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Hormonal imbalance that is the characteristic trait of menopause causes women to experience a host of physical as well as emotional symptoms. Generally, most women will begin to experience the symptoms of menopause during her mid-40s as the body loses its ability to reproduce. This period of fluctuating and gradual fall of hormones might last for up to 2 years until the occurrence of the last period.
This stage is known as perimenopause. Although for most women these symptoms end at menopause others continue to experience them for a few months or even years.
Here are some of the symptoms that women might experience prior to menopause, according to experts at Icy Health https://icyhealth.com
● Hot Flushes:
Also known as hot flashes, these occur all of a sudden, spreading a warm feeling over the body. This creates redness that is particularly noticeable in the upper parts such as the face and neck. The intensity might vary from person to person. As a woman approach menopause, the supply of the estrogen hormone significantly reduces, often resulting in hot flushes. The production of estrogen usually decreases gradually for most however for other it might stop almost abruptly leading to severe hot flushes.
● Irregular Periods:
This is the most common symptom of menopause. Although there can be innumerable reasons for irregular periods, during the menopause stage it is usually because of hormonal imbalance. Periods may be shorter or longer than before, bleeding can be lighter or heavier than usual and periods may be brief or even go on till the end of menopause.
Skipping period or bleeding between periods are a couple of other symptoms of hormonal imbalance. As women approach menopause in her mid mid-40s, hormonal fluctuations are caused due to decreasing levels of progesterone and estrogen.
● Acute Mood Swings:
Mood swings in women at the menopause phase are surprisingly common. However, these can be pretty difficult to cope up with and might experience multiple emotions at the same time. These mood swings can be brief yet intense, although the experience might vary according to the individual.
A drop in the production of estrogen results in a drastic reduction in the levels of neurotransmitters that regulate mood. This eventually leads to mood swings. Therefore, by addressing the problem of hormonal imbalance, acute mood swings can be kept under check.
● Hair Loss:
This is one of the noticeable symptoms of the menopause phase. The Hormone estrogen is responsible for sustaining hair growth, and decrement in its production causes the hair to either fall off or break easily. Hair loss can be sudden or gradual and might include hair of the pubic area besides other parts of the body. Hair may also become brittle and drier, and can fall out easily while brushing or in a shower.
● Weight Gain:
Women usually tend to put on a great deal of weight during the menopause stage. Accumulation of fat around the waist area usually greatly to the weight gain. The major reason for this is the hormonal imbalance that influences weight and redistribution of fat in the entire body.
As the body produces less estrogen, the body tends to retain more fat cells. Also, lower hormone levels lead to a decrease in the overall metabolic rate. Which means that women who approach menopause need fewer calories. However, most women fail to reduce the calorie intake, which eventually contributes to an increase in weight.
All the aforementioned symptoms indicate that the woman is soon approaching menopause and needs to incorporate a few lifestyle changes in order to stay healthy.
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