Menopause how do you know

Trip Tip: Smokers may get there about two years earlier than nonsmokers, while race, age at first period, use of birth control pills or fertility medications do not seem to be determining factors. Recalculating: Postmenopause The final stop along our midlife tour is postmenopause. This phase includes all the time after menopause, and still manages to muster up a surprise or two.

Due to the continued decrease in estrogen levels during this time, symptoms like vaginal dryness and hot flashes may linger. Trip Tip: Lower hormone levels also increase your risk for related diseases like osteoporosis.

Enjoy the Ride Signs. This menopause tour is unique for every woman. So for all the where-the-heck-am-I moments along the way, stop by your menopause navigation station at www. Ready for a trip to class? Enroll in Menopause But some women experience menopause in their 40s — with a small percentage experiencing signs of menopause earlier.

Some women may not reach menopause until their 60s. You may get a general idea of when to expect menopause based on when your family members went through it, particularly your mother.

Medical factors can also influence menopause timing. When the ovaries are removed, symptoms will begin to show immediately. Certain medical conditions like autoimmune diseases have also been associated with early menopause.

How long does menopause last? Typically, menopause symptoms last two to seven years postmenopause, but they can last longer for some women. A specialist like an OB-GYN or certified nurse-midwife can work with you to determine whether your symptoms are related to menopause, or another reason such as hormonal disorders or other health conditions. Around the age of 45 many women enter premenopause and start to notice the first signs that menopause is coming.

For some women, the symptoms are mild and short-lasting. For others, menopause symptoms can be disruptive and long-lasting. Period changes are usually the first signs of menopause. For example, your period may start to happen every six to eight weeks. Or you may miss a couple months before it comes back again. You may also have a heavier flow or a lighter flow from time to time. So, continue to use birth control in the lead up to menopause as you normally would.

Skipping periods during perimenopause is common and expected. Often, menstrual periods will skip a month and return, or skip several months and then start monthly cycles again for a few months. Periods also tend to happen on shorter cycles, so they are closer together.

Despite irregular periods, pregnancy is possible. If you've skipped a period but aren't sure you've started the menopausal transition, consider a pregnancy test. Keep up with regular visits with your doctor for preventive health care and any medical concerns. Continue getting these appointments during and after menopause. Preventive health care as you age may include recommended health screening tests, such as colonoscopy, mammography and triglyceride screening.

Your doctor might recommend other tests and exams, too, including thyroid testing if suggested by your history, and breast and pelvic exams. Naturally declining reproductive hormones. As you approach your late 30s, your ovaries start making less estrogen and progesterone — the hormones that regulate menstruation — and your fertility declines.

In your 40s, your menstrual periods may become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, and more or less frequent, until eventually — on average, by age 51 — your ovaries stop releasing eggs, and you have no more periods.

Surgery that removes the ovaries oophorectomy. Your ovaries produce hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, that regulate the menstrual cycle. Surgery to remove your ovaries causes immediate menopause. Your periods stop, and you're likely to have hot flashes and experience other menopausal signs and symptoms. Signs and symptoms can be severe, as hormonal changes occur abruptly rather than gradually over several years.

Surgery that removes your uterus but not your ovaries hysterectomy usually doesn't cause immediate menopause. Although you no longer have periods, your ovaries still release eggs and produce estrogen and progesterone. Urinary incontinence. As the tissues of your vagina and urethra lose elasticity, you may experience frequent, sudden, strong urges to urinate, followed by an involuntary loss of urine urge incontinence , or the loss of urine with coughing, laughing or lifting stress incontinence.

You may have urinary tract infections more often. Strengthening pelvic floor muscles with Kegel exercises and using a topical vaginal estrogen may help relieve symptoms of incontinence.

Hormone therapy may also be an effective treatment option for menopausal urinary tract and vaginal changes that can result in urinary incontinence. Changes to your periods The first sign of the menopause is usually a change in the normal pattern of your periods.

Eventually, you'll stop having periods altogether. Common menopausal symptoms About 8 in every 10 women will have additional symptoms for some time before and after their periods stop. These can have a significant impact on daily life for some women.

Common symptoms include: hot flushes — short, sudden feelings of heat, usually in the face, neck and chest, which can make your skin red and sweaty night sweats — hot flushes that occur at night difficulty sleeping — this may make you feel tired and irritable during the day a reduced sex drive libido problems with memory and concentration vaginal dryness and pain, itching or discomfort during sex headaches mood changes, such as low mood or anxiety palpitations — heartbeats that suddenly become more noticeable joint stiffness, aches and pains reduced muscle mass recurrent urinary tract infections UTIs The menopause can also increase your risk of developing certain other problems, such as weak bones osteoporosis.