Generality
The symptoms of menopause, or menopausal symptoms, are those disorders that distinguish the period in which the woman undergoes the physiological cessation of her fertility and menstrual cycle.
Although, according to statistics, the average age at which a woman enters menopause is 51 years, it is not uncommon for at least some of the menopausal symptoms to appear before the age indicated above.
It is difficult to define and predict the symptomatic progression of menopause for a woman: every interested subject, in fact, represents a case in itself. The content of this article should therefore not be frightening: although all the possible symptoms of menopause are listed, it is not certain that these will all occur together and / or with severe intensity.
Brief review of menopause
Menopause is that physiological period (therefore natural and not pathological) of a woman's life, which marks the end of her fertility and of the recurrence of menstruation.
In other words, a menopausal woman is no longer subject to the menstrual cycle and is no longer fertile.
The menopause period often coincides with the appearance of some specific symptoms and mild psychophysical disorders.
WHAT IS A WOMAN ENTERING MENOPAUSA?
According to experts, in order to be able to talk about real menopause, it is necessary to wait at least a year after the last menstruation.
The biological event at the base of menopause and the end of the menstrual cycle is the sharp decline in production, on the part of the ovaries, of estrogen and progesterone, the two female sex hormones par excellence.
In a woman's life, menopause is normally between the end of forty and the beginning of the fifties. Based on the most reliable statistics, the average age at which the woman enters menopause would be 51 years (with an interval ranging from 45 to 55 years).
However, there is the possibility of the so-called precocious menopause, that is the menopause which is decidedly established before the canonical age just indicated (generally under 40 years ). Having a frequency of one woman per 100, early menopause can have both natural causes and iatrogenic causes (for example, in the case of removal of the ovaries).
Menopause symptoms
The symptoms of menopause, or menopausal symptoms, are the psychophysical manifestations and disorders that, in women, characterize the physiological conclusion of fertility and the recurrence of menstruation; their onset mainly depends on the ineluctable decline in the production of estrogen and progesterone by the ovaries.
Figure: among the elephants, the physiological end of fertility is not a problem at all. In fact, it is precisely the specimens that are no longer fertile to lead the group, transmitting their knowledge to younger animals and taking care of them.
The picture of menopausal symptoms is rich in elements, which quite often appear at different times: some manifestations can be considered warning or at least typical of the initial phase; others may be defined as intermediate; others, finally, can be considered late disturbances, distinctive of the final phase.
Taken together, the symptoms of menopause are often referred to as " climacteric syndrome "
Symptoms of menopause in short | ||
Irregularity of the menstrual cycle | Anxiety | Insomnia and sleep disorders |
Hot flashes and night sweats | Mood decline and depression | Vaginal dryness from vaginal atrophy |
Dryness of skin and hair | Fatigue | Low libido |
Arthralgia and muscle pains | Difficulty concentrating | Memory deficit |
Urinary disorders | Pain during sexual intercourse (dyspareunia) | Irritability |
Headache | Palpitations | Digestive disorders |
The warning and beginning symptoms of menopause
The symptoms that warn of the onset of menopause and / or that characterize the initial phase are different.
The most common and characteristic of these symptoms is the irregularity of the menstrual cycle . This irregularity can include various anomalies - including short and low-duration menstruation, profuse and long-term menstruation, extremely painful menstruation, menstruation every 2-3 weeks or every 2-3 months etc. - which are resolved when the menstrual cycle reaches a definitive conclusion.
In addition to the irregularity of the menstrual cycle, the other possible warning symptoms and the onset of menopause are:
- Hot flashes . Generally, they are short and sudden, and affect the face, neck and chest;
- Night sweats . They are connected to the hot flashes that occur during the night;
- Palpitations ;
- Insomnia . It derives, in part, from the hormonal changes that characterize menopause and, in part, from night-time hot flashes (which disturb sleep);
- Anxiety, irritability, decreased mood and easy to tame . They depend largely on insomnia;
- Headache . According to some experts, it is due to irritability and anxiety; according to others, however, it is due to the same biological mechanisms that cause headache during menstruation;
- Decrease in libido and sexual desire . These are two logical consequences of the drop in estrogen that characterizes menopause.
Curiosity
The symptoms that warn of the imminent start of menopause are often identified with the term " perimenopause symptoms "; perimenopause is the characteristic period that precedes the actual menopause.
Intermediate symptoms
In an intermediate stage, the menopause determines:
- Increase in vaginal pH . In fertile age the vaginal pH is around 3.5 - 4.5, while in menopause it rises to 7.0 - 7.3;
- Vaginal atrophy (or vulvo-vaginal atrophy ). With this term, doctors indicate the condition characterized, mainly, by the thinning and drying of the internal vaginal wall. Result of a net decline in circulating estrogen, vaginal atrophy is the source of: vaginal dryness, discomfort, itching and burning at the level of the vagina, and pain during sexual intercourse;
- Arthralgia accompanied with muscle pain . Arthralgia is pain in one or more joints. According to statistics, it affects over 50% of menopausal women and affects mainly the neck, shoulders, elbows and hands. It appears to be the result of hormonal changes imposed by menopause;
- Memory deficit and decline in concentration . It is not clear what exactly these two symptoms trigger. According to some hypotheses, however, the protagonists would be, once again, the estrogens: scientific studies, in fact, have shown the presence of estrogen receptors also in the brain.
In any case, in many women, memory deficits and the decline in the ability to concentrate are passengers, in the sense that, in the post-menopausal period, there is no longer any trace.
Curiously, they are more common in women with greater episodes of hot flashes and night sweats;
- Urinary disorders . The most common of these disorders is the so-called urinary incontinence, or the involuntary loss of urine.
Urinary incontinence: brief study
The hormonal changes typical of the menopause involve some unfavorable modifications to the connective tissues of the bladder, urethra and, in general, of all those structures involved in the elimination of urine.
The unpleasant result of these modifications is the aforementioned urinary incontinence, which is manifested above all under stress (therefore during a sneeze, a strong laugh etc.).
Late symptoms
The symptoms and the late consequences of menopause include:
- Aesthetic repercussions, such as increased body weight, dry hair, dry skin combined with a loss of elasticity, thinning of the skin, appearance of wrinkles, loss of shine on the part of the nails, reduction of muscle mass, etc. They are the result of modifications to the connective tissues of the body, imposed, in turn, by the hormonal changes typical of the menopause;
- Osteoporosis . Linked to the exhaustion of circulating estrogens, it is a particularly late symptom;
- Increased blood pressure ( hypertension ) and the consequent increase in cardiovascular risk . Increased cardiovascular risk involves an increased risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, vascular dementia, etc.
- Digestion problems, such as abdominal bloating and frequent indigestion. Like aesthetic changes, they depend on the alteration of connective tissues, caused by the drop in estrogen in the body.
Effects of early menopause
Compared to peers who are still fertile, women who have had an early menopause are more likely to suffer from diseases such as osteoporosis, stroke, vascular dementia and myocardial infarction.
These greater possibilities represent confirmation of the link between the aforementioned pathological conditions and menopause, with all its changes at the hormonal level.
Duration
In most cases, menopausal symptoms last about 4 years .
However, in a woman every 10, these disorders continue for up to 12 years.
Short curiosity
Menopause is symptomatic for at least 8 women per 10.
Living with menopause and its symptoms
Biology cannot explain the psychological repercussions of menopause. It is in fact too simple and hasty to simply blame the hormonal changes that characterize the end of ovarian activity.
The reality of the facts is that countless variables affect the mood of menopausal women, linked to their experience and quality of life in the climacteric years (that is, of the period that precedes and follows menopause).
Leaving for a moment the academic tones used in the description of the symptoms of menopause (which make it pass almost as a disease), it is good to remember - if necessary - that menopause is an absolutely physiological event .
Aging, like it or not, is an inevitable and completely natural process, but that does not mean that it should be lived with resignation. Rather, greater awareness and a renewed focus on a body that changes and becomes more demanding of attention is needed.
For example, in front of a skin that becomes drier and less elastic, a woman can limit sun exposure; in the presence of increased adipose tissue or the appearance of osteoporosis, it can resort to the practice of a targeted physical activity and control the diet; etc.
All the concepts presented so far become even more important, if we consider the inseparable combination of mind and body, between physical health and mental health. If something on the upper floors works incorrectly, the whole body ends up being affected.
If inner fears and conflicts mark the relationship with the impending menopause, the anxiety that results from it only aggravates the symptoms and disorders typically related to the physiological end of fertility.
| The most common menopause symptoms and the frequency with which these symptoms occur | ||
Symptom of menopause | Percentage of women involved | Description |
Weight gain | 67% | What it depends on: the decrease in estrogen and the consequent attempt by the body to increase the synthesis of the aforementioned hormones, through the increase in aromatase activity, ie the enzyme of adipose tissue responsible for the conversion of androgens into estrogens. In other words, in the face of a decline in estrogens, the body of the menopausal woman responds with an increase in adipose tissue, as in this tissue there is the fundamental enzyme system for the conversion of androgens into estrogens. Other correlations: it can also be associated with causes of a psychological nature, such as anxiety and nervousness, which lead to bulimic crises. |
Hot flashes | > 70% | They represent the most classic menopausal disorder. They affect more than 70% of women, last on average for a couple of years, but in 25% of cases they can persist for even more than 5 years. Characteristics: They manifest themselves with a sensation of intense heat that runs through the whole body like a wave; this heat lasts from 30 seconds to 3 minutes and usually ends with cold sweats. Hot flushes can be repeated several times within a day; in fact, the daily number of episodes can even reach 15-20. Nighttime hot flashes disturb sleep, causing insomnia. Associations: they are often associated with palpitations. Other consequences: they are not a worrying phenomenon, but they can be very annoying and irritating for those who suffer them. |
Arthralgia and muscle pains | 83% | What they depend on: most likely, they are closely related to the drop in estrogen. Characteristics: reduce joint elasticity and motility. |
Ease of fatigue | 43% | Characteristics: it is a symptom of variable entity, which generally depends on pre-existing character aspects and / or on concomitant socio-environmental factors. |
Irritability and nervousness | 49% and 47% | What they depend on: certainly insomnia and hormonal deficits typical of menopause. In some women, it is also an expression of the discomfort that develops women in the face of loss of fertility and "youth". Associations: often accompany the decline in mood. |
Night sweats | 44% | Characteristics: it is associated with the phenomenon of night-time hot flashes. Consequences: it disturbs sleep at night, therefore a potential cause of insomnia. |
Headache | 45% | What it depends on: it is found more often in women with greater episodes of hot flushes, night sweats and insomnia. |
Insomnia | 38% | What it depends on: hormonal changes and night-time hot flashes. |
Mood drop (depression) | 33% | See what is reported in the item irritability and nervousness. |
Palpitations | 46% | Characteristics: they are the consequence of a sudden increase in heart rate; in general, they are transient. Associations: may accompany hot flushes. |
Pain during sexual intercourse | 33% | What it depends on: from vaginal atrophy. |
Urinary disorders | 38% | What they depend on: from the alteration of the connective tissues that constitute the bladder, urethra and all the other anatomical structures responsible for eliminating urine. |
Vaginal dryness | 26% | What it depends on: from vaginal atrophy. |
When should I go to the doctor?
It is good for a woman in menopause to ask her doctor, when she experiences particularly intense symptoms that seriously affect the quality of her life.
In the presence of menopausal symptoms before the age of 40, an immediate specialist medical consultation is advisable.
