Menopause happens once the ovaries stop releasing a functional egg every month resulting in menstruation completely stopping. Because the two hormones, estrogen, and progesterone, are made in the ovaries, a drastic decrease in these hormones occurs. This causes menopause symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

Premature menopause can also occur in younger women if their ovaries have been removed in a hysterectomy or if they’ve been damaged by chemotherapy. In this case, you may have to start hormone therapy to decrease the chances of developing conditions like cardiovascular disease.

There are three stages of menopause that all have their own signs and symptoms:

1. Perimenopause

During perimenopause, you may begin to notice changes in your menstrual cycle. Your periods will become irregular while your hormones start to decline. Perimenopause can last anywhere from a few months to about four years. Throughout this timeframe, you will likely start to experience side effects of menopause including hot flashes and vaginal dryness.

2. Menopause

When your ovaries have stopped releasing functional eggs and the hormones that cause your menstrual period to stop, you’ve reached menopause. After 12 consecutive months without a period, you’ve entered the final stage.

3. Postmenopause

Fortunately, menopause side effects become much milder during postmenopause until one day they completely go away.

Going through the three stages of menopause can take many years. First, you may notice you start skipping a few periods every now and then until one day they stop altogether. Perimenopause takes about four years to transition into menopause. During this stage, your ovaries slowly make less estrogen causing menopause symptoms to occur. Menopause lasts exactly one year and then you are considered to be in the postmenopause stage.

Menopause can come with numerous uncomfortable symptoms. As your body adjusts to the changes in hormones, you may experience the following side effects:

– Hot flashes
– Insomnia
– Tender breasts
– Increased need to pee
– Mood swings
– Loss of periods
– Dry skin, eyes, and/or mouth
– Depression
– Decreased sex drive
– Weight gain
– Hair loss
– Headaches
– Joint and muscle aches

Experiencing any of these signs is totally normal, but should definitely still be looked at by your doctor. They will help you determine if menopause is responsible for these symptoms or if another condition is the root cause.

Going to see a doctor for menopause is a great idea because your doctor can give you some helpful tools to help combat some of the side effects you’ll experience. It’s also a good idea to see your doctor in order to make sure that these symptoms are all menopause-related and not coming from a more serious condition. For example, it’s completely normal for menopause to cause vaginal bleeding but this can also be a sign of more serious issues such as uterine cancer.

Women’s Health Consulting would love to help you get through this time in your life. If you have additional questions about menopause or what we can do to care for you please feel free to reach out and call us or schedule an appointment online. We serve patients from Chicago IL, Cicero IL, Oak Park IL, Forest Park IL, Berwyn IL, Maywood IL, and Logan Square Chicago IL.