Early menopause symptoms are not different from that of common menopause. Generally, women suffer from headaches, insomnia, night sweats, hot flashes, and joint pain. Body shape changes are also quite evident: women often put on weight around the abdomen. In fact, during early menopause there is fluctuation of hormones in the body that triggers early menopause symptoms. Thus, menopausal women can experience anxiety, depression, forgetfulness, emotional ups and downs. Due to the reason that early menopause is often caused by disease, surgery, or genetic factors, there is a rapid decline in the amount of estrogen in the woman’s body. Such “estrogen crash” can also cause extreme hot flashes, fatigue, mood swings. The majority of early menopausal women who experience surgical menopause commonly have a number of menopause symptoms in quick succession. They often complain of their severeness and long duration (more than eight years).
To sum it up, we may distinguish between barely physical symptoms and signs that belong to the emotional sphere.
Physical symptoms:
- vaginal dryness,
- irregular periods (changes in their frequency and duration),
- infertility,
- bladder control problems,
- hot flashes and night sweats,
- palpitations,
- breast tenderness,
- insomnia/disrupted sleep,
- headaches,
- weight gain (especially around the waist and abdomen),
- skin changes (dryness, thinning look),
- bloating,
- itchy skin,
- gastrointestinal distress and nausea,
- changes in body odor,
- hair loss or thinning,
- dizziness,
- sore joints and muscles,
- dry mouth,
- increase in facial hair.
Emotional symptoms:
- depression,
- anxiety,
- irritability,
- mood swings,
- lack of concentration,
- lowered libido,
- feeling emotionally detached,
- confusion,
- memory lapses,
- extreme fatigue.
In next articles we will consider most common early menopause symptoms and possible ways of coping with them.
