How to know you’re in perimenopause
How do you know if you’re entering perimenopause? Irregular periods and hot flashes, right? Not necessarily. As menopause receives more attention in academics, research has uncovered dozens more symptoms indicative of estrogen going haywire. Estrogen, the primary hormone to change and eventually decrease in menopause, affects tissues throughout the body, so you can expect symptoms of withdrawal from estrogen throughout the body too.
The first thing to know is the timeline. While the average age of menopause (the final period) is 51, many women will experience perimenopause symptoms as early as their late thirties and post-menopause symptoms as late as their sixties.
Some women will experience many symptoms, and some to life-altering extents. Others will notice one day that they don’t get their periods anymore and that will be all. All options are natural, but that doesn’t mean you have to suffer. If menopause symptoms are negatively impacting your life, seek help from a provider who is comfortable treating menopause.
Now for the symptoms:
Physical Symptoms
Breast tenderness
Fatigue
Dry skin
Adult acne
Hair loss or change in texture
Headaches or migraines
Heart palpitations
Hot flashes
Night sweats
Joint pain
Irregular periods
Sleep issues
Weight gain or body recomposition
Genitourinary Symptoms
Low libido
Painful sex
Urinary incontinence
Urinary leaks
Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
Vaginal dryness
Urinary frequency and urgency
Cognitive symptoms
Brain fog
Forgetfulness
Impaired short-term memory
Inability to focus
Inattentiveness
Poor word retrieval
Mood swings
Anxiety or dread
Feeling not yourself
Impatience
Irritability
Low motivation or energy
Mood swings
Tearfulness
Though uncommon, some may experience:
Low blood pressure
Dizziness
Ringing in ears
Asthma
Bizarre dreams
Indigestion
Burning sensation in the mouth
Change in breath or body odor
Neurological experiences like tingling, numbing, itchiness, or what feels like electric jolts
If you are within the normal age range, a provider should be able to determine you are in menopause based on your symptoms alone. Just as we don’t need a blood test to determine that a 12-year-old girl who just started menstruating is in puberty, we don’t need hormonal testing to verify menopause when your period has stopped. It is a normal process, not a disease that needs to be screened for.
That being said, decades of these symptoms is not out of the question so it is a good idea to address them with a provider if they are negatively affecting you. Menopausal Hormone Therapy is a good option for many, but there are so many things you can do to improve your overall health and experience instead of or in addition to pharmaceutical intervention. More information on lifestyle changes and their impact in future articles.
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Gunter, J. (2024, March 16). The Vajenta: Hormone Testing and Menopause. Retrieved from https://vajenda.substack.com/p/hormone-testing-and-menopause?utm_source=publication
Mishra, G. D., & Kuh, D. (2012). Health symptoms during midlife in relation to menopausal transition: British prospective cohort study. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 344, e402.
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.e402
Monteleone, P., Mascagni, G., Giannini, A. et al. Symptoms of menopause — global prevalence, physiology and implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol 14, 199–215 (2018).
https://doi.org/10.1038/nrendo.2017.180
