Understanding the Peri Menopause?
You must have heard about menopause and would have a basic idea of what it is and what it involves. However, do you know what peri menopause is? By definition peri menopause would mean 'around menopause' which is further translated into pre-menopause. Some doctors would label this as the period before the menopause sets in.
Signs Announcing Menopause
There are three phases in menopause - (1) peri menopause or pre-menopause, (2) menopause and (3) post menopause. Each of these phases has distinct symptoms which sometimes overlap. The pre menopause period involves all the symptoms that announce the onset of this phase of life. The first sign would be irregularity in the menstrual cycle which would now be erratic and unpredictable.
Accompanied with this particular symptom would be a number of physical and mental changes such as weight gain, skin dryness and pigmentation, appearance of wrinkles on the face, water retention, rough hair and so on. You would also experience mood swings, anxiety attacks, and possibly depression bouts off and on.
As most of these symptoms are also symptoms of aging, many women ignore it or assign it solely to the former reason ignoring the fact these are factors that also show that menopause is round the corner. The difference here is that while there is no medication as such for aging, there is plenty of help to fight the symptoms of menopause. Hence, recognizing the signs and symptoms of the peri menopause would be extremely helpful in getting the right medication on time and have you spared of some very traumatic time.
While indeed most of the signs can be passed off as aging signs, hot flushes are definitely the symptom of menopause as is dryness of the vaginal wall resulting in painful intercourse unless external lubrication is used. When you find these signs be sure that this is peri menopause and get ready to fight one of the most problematic phases in your life.
Among the other symptoms that you could look out for are memory problems, constant fatigue, migraines or headaches, restlessness, night sweats, lack of sleep, etc. Fortunately, there are sufficient means to fight successfully each of these symptoms for which it is so important to identify it on time.
Menopause cannot be stopped, but you can very well escape the impact of its symptoms if you learn to identify the signs as early as they appear. This would help you prevent any type of negative impact on the quality of your life, when you feel most vulnerable.
