When a woman is more than 40 years old, her relationship with medicine changes radically: it becomes completely incomprehensible with which symptoms to run to the doctor and which are considered normal manifestations of age. To understand the concept of perimenopause and its manifestations, you should familiarize yourself with the material below.
What Is Perimenopause?
In some women, menopause occurs abruptly: menstruation stops without any cycle disturbances and ailments. But, for the majority of females, several years before the onset of menopause, cycle oscillations begin: from scanty blood discharge for 2-3 days a month to long menstrual discharge, lasting for 3-4 weeks. For some, the cycle is shortened to 21 days or less, for others - it lengthens up to 40 days, or even up to 3-4 months. This is the beginning of the perimenopause phase in a woman’s life.
How Long Does Perimenopause Last?
Such a "restructuring" can drag on for a period of 2 to 10 years (for the majority - 3-4 years). It, of course, cannot but affect health and leads to a decrease in the quality of life. To alleviate the condition, a woman can be prescribed HRT.
What Age Does Perimenopause Start?
The period of perimenopause mainly begins at the age of 45-50, turning into menopause at an average age of 51 years. It is the average age of perimenopause. During the early perimenopause, the levels of estrogen and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) in the female body, as a rule, increase slightly but generally remain within the normal range.
Over time, when perimenopause progresses, estrogen concentration decreases and FSH rises. After menopause, the ovaries cease to produce estradiol and progesterone, while continuing to produce testosterone. However, a small amount of estrogen is still synthesized in peripheral adipose tissue during the metabolism of adrenal steroids.
Symptoms Of Perimenopause
During the period of perimenopause, patients indicate various complaints about such perimenopause symptoms:
• hot flashes;
• night sweats;
• vaginal discomfort;
• urinary incontinence;
• trouble sleeping
• sexual dysfunction;
• depression
• anxiety;
• lability of mood;
• memory impairment;
• headache;
• weight gain;
• bloating
Hot flashes are one of the most frequently discussed perimenopause signs, but few understand its essence. It gets hot for you, you sweat instantly, and after a couple of minutes, all the symptoms go away. The fact is that against the background of estrogen deficiency, functional changes occur in the central nervous system, where the thermoregulation centers are located. Hot flashes are, in fact, vascular spasms against the backdrop of “false signals”: the vessels narrow, there is a sharp rush of blood through the vessels to the skin, and then, since it was a false call, the vessels expand again, and the blood drains.
Headaches are also largely due to vascular problems. Often, in the age of the perimenopause, arterial hypertension manifests itself, which requires a consultation with a cardiologist.
If symptoms began to appear from the age of 40, then, this is not quite the norm and, possibly, not at all menopause - you need to examine and exclude other pathology (endometriosis, ovarian cysts, polyps, fibroids, and thyroid disorders).
