The 34 symptoms of menopause

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Ladies, are you peri or menopausal, do you know your symptoms, how many of the below relate to you?

1. Hot flushes
One of the most common symptoms of menopause, hot flushes affect around 75% of menopausal women. Hot flushes normally appear as a rising redness on the chest, neck and face and can make you feel very overheated and sweaty.

2. Night sweats
Essentially, night sweats are hot flushes that occur at night and can disrupt sleep or can lead you to feeling unpleasant when you wake up.

3. Irregular periods
Because menopause is all to do with the end of your reproductive years, your periods will start to dissipate as your hormone production decreases. These can, therefore, become very erratic; sometimes you may get PMS but with no bleeding, for example.

4. Mood swings
With studies showing that mood swings affect 27% of menopausal women, this can feel like a more extreme version of the mood swings you may have experienced during your periods.

5. Vaginal dryness
Your natural lubrication is maintained by your oestrogen levels, so as these begin to drop, you may notice vaginal dryness. This can cause some pain and discomfort, particularly during sex. Thankfully, there are a number of remedies for this, including lubricants and moisturising creams.

6. Decreased libido
While a man’s sex drive is largely controlled by testosterone, a woman’s is primarily controlled by oestrogen. As we’ve already established, these levels drastically drop during menopause, which can reduce your sexual appetite.

7. Headaches
These are typically more common for women who experienced them during their periods. You can get some quick relief from 4head cutaneous stick or Kool ‘n’ Soothe but if headaches persist then you may be suffering from migraines and should visit yourdoctor.

8. Breast soreness
Any time in your life when your hormones drastically change can create the same symptoms; this is typically menstruation, pregnancy and menopause. So while breasts can become sore while on your period or pregnant, it can also happen during menopause.

9. Burning mouth
It’s not quite as common as some of the other symptoms, but decreased levels of saliva during menopause can lead to what’s known as ‘burning mouth syndrome’. This is hot sensation that affects the tongue, lips, cheeks and roof of the mouth.

10. Joint pain
Not all joint pain may signal arthritis, but the menopause is a common time for women to develop musculoskeletal symptoms.

11. Digestive problems
Your digestive system is one of the most sensitive systems in your body and is often the first thing to get disrupted due to any major changes to your body (new medications, new foods, nervousness). Changes to hormones are another major body change that can lead to stomach upsets such as bloating, indigestion, constipation, diarrhoea and cramps.

12. Electric shocks
Because of the erratic changes going on in your body during menopause, you may notice that you experience more electric shocks. It’s also common to get these just before a hot flush.

13. Muscle tension
This can often be closely linked to stress and anxiety and presents itself as a feeling of tightness in the muscles, like a strain.

14. Gum problems
Affecting between 10 and 40 percent of menopausal women, gum problems are often accompanied by a metallic taste in the mouth.

15. Tingling extremities
It’s not overly common but a tingling sensation can appear on any part of the body. This is usually in the feet, hands, arms and legs.

16. Itchy skin
Low oestrogen levels can also lead to low collagen levels. Collagen is responsible for keeping skin plump, firm and healthy so with less of it, you may notice that skin can become thing, dry and itchy. Be sure to combat this with an intensive moisturiser.

17. Fatigue
One of the more common symptoms of menopause, many women will notice a feeling of extreme tiredness.

18. Anxiety
Along with mood swings, menopausal women may notice increased feelings of anxiety. As many as one in three women may experience this during menopause. To help calm feelings of anxiety, you could try a herbal supplement, such as Passion flower.

19. Disrupted sleep
Because of all the changes going on in your body (as well as the other menopausal symptoms), you may also experience disrupted sleep and insomnia. If this persists, sleeping tablets may be able to help.

20. Hair loss
While most people are aware that a lot of men lose their hair as they get older, not everyone realises that women get this too. Menopause can act as an accelerator for hair loss, leaving it looking thinner.

21. Memory lapses
These are usually only temporary but memory lapses can occur during menopause. Try some brain training exercises to strengthen cognitive function.

22. Difficulty concentrating
The brain doesn’t work as hard during menopause because oestrogen is the hormone that pushes it to burn glucose for energy. With lower levels of oestrogen, you end up with a lack of focus and concentration.

23. Weight gain
Many women notice weight gain when they start taking the contraceptive pill, caused by a major change in hormones. The major change in hormones during menopause can also cause weight gain but this can usually be combated by healthy eating and exercising. If you are unable to lose weight on your own then you may find that weight loss pills are able to help.

24. Dizzy spells
Vertigo and feeling dizzy during menopause are thought to be caused by the drop in oestrogen production.

25. Bloating
This usually occurs right at the start of your menopause and could even be one of the first symptoms you notice. If you’re still having periods but are constantly feeling bloated then this could be a hint that your menopause is coming.

26. Stress incontinence
A lot of women will already have experience incontinence as a result of childbirth, but this can increase around menopause. However, this could be more related to age than the actual menopausal process.

27. Brittle nails
Lower oestrogen levels and dehydration can leave your nails feeling brittle and can make them snap or break more easily.

28. Allergies
While you may never have had a problem with certain things before, you may notice allergies or intolerances during or after menopause. This is because hormones are very closely linked to your immune system.

29. Irregular heartbeat
Lower oestrogen levels can overstimulate the nervous system and circulatory system, which can, in turn, lead to heart palpitations or an irregular heartbeat.

30. Body odour
Not only can the menopause make you sweat more, but the change in hormones can also actually change your natural scent. If you find that excessive sweating is disrupting your life then you can find effective remedies at UK Meds.

31. Irritability
Your hormones play a large role in contributing to your emotions and the fluctuation can lead to feelings of sadness or irritability.

32. Depression
In more extreme cases, this change in emotions can lead to depression. Depression is four times more likely to affect women of a menopausal age than a woman below the age of

33. Panic disorder
Menopausal women are actually more susceptible to panic attacks than almost anyone else. If you are looking for a natural remedy to help you keep calm, try RelaxHerb.

34. Osteoporosis
Bone density can drop by up to 20% after the menopause, which puts you at risk of osteoporosis. Be sure to look after your bones with a healthy balanced diet and calcium vitamins and weight bearing exercises.

So, if you are struggling with symptoms and want to feel better, move better, get a handle on your nutrition and get back to fitness, then contact Absolute Body Conditioning today! And let’s work together to get you back to you.

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