National Menopause Awareness Month is here again and to honor it, I want to tell you how to know if menopause is near. You probably know about menopause. Menopause is defined by doctors as one year after your last period and on average comes at age 53 years and 3 months (unless both your ovaries are removed or damaged and don’t work. If that happens you are in menopause at that age).
But many women aren’t as aware of perimenopause.
That is the 10 year window of time that leads up to menopause. The reason that it’s so important to know about perimenopause is that in addition to typical symptoms such as irregular periods, it’s a time of reduced fertility as well as additional symptoms like a pounding heart, trouble sleeping or mood changes.
Many don’t realize these are likely the normal symptoms of perimenopause and instead of going to see their gynecologist, many women end up seeing a specialist for their heart, mind or sleep.
Other symptoms of perimenopause include low libido, hot flashes and vaginal dryness. This combo of symptoms causes a lot of worry for many women and most don’t realize it is the beginning of menopause.
During perimenopause, many women complain of urinary loss, weight gain, reduced fertility and migraine headaches.
Since perimenopause begins up to ten years earlier than menopause, start talking with your doctor about what to expect before perimenopause symptoms become worrisome to you. That means some time around your 41st birthday. And for some women, it might be a good idea to have this discussion even earlier.
In honor of Menopause Awareness Month, I’d like to offer you a free three-part video series called Health Accelerator that will teach you about things you need to know about such as 1. The tests you need to have done 2. How to prepare for your next annual exam and 3) Five health tips you can begin doing today to jumpstart your health.
Click here for instant access. It contains valuable information that can help you stay well.
Learn more about perimenopause from this short video.
