33 Common Symptoms Of Menopause In Women

common symptoms of menopause

All of the women certainly experience the period of menopause that includes some certain unwanted symptoms. Those symptoms of menopause may occur during the perimenopause stage and start a few months to 4 years before the last periods while some specific cases can experience for up to 12 years. The period and severity of menopause are different for other women, which is been described that some women pass menopause without any unpleasant symptoms or complications while others find those symptoms debilitating and lasting for a long time.

The symptoms of menopause are briefly associated with the lowered production of estrogen and progesterone, the two female sex hormones of women, so they widely vary due to the effects these hormones on the female body.

Now, VKool.com would like to show you33common symptoms of menopause. There are a number of symptoms women should pay attention to so that having necessary preparation and treatment for another health period. For those who don’t know or wonder how symptoms of menopause are, just spend a few minutes reading our article to have more experience!

Natural Remedies For Menopause / How to Treat Menopause Symptoms Effectively at Home

33 Common Symptoms Of Menopause In Women

1. Changes In Menstrual Cycle

Certain changes in menstrual cycle are the first symptoms of menopause. More clearly, most of the women may experience irregular, short or longer, or absent periods differently from what they used to. In addition, the periods can come earlier or later while the bleed can be lighter or heavier than usual and sometimes spot. Those periods can be brief or occur to make you feel like an eternity. There are many conditions causing irregular periods but the hormonal imbalance is the most common one during perimenopause. Therefore, skipping periods and spot bleeding are usual during hormonal imbalance and periods.

Menstrual irregularity or changes in menstrual cycle often occur in women after the age of 40 when they approach menopause and a hormonal imbalance caused by lower estrogen and progesterone levels. However, menstrual irregularity can also be caused by other reasons such as pregnancy or other medical conditions, so you should be alert.

The first thing you need to do when missing your period is ruling out pregnancy. And if you are not a pregnant woman, you may be probably the onset of menopause. In addition, if you begin spotting after 12 consecutive months without menstrual periods, you should talk to a doctor to check out if you have other serious conditions like cancer indeed.

2. Vaginal Dryness

Vaginal dryness is another of the symptoms of menopause in women. As mentioned above, there is a reduction of estrogen and progesterone production during this time, which can bring negative effects to the thin layer of moisture coating the vaginal walls. Hence, they may have to suffer from particular vaginal dryness during menopause even though this can also occur to them in common.

The signs of vaginal dryness are known as itching, stinging or burning around the vulva that can all make intercourse painful and induce you the need of frequent urination. Therefore, having sex as well as other sexual activity associated with the female genitals can cause more blood flow to the area, which keeps the vagina lubricated and also prevents it from becoming smaller. In order to deal with dryness, you should try a vaginal moisturizer or a water-based lubricant.
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In addition, if you continuously feel discomfort, you should talk to a doctor.

3. Decreased Libido

Because of some certain changes of menopause, women may experience decreased libido, a feeling of interested in sex. Those physical changes include vaginal dryness as mentioned above, slow organism response, and delayed clitoral reaction time that is also caused by reduced estrogen. However, there are some certain women who get more interested in sex when they age. If you are bothered with the decrease in sexual desire, you should talk to a doctor and if your reduced desire involves in other problems like painful sex, your doctor will prescribe a necessary medication to prevent pain.

4. Breast Pain

Breast pain may be an unavoidable one of the symptoms of menopause. More clearly, breast pain is considered as a generalized pain or discomfort occurring when touching or making pressure to the breasts. The hormonal changes actually cause breast pain, breast tenderness, or soreness in only one or both breasts that can occur before or after menstrual periods, during the pregnant time, post-partum and even menopause. Because specific hormone imbalance causing breast pain depends on each individual woman, the pain may appear different in individual women with different times and different intensities.

If you are suffering from severe breast pain that persists for 2 months or more, you should consult your doctor. Especially, if your breast pain comes with a nipple discharge, breast lump, or any other uncommon symptoms, you need to go to the hospital to check out.

5. Headaches

symptoms of menopause - headaches

The symptoms of menopause also include headaches. In common, headaches are caused by some factors like overconsumption of alcohol, the flu or other illnesses, or muscle tension, headaches in women are probably related to the negative effects of hormonal imbalance and also to various periods of reproductive life.

In fact, many women who go through regular menstrual cycles have headaches or migraines at ovulation and just before periods. These headaches also called menstrual migraines, often occur because of the plunged levels of estrogen hormone during the menstrual cycle. This is the reason why women will experience worse and more headaches when the production of estrogen in the body slows down due to menopause. Moreover, severe headaches that are followed by high fever or confusion may show a serious health condition thereby requiring the help of the immediate medication.

6. Burning Tongue

Burning tongue is also one of the symptoms of menopause that are a complex and vexing condition. The signs of burning tongue are burning pains on the tongue, lips, or the whole mouth accompanied by other symptoms like a bad taste in the mouth or bad breath but without any visible symptoms of irritation. According to the research, burning tongue effects on women 7 times more than men and commonly occurs in those after the age of 60 or sometimes in younger as well.

Burning tongue can be linked to a wide range of conditions including menopause. It is because the low estrogen levels in menopause are probably damaged in the mouth bitter taste buds and set off surrounding pain neurons. In brief, women with persistent soreness or pain in the tongue, gums, lips, as well as other areas of the mouth need to seek the instruction from a doctor to treat as soon as possible.

7. Irregular Heartbeat

Irregular heartbeat is also one of the concerning symptoms of menopause. Rapid heartbeat with bouts of pounding scares many women because they occur suddenly and are difficult to calm down. The reason for these symptoms of menopause also involves in the hormonal imbalance because the deficiency of estrogen can extremely stimulate the nervous system and circulatory system then lead to irregular heartbeat palpitations, and certain arrhythmias.

Women with an irregular heartbeat as well as any other heart condition should be more serious reporting it to a doctor as soon as possible. There may be some cases in which this symptom is caused by stress, anxiety or panic disorder, so it will be the chance for them to be found before deciding a treatment. Other causes of irregular heartbeat, additionally, include caffeine and nicotine, so pay attention to consuming them.

8. Joint Pain

Joint pain is a very common disease that many people consider possible to have them when they age but it is also one of the symptoms of menopause in women. Joint pain, as you know, is a soreness in the joints and muscles associated with the fluctuation of hormone levels in the body but not involved in trauma or exercise. Because estrogen hormone helps inhibit inflammation in the joints, lower levels of this hormone during menopause can cause increasing instances of inflammation and increasing joint pain.

It is indicated that more than half of postmenopausal women suffer from joint pain in varying degrees. And it is also advised to be aware of these aches and pains instead of ignoring them because early treatment can cure or prevent the arthritis development.

9. Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis may be a common disorder when people age also one of the symptoms of menopause. Osteoporosis is characterized by thinner and weaker bone as well as a decrease in the bone density and mass. In common, bones go through a process in which new bone cells are created to replace with the old ones but the ability to manage this process of the body change with age, so people after the age of 35 have less bone growth.

For women, in particular, menopause can give negative effects to the bone growth because estrogen hormone is associated with the calcium absorbing process into the bones and when this hormone is lower during this stage, women may experience a serious reduction in bone density that is also called osteoporosis. Moreover, reduced bone density makes the bones more likely to breaks and fractures.

10. Frequent Urination

Frequent urination is another of the symptoms of menopause and almost of women during menopause find difficult to control their bladder indeed. They may feel a constant urge to urinate though they don’t have a full bladder or any painful urination. The reason is that the tissues in the vagina and urethra are out of elasticity and lining thins during menopause. In addition, the surrounding pelvic muscles are also weak during this stage.

To deal with urinary incontinence, you should abstain from alcohol, stay healthy, and do certain exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor. If the symptoms of menopause continue, go to see a doctor to get necessary medications.

11. Urinary Tract Infections

The symptoms of menopause also include urinary tract infection that is caused by the lowered estrogen levels and the changes in urinary tracts making you more sensitive to infection.

If you are persistently urged to urinate, frequently urinating more, or having a burning sensation when urinating, go to see a doctor immediately so that he/she will do a urine test and prescribe you antibiotics.

12. Digestive Problem

The symptoms of menopause also include digestive problems that are considered as the changes in gastrointestinal function accompanied by some conditions like gastrointestinal cramping, excessive gas production, and nausea. In fact, there are 2 main reasons why women may experience more digestive problems during menopause stage than previously, one is the hormonal imbalance preventing the transit of food into the gut and the other is stress affecting on the proper functioning of hormones.

Not only menopause but there is also another factor probably causing digestive problems such as a sudden change in diet, lactose intolerance, or the rejection of the body to dairy products like cow’s milk along with its byproducts because of the lower production of lactase, a digestive hormone, with age. Therefore, women with gas stomach pain or any other digestive problems for more than 3 days should see a doctor as soon as possible to consider exact causes and get the best treatment.

13. Bloating

Bloating is classified in the digestive problem that can occur in women throughout their lives because of some certain digestive issues. Bloating is characterized by the feeling of tightness, a swollen belly, and the pain or discomfort in the stomach area. It can be typically caused by estrogen deficiency that lowers levels of bile and triggers the food transition. As mentioned above, bloating as well as other digestive problems can be caused by lactose intolerance and when people age, the production of lactase hormone decreases and leads to bloating.

Each woman experiences bloating in different characteristics but if you find your condition persistent and serious after, you should talk to a doctor.

14. Muscle Tension

symptoms of menopause - muscle tension

Women during the menopause stage can also experience muscle tension that is specially defined as tight or strained muscles in the neck, back, and shoulders or a sudden increase in pains, aches, stiffness, and soreness throughout the body. When the production of estrogen levels decreases, there will be a rise in cortisol that is known as a stress hormone, so muscle tension is a common one of the symptoms of menopause. Moreover, consecutive high levels of cortisol may make the body muscles tighten and become fatigued.

In fact, women who are commonly healthy and fit are less likely to have muscle tension than those who have poor nutrition or do not follow sufficient physical exercises. For menopausal women, hormone imbalance is actually the cause of muscle tension and practicing relaxation techniques is what they should do indeed.

15. Hot Flashes

Many women find that hot flashes are their primary symptoms of menopause. In fact, hot flashes are a sudden hot feeling in the upper part or all over the body in which the face and neck can turn red making you feel flushed or sweaty.

The intensity of hot flashes can verify from mild to very strong levels, which sometimes wakes you from sleep. They are reported to last for 30 seconds to 10 minutes in common. Most of the women experience these symptoms for one or two years after the final menstrual period the intensity lessens over time even though those hot flashes continuously occur after menopause. If these symptoms of menopause bother you, you can call or see a doctor to give necessary treatments.

16. Night Sweats

Night sweats are considered as severe hot flashes occurring during sleep that are accompanied by consecutive bouts of sweating. Night sweats are also called sleep hyperhidros is and not really a sleep disorder but just a usual perspiration disorder menopausal women have during sleep. The episodes of night sweating are ranged from mild to intense levels, which are also caused by the hormonal imbalance during menopause stage along with some certain environmental factors like an excessively warm environment.

If these symptoms of menopause are so severe that they disrupt your sleep or even increase your irritability and stress, you should consult a doctor to find out the root of the problem then take medicine if necessary so that dealing with them as soon as possible.

17. Insomnia

It is always advised to stay healthy by having enough 8 hours of sleep at night but women during menopause can be hard to follow because they find difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep. They may wake up earlier than expected then get in trouble turning back to sleep. The causes of insomnia are some certain physical changes during menopause caused by the hormone imbalance or by night sweat as mentioned above.

To have a comfortable rest, you should try some breathing techniques and relaxation. For example, if you keep exercising or working hard all the day, you will be tired and easier to fall asleep. In addition, you should put your cell phone or computer away from your bed because their lights can affect your sleep. Instead of using technical stuff, try to bath, read, or listen to mellow music to relax before bed.

To cure or prevent insomnia as one of the symptoms of menopause, you should improve sleep hygiene by sleeping at the same time each night, avoiding some foods and drinks like alcohol, caffeine, and chocolate, and keep staying cool while sleeping.

18. Fatigue

Fatigue is considered as one of the most common symptoms of menopause that are defined as a consecutive and persistent feeling of tiredness, weakness with lowered energy levels but not just sleepiness or drowsiness. In addition, fatigue is shown with irritability, apathy, and decreased attention span. Meanwhile, crashing fatigue can occur suddenly and make women devoid of energy and difficult to continue their works.

During menopause stage, fatigue is also caused by hormonal changes. More clearly, estrogen hormone regulates the use of energy at a cellular level, which means when this hormone lowers during this stage, the energy levels decrease too. Particularly, chronic fatigue occurring in menopausal women gives drastic effects to their daily life including their work productivity, relationships, and quality of life. Therefore, the essential way to restore energy levels is to treat the underlying hormonal imbalance indeed.

19. Dizziness

Dizziness is also one of the symptoms of menopause that are defined as a transient spinning sensation accompanied by the feelings of unsteadiness, lightheadedness or the inability to balance when standing or walking. An episode of dizziness can last just for a few seconds but be able to make a woman feel out of sorts during a long period of time and even cause falls, which negatively effects on her daily life.

Although dizziness is a common symptom probably occurring in everyone, women at the middle ages should be careful because it can be actually one of the symptoms of menopause that is caused by fluctuations in hormone levels like estrogen. For women who sometimes suffer from unexplained dizzy spells should be instructed by a doctor to find out whether it is caused by common illnesses or hormonal imbalance in menopause.

20. Weight Gain

Many women may be surprised with their sudden weight gain, specifically the formation of fat around their waist and this can also be one of the symptoms of menopause.  The reason is that the hormonal changes during menopause can actually influence in gaining weight and fat redistribution. For example, the lower estrogen hormones cause the body to keep more fat cells to place with the components of estrogen as an alternative source.

In addition, low estrogen levels decrease the metabolic rate, which means that menopausal women need fewer daily calories and if they continue eating as before, they will gain weight as a default. Therefore, for women during menopause should change their diet and exercise to revitalize the metabolic rate of the body then prevent unexpected weight gain as well as treat the underlying hormonal imbalance.

21. Memory Lapses

Menopausal women often complain about their symptoms like memory loss and memory lapses that are common symptoms of menopause as well. In fact, forgotten birthdays, skipped appointments, misplaced car keys, and miss in thought are considered as trivial occurrences but they can distress women who have never experienced before. Memory lapses are really a normal menopausal symptom that is related to the lower levels of estrogen along with high-stress levels.

Although memory loss can occur in most of the people in different ways, it will not just be a momentary memory lapse if it becomes more often. Hence, women with memory lapses in regular occurrence should seek medical advice to find out the reasons including possible stress, hormone imbalance, and more serious conditions and deal with the as soon as possible.

22. Difficulty Concentrating

Not only memory lapses but difficulty concentrating is also one of the symptoms of menopause. The evidence is that women in the menopause stage are sometimes bothered with difficulty concentrating, remembering things, and experiencing mental blocks that can give negative effects to many aspects of their daily life. Hormonal imbalance is also the main reason of these symptoms during menopause, specifically estrogen deficiency. In addition, sleep disruption and sleep deficiency may also contribute to these memory problems and lead to difficulty concentrating and nagging pain of other menopause symptoms.

When the underlying medical conditions are ruled out as causes of confusion, disorientation, and lack of concentration, you should check hormone levels later. And a way for women to overcome difficulty concentrating is to target and treat the underlying hormonal imbalance.

23. Itchy And Crawly Skin

symptoms of menopause - itchy and crawly skin

When you age, it is unavoidable to have worse skin, especially when estrogen levels drop during menopause stage, the production of collagen also slows down. Meanwhile, collagen plays an important role in keeping the skin toned, resilient, and fresh-looking, which means when the body starts producing lower collagen then the skin will become drier, flakier, thinner, and less youthful-looking. Particularly, the lubrication and elasticity of the skin near the urinary tract and vagina will be considerably affected. Moreover, skin dryness can cause pruritus and itchy skin that is a frustrating symptom disrupting women both in their sleeping and waking lives indeed.

Itchy skin may be one of the first symptoms of menopause as collagen loss is extremely rapid at the first stage of menopause. In addition, premature menopause may probably cause more rapid collagen loss that makes certain bad changes in the female skin. These skin changes partly make women look and feel older than before, so they are really bothered with them.
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To overcome itchy skin symptoms, menopausal women have to address their hormonal imbalance as soon as possible.

24. Hair Loss

Not only skin but hair will be affected during menopause stage. Hair loss is also one of the early visible symptoms of menopause that are caused by lower estrogen production. It is because hair follicles always need estrogen to maintain its growth. In fact, hair loss can be sudden or gradual and characterized to be thinning hair on the head as well as other parts of the body. The hair, in addition, can also become dry and brittle even fall out more when combed or washed.

It is said that thinning of hair or gradual hair loss without other accompanying symptoms is normal but this hair problem is upsetting for many women because it is considered as a sign of aging. To halt hair loss, you should deal with the underlying hormonal imbalance during menopause. Nevertheless, hair loss accompanied by poor health condition needs the attention of doctors immediately.

25. Allergies

Because hormones are inextricably linked to the immune system, a small hormonal change, in menopause, for example, can cause more allergies to menopausal women. The evidence is that many women experience increasing sensitivity to allergies and others can suddenly get allergic because of something never bothering them before, which is considered as the cases of hay fever, dermatitis, and asthma.

Allergies are also the frustrating symptoms of menopause because they may impair daily life of women. Some mild symptoms of allergies such as rashes, itchy eyes, and sneezing are common for most of the women while some more extreme symptoms like swelling, cramping, and dizziness are more serious and need urgent medical treatment indeed. To deal with mild symptoms of allergies, it is advised to make some simple lifestyle changes and deal with the underlying hormonal imbalance.

Read also: Home Remedies for Fever Blisters, Itchy Throat, and Cough

26. Brittle Nails

Nail appearance, in fact, can indicate how one’s general health and habits are and there are some certain changes in nails occurring during menopause stage that can tell an underlying problem. The most common of symptoms of menopause on nails are brittle nails but the most common one is brittle nails described to be soft, easy to split, crack, or break, especially across the nail top. While brittle nails are caused by a nutritional deficiency in common, they are the results of a hormonal imbalance in menopausal women. It is because low estrogen levels can lead to dehydration in the body causing dryness of the hair, skin, and nails.

Not only brittle nails but there are also other nail disorders occurring in menopause such as convex(spoon-like nails), infection in the nail cuticle and bed, ridges in the nail plate. If your nails including both fingernails and toenails are persistently painful or inflamed, you should see a doctor as soon as possible.

27. Tingling Extremities

The symptoms of menopause also include tingling extremities that bring women the feelings of something crawling all over the skin and another burning sensation such as an insect sting or extreme sensitivity in the arms, hands, legs, and feet. In common, tingling is harmless that usually occurs because of a compressed artery and pinched nerve reducing the blood flow to the extremity then making it “fall asleep”. Nevertheless, tingling extremities, in menopausal women, is probably caused by the low estrogen levels influencing in the central nervous system.

Not only be tingling extremities the symptoms of menopause but they are also the signs of other problems like stroke, heart diseases, diabetes, tumor, anxiety, or poor blood circulation. Anyone who experiences unexplained tingling accompanied by muscle weakness really needs immediate medical attention.

28. Incontinence

Incontinence is another of the symptoms of menopause that can be divided into 3 types. The first one is stress incontinence that is an accidental release of urine caused by over exertion or when coughing, laughing and sneezing. More clearly, incontinence often occurs when the internal muscles cannot act effectively due to physical changes of childbirth, age, or surgery. The second type is urge incontinence in which the bladder does anything on its own by contracting and emptying whenever being full though people are enough conscious to resist. The third type is overflow incontinence that is considered as the absence of full bladder sensation whereby people are not aware of a full bladder and accidental urination occurs.

A woman experiences incontinence during menopause with any combination of above symptoms. By anyway, they can be embarrassing and worry for menopausal women, so they need practical treatments to deal with as soon as possible.

Learn also: How to do Kegels for women correctly and cautions

29. Electric Shock Sensation

Electric shock sensation is defined as a peculiar electric sensation such as the feelings of snapped by a rubber band in the tissue layer between the skin and muscle. It can also present as a precursor of hot flashes and be usually felt across the head. Although electric shocks just occur for a quick moment, it can also bring unpleasant sensation indeed. In menopause, the cause of electric shock sensation is considered as the fluctuation of estrogen levels on the nervous and cardiovascular systems.

This symptom, in fact, is relatively harmless but it is uncomfortable and able to be easily dealt with by treating the underlying hormonal imbalance.
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In case the symptom becomes intense, you should find the assistance from a doctor to give advice and necessary medicine.

30. Irritability

Many people think irritability is something common in women but it would be irregular if they are in menopause. Irritability is a bad mood accompanied by reduced patience, stress, and tolerance then breaks out in anger though the situations may be trivial to others. In menopause, hormonal changes are also the cause of irritability because low levels of estrogen can give bad effects to neurotransmitters that play a role in regulating the mood in the brain.

In fact, many women feel irritable a lot of time during menopause because of added stresses or other symptoms of menopause like sleep disorders and hot flashes. In case irritability persists more than 7 days or adversely affects your relationships and job performance, the patients should seek medical advice as soon as possible.

31. Anxiety

Anxiety is an intense or vague feeling that is caused by psychological or physical conditions and characterized by the feelings of agitation and emotional control failure. Anxiety is also related to panic attacks and manifests some symptoms like shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, and palpitations. Particularly, anxiety is caused by the decrease in estrogen levels in the female body during menopause, which lowers the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin that play an important role in regulating anxiety mood. The occurrence of anxiety can be classified from just an event to recurrent periods. For anxiety, it is advised to take an early diagnosis to aid a quick recovery as well as inhibit worse disorders such as preventing this disorder from developing depression. Hence, women with frequent anxiety should seek medical treatment as soon as possible.

32. Panic Disorder

Panic disorder is another of the symptoms of menopause. It includes debilitating and significant emotional episodes manifested by sudden and overwhelming anxiety and fear. The causes of panic disorder are known as certain psychological and physical conditions. Panic disorder can result in some symptoms like the feeling of dread, rapid heartbeat, nervous, shallow breathing, and the feelings of extreme terror and range from a single episode to frequent occurrences.

In fact, many women are extremely scared with panic disorder but it can be actually treated by dealing with the root cause considered as the hormonal imbalance. Therefore, they need to make some simple lifestyle changes along with necessary medicines. And if this disorder disrupts your life, it is advised to talk to a doctor to get the best treatment.

Read more: Natural Home Remedies For Hot Flashes Women

33. Body Odor Change

The symptoms of menopause also include changes in the body odor. These changes may make women very self-conscious during this stage. More clearly, menopausal hormonal changes lead to an increase in the production of sweat in response to physical symptoms of menopause like night sweats and hot flashes, or psychological symptoms like anxiety and panic disorder. When the production of sweat increases, the body odor will also increase even if they are maintaining a good personal schedule.

Not only increasing sweat production but genetic predisposition is also a cause of the body odor changes. These changes are considered normal in menopausal women but they are rather bothersome indeed. To deal with these symptoms, the hormonal imbalance should be tackled along with simple changes in lifestyle like dressing clothes with natural and breathable fabrics which may help reduce and refresh the body odor.

After reading the article on 33 common symptoms of menopause in our main Health page, hope that all of the women can get more information about this period in the middle to carefully prepare and seek necessary treatments if needed. Please let us know if you have any question by leaving them below and share with us other symptoms of menopause if you really get.

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