimenopause. Perimenopause is the period from the very beginning of the fading of the work and activity of the ovaries until the complete cessation of the menstrual cycle. This period can last from 2 years to 8 years. The second phase of menopause is considered to be menopause. Menopause is the period when the last uterine bleeding was noted, which is caused by the hormonal function of the ovaries. After menopause comes postmenopause. Postmenopause is the period from the last menstruation until the complete cessation of ovarian activity. This phase precedes the onset of old age. The duration of this period can last from 6 to 8 years. One of the main signs of the onset of menopause is irregularity of the menstrual cycle, which each time becomes increasingly more frequent. An irregular menstrual cycle can be characterized by the amount of monthly discharge, as well as different intervals between them. The intervals between menstrual cycles can decrease to 21 days, or, on the contrary, increase to 35 days. If you observe such irregularities, this is a reason to see a doctor who will make an accurate diagnosis and exclude the presence of any disease. Unfavorable environmental conditions, poor nutrition, smoking and alcoholism can serve as a reason for early menopause. If a woman has used hormonal agents, menopause and climacteric syndrome may occur later. This is influenced by the hormonal composition of the drugs used. The onset of menopause is accompanied by climacteric syndrome, which is characterized by the occurrence of certain health and well-being problems. All this is directly related to hormonal changes in the body.
Tides as a symptom of menopause
One of the most typical symptoms of approachingor the onset of menopause are considered hot flashes. They are expressed in a sudden sensation of intense heat in the upper body. Sometimes during hot flashes, redness appears in the chest, face and neck. Hot flashes are characterized by sweating attacks. Literally in one minute, the skin can suddenly turn from dry to wet, while the external body temperature does not change. In general, the condition during a hot flash is very unpleasant and can cause stress. Afterwards, weakness, increased heart rate, decreased performance, panic and other unpleasant consequences are observed. As a rule, the duration of one hot flash is no more than 1 minute. But this time is much more than enough to get serious stress. Some women have hot flashes very rarely, and for some, it is typical to have up to 50-60 hot flashes in one day. There are often cases when, as a result of a hot flash, clothes get very wet and a change of underwear and clothes is required. It is advisable to dress in layers so that you can take off one of the layers at any time. Hot flashes have no system, they occur chaotically and are very tiring and exhausting for the female body. This syndrome can even cause loss of consciousness, which usually lasts for several seconds. Hot flashes are also characterized by sleep disturbances, which provoke fatigue and lack of sleep. It happened when this symptom was the main cause of the development of cardiovascular diseases. What is the cause of such an unpleasant syndrome? And the main reason is that the pituitary gland reacts to a drop in estrogen levels, resulting in a hormonal imbalance in the body. The reaction of the pituitary gland is a significant increase in the production of LH (luteinizing hormone). It is this hormone that, as a result of a sudden release, causes a sharp increase in body temperature, which is called a hot flash. According to statistics, more than 50% of all women suffer from hot flashes. By the way, thin people experience hot flashes more often than overweight people.
Insomnia as signs of menopause
Constant sweating should not be confused withwhich is caused by increased thyroid function, with intermittent sweating during menopause. One of the symptoms of menopause, which accompanies hot flashes, is sweating. An attack of sweating can be very strong, to the point that the forehead can suddenly become covered with beads of sweat, which begin to flow down the temples. The body very quickly becomes wet, and wet spots may even appear on clothes. At night, sweating can be very strong that you will even have to change your bed linen and pillow. Despite all the unpleasant moments, sweating is still considered a natural physiological process, which is so necessary for regulating internal temperature and removing toxins from the body. Sweating during menopause performs the same function as in a normal state. Very often, women experience insomnia during menopause. It can be caused by both hot flashes and simply a stressful state. If you have been unable to sleep normally at night for several days, you can seek help from a doctor who will prescribe you medications to help you sleep.
Headaches with climacteric syndrome
One of the first symptoms that accompanymenopause, are constant headaches. Such pains can simply be the body's reaction to depression, which can be caused by various manifestations during menopause. Such pain is otherwise called tension pain. Headaches occur as a result of negative emotions, which can cause tension in the facial muscles. In addition, headaches can be the result of the inability to relax. Such pains, as a rule, are dull and monotonous. Headaches can also be different. A sudden attack can occur, as a result of which the forehead hurts and the temples ache very much. Sometimes such pains are accompanied by darkening in the eyes, trembling and coldness in the hands. Such manifestations are typical for migraine, which occurs as a result of the expansion and constriction of the blood vessels of the brain. Headache can be a sign of arterial hypertension. In this case, heaviness is felt in the back of the head, bags form under the eyes, and the face swells. It is worth remembering that headaches can also be caused by some products that contain nitrites or organic compounds. Headaches can also be caused by medications. Among such medications may be drugs containing hormones (hydrocortisone, prednisolone), various cardiac drugs (verapamil, nitroglycerin, etc.), drugs for lowering blood pressure (reserpine, raunatin, etc.), drugs for ulcers (cimetidine, ranitidine).
Pain in the heart area as signs of menopause in women
One of the most dangerous and quite commonheart disease is considered ischemic heart disease. It occurs as a result of damage to the blood vessels that feed the myocardium (heart muscle). The development of atherosclerosis can lead to the walls of the vessels becoming thicker, the diameter of the cardiac arteries decreasing, and the consequence of all this will be a decrease in blood flow to the myocardium. The heart will begin to suffer from a lack of oxygen, which causes severe heart pain. Statistics say that every ninth woman over 45 suffers from one of the cardiovascular diseases. Half of them suffer from ischemic heart disease. Menopause in women very often causes dizziness, shortness of breath and lack of air. Sometimes this manifests itself in the form of attacks, which are accompanied by tinnitus, imbalance, sometimes nausea and even vomiting.
Increased pressure as a symptom of climacteric syndrome
Very often, menopause in women is accompanied byjumps in blood pressure, most often its increase. The main signs of high blood pressure can be nausea, headache and dizziness. Increased pressure can be due to the fact that the body is simply forced to adapt to all sorts of external influences, for example, to physical activity. During physical activity, there is a need for an increased supply of blood to the body, as a result of which blood pressure increases. It often happens that the pressure rises very sharply, as a result of which a situation arises that requires taking the necessary and urgent measures. Sharp headaches, weakness, pain in the chest, dizziness and other symptoms may appear. Sometimes blood pressure increases so much that emergency medical care is required.
Other signs of climacteric syndrome
During menopause, the following are often observedmanifestations such as numbness of the limbs (most often the fingers) or tingling in the limbs. Very often at night the middle, ring and index fingers go numb. In the morning there is pain when trying to bend the wrist, after a while this pain goes away. Many women during menopause are characterized by sudden mood swings. For unexplained reasons, irritability, anxiety about something, tension, fatigue may appear. Many women report that they have some kind of unpleasant sensation in the throat, reminiscent of a lump that is very difficult to swallow. This syndrome is very often observed during menopause, but in order to exclude thyroid disease, you need to see a doctor about this problem. Menopause in women can also cause depression. This condition is very often accompanied by pessimism, depressed mood, irritability, depression. Women suffer from depression much more often than men. Climacteric syndrome can only provoke the occurrence of such a condition. Depression can be caused by stressful situations, hot flashes during menopause, anxiety, and others. One of the signs of menopause is vaginal dryness and burning. This is because during menopause, the female body produces much less sex hormones, causing the vaginal mucosa to become much thinner, lose its normal lubrication, and become dry. The result of such processes can be itching and burning. Sexual intercourse in this condition becomes very painful.
What symptoms of menopause still exist
During menopause, a decrease in sexual desire is typicalattraction (libido). This is explained by the fact that the biological lifespan of the ovaries ends by the age of 50, they can no longer work stably, much fewer hormones are released, and the maturation of the egg occurs less and less often. Thus, the menstrual cycle is disrupted. Very often, women over 45 years of age begin to have obvious problems with weight. Extra pounds appear completely unnoticed. It is believed that the appearance of a few extra pounds is a normal protective reaction of the body, which can protect it from the negative consequences of a decrease in estrogen levels. This is explained by the fact that adipose tissue produces non-classical estrogens. However, the appearance of a couple of extra pounds is normal. If there are much more, this is a serious reason to see a doctor and change your lifestyle. During the period of hormonal changes in the body preceding menopause, uterine bleeding is very often observed. During postmenopause, sexual intercourse can cause uterine bleeding. This may be due to the fact that the vaginal walls become very thin, dryness occurs. During this period, it is better to use estrogen creams for lubrication. The cause of bleeding in the postmenopausal period can also be various inflammatory diseases, endometritis, fibroids, hormonal tumors, sarcoma, various injuries and much more.
On the types of response to menopause
There are four types of reactions to menopause.One of the types is a passive reaction. This reaction is typical for 15-20% of all women. As a rule, such a reaction is typical for women living in rural areas. It is characterized by the acceptance of menopause as an inevitable phenomenon. A neurotic reaction implies some resistance to the onset of aging processes. This reaction is typical for 8-15% of women, it can lead to the emergence of so-called neuropsychiatric symptoms. A hyperactive reaction is typical for 5-10% of women. It is characterized by complete rejection of the changes that are taking place. Women with such a reaction try in every possible way to block the symptoms that have already arisen, continue to live a full life, while keeping all their emotions to themselves. As practice shows, 60% of women calmly adapt to the hormonal and social changes that are taking place. This reaction is called adequate.
What conclusions should be drawn
So, from all of the above we can concludesome conclusions. If you are already over 45 years old, your menstrual cycle has become so irregular that you simply cannot predict when your period will come, you are accompanied by constant hot flashes, cold sweat appears very often, and sometimes there is bleeding from the vagina, which is not accompanied by painful sensations, then, most likely, you have entered the phase of completion of the menstrual cycle. It is still recommended not to diagnose yourself, but to visit your gynecologist, who will accurately determine the cause of such unpleasant first symptoms. Menopause and its symptoms can be different. It is important to remember that menopause is a normal phenomenon. It is just a kind of transition from one stage of life to another. In order to worthily meet such changes in the body, you need to prepare well. We wish you good health!