Menopause can literally turn a woman's world upside down but the reality is, it doesn't have to. They say knowledge is power and while we're not suggesting you'll gain power by knowing more about menopause, it will definitely help you handle the symptoms much better.

Whether your in your twenties or in your thirties, one of the things you should be considering is getting to know a little bit about menopausal symptoms.

Oh sure, you're much too young to be worrying about them now…or are you. It's an amazing fact of life that menopausal symptoms will become part of your life at some stage. Many simply don't handle them and a major reason why is because they don't understand what's happening.

So how much harm can there be in doing a little research on symptoms of menopause so you know what to expect when they visit you. Being prepared mentally for anything in life is a good step and the really is the case with preparing for the symptoms of menopause.

Some Symptoms Of Menopause

1. Up to 85% of the women who go through menopause suffer from hot flashes. Although these hot flashes are normal, they may not feel like they are. You may experience hot flashes that are a small wave of heat felt spreading throughout your body, or they can be fierce, making it feel as if your body is suddenly on fire.

2. Night sweats are also common, and are similar to hot flashes but are usually found to be more intense, uncomfortable and can cause serious sleep deprivation.

3. More commonly known as exhaustion, fatigue is a serious menopause symptom that can make you feel like something is seriously wrong. This symptom is experienced in almost all women who go through menopause. If you feel like you just ran around your state, worked all day and then did a couple hours worth of aerobics and you just got out of bed, this could be a menopause symptom that you want to talk to your doctor about if you experience this kind of fatigue for more than 2 days straight.

4. Losing hair on the head, pubic and body are all possibly menopause symptoms. This isn’t to say that you’ll lose enough to make a difference in your appearance, but it will be enough to be noticeable to you. These symptoms definitely deserve a call to the doctor.

5. Another common menopause symptom found in women is the growth of facial hair. You shouldn’t expect to grow a full beard or mustache, but finding random whiskers that are course and thicker than your normal hair can mean that you’re experiencing menopause.

6. Confusion and memory lapses can also be attributed to menopause symptoms that can leave women wondering what is wrong with them. Not being able to remember conversations or plans recently made are good examples of the kind of memory loss that may mean a menopause symptom.

Menopause can cause a variety of reactions among women. But whether you are looking forward to the end of your reproductive days or dreading it, it is important to know what to expect during this natural change in life. It can occur anytime after the age of 35, but the typical age of onset is in the late 40s. A woman’s ovaries, the organs that produce eggs, stop making them and female hormones at this time. Menopause can be diagnosed when a woman has gone for twelve consecutive months without any bleeding. During the years following menopause, most of a woman's symptoms begin to ease, though her body can suffer some ill effects from the loss of estrogen.

Many woman are most likely to be between ages 40 and 60 years when they experience natural menopause - the average age is about 51. If you begin to go through menopause before the age of 40, it's called premature or early menopause. Perimenopause, the time leading up to menopause, can last anywhere from 2 to 5 years, but some women can remain in this stage for up to 15 years. Fluctuating hormone levels will probably cause some menopause symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and irritability. Heavy bleeding is also a possibility due to low levels of progesterone and higher levels of estrogen.

Irregular bleeding, menstrual cycles that are longer or shorter than normal, hot flashes and night sweats are some of the more common signs. Hot flashes are a sudden flush or warmth, often followed by sweating. This is caused by hormonal changes and their effect on your body's natural regulation of its temperature. It is important to note however, that even with a list that is this varied in symptoms that not all women have the same symptoms or experience the same severity of those symptoms. Irregular spotting can also be a symptom of cervical cancer which may be picked up by a Pap test.

Menopause can bring health risks. Osteoporosis is the most common disease associated with it, because of the negative impact on bones caused by declining estrogen levels. This phase can cause drastic changes in your urinary system. As the levels of estrogen in your body begin to fall, the walls of the bladder begin to thin and need to urinate might increase.

This can be a very angry time, and women find that they no longer feel guilty about expressing the rage they may have been repressing for the last 30 years. This energy can all be directed toward some very positive avenues.

Women who smoke and are underweight tend to experience an earlier menopause, while women who are overweight often experience it later. Generally, a woman tends to experience menopause at about the same age as her mother did. Changes in appearance can be troublesome to some women because fat will often settle just above your waist, on your hips, thighs and abdomen. This phase can cause weight gain especially around the mid-section, the place that affects your health the most, so keep it under control with weight bearing aerobic activity. And don't forget to add stretching and weight training to the mix.

Women whose menstrual periods stop with chemotherapy often experience severe menopausal symptoms (hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbance, vaginal dryness) that may be as severe as those associated with surgical menopause. Unlike the usual perimenopausal transition that lasts five to 10 years, letting a woman’s body gradually adjust to declining estrogen levels, these women suffer severe symptoms from the sudden change in hormone levels. Women feel warm or hot, and perspiration may be profuse. Hot flashes are sometimes called hot flushes because of this warming effect. Women who have a hysterectomy but have their ovaries left in place will not reach menopause at the time of surgery because their ovaries will continue to make hormones. But, because the uterus is removed, they will no longer have their periods and they cannot become pregnant.

Menopause is simply one point on that long slope of hormone output, even if it happens to be one we can clearly see because we stop having periods. Because a woman in natural menopause continues to produce lower levels of hormones that continue to support her remaining, non-fertile hormone needs, she may not have very many or very disruptive symptoms. Menopause is a natural part of the physiological aging process, but can also be induced surgically, when a woman undergoes a hysterectomy - if the ovaries are removed with the uterus. The average age of onset of menopause is 50.5 years, but can occur much earlier in cases of premature ovarian failure, or slightly later. Menopause is a natural process for a woman, not an illness. It is quite common for a womans hormone balance to begin shifting in her early thirties to forties, resulting in early menopause symptoms.

Menopause is characterized by a lot of symptoms like increase in weight, loss of sexual appetite, mood swings and irritability. An increase in one’s weight is one of the more annoying symptoms but even healthy, fit women are prone to it. Menopause is also caused by the decrease in the secretion of the female sex hormones, progesterone and estrogen. Menopause and surgery are difficult for regular people. With the help of a menopause consultant or a trained professional, will help a person come to terms.

Symptoms of weak adrenals include morning fatigue, needing caffeine, sugary or salty foods to keep going, feeling run down and stressed, or feeling tired for no reason. For more on adrenal, thyroid, estrogen and progesterone hormones and correcting hormone imbalance with herbs, see Hormone Imbalance . Symptoms can begin as early as thirty five but generally occur around age 45. Perimenopause can last for a few years or up to ten years or even longer.

Menopause is the shutting down of your baby-making capability. It’s part of a process called the climacteric, which involves the fluctuation and gradual decline of the production of female hormones, starting when you’re in your late 20’s or early 30’s. Menopause is a natural process of aging and hormonal changes in women. Many menopausal women experience hot flashes, sleeplessness, vaginal dryness, osteoporosis and heart attacks. Menopause is the stage in a woman's life when menstruation stops and she can no longer bear children. During menopause , the body produces less of the female hormones, estrogen and progesterone .

Menopause is thus a factor of this. But what exactly is menopause and how does it lead to frequent urination? Menopause is caused by the natural loss of ovarian function, whichin turn leads to a decrease in estrogen production and the cessationof monthly menstruation. These changes cause a variety of ailments andconditions, including vaginal itching, dryness and burning, hotflashes, osteoporosis, increase incidence of cardiovascular diseasedue to the blood lipid alterations, insomnia and mood swings. Menopause is more likely to occur at a slightly earlier age in women who smoke, have never been pregnant, or live at high altitudes. If premature menopause occurs, a health care provider will check for other medical problems.

The new thing in menopause health really isn’t so new.  Hormones are such an integral part of the workings of our bodies, yet they have almost been ignored for years, or doctors have used synthetic means to try to balance natural hormones.  They don’t match up very well.  Bioidentical hormones are finally being recognized by health practitioners as the missing key to many women’s and men’s health issues. 

Bioidentical hormones used in BHRT include estradiol, estrone, estriol, progesterone and testosterone.  Some therapies are available from drug companies as standard prescriptions; others must be compounded for the individual woman by a pharmacist.  BHRT differs from other therapeutic hormonal preparations which may have a similar function to the body's hormones, but do not have identical structures.  Hormones with a different structure are likely to have different levels of activity in the body than the natural hormones and require different metabolism. 

BHRT generally refers to supplements of estrogen, progesterone or testosterone that are chemically identical to the body’s own hormones.  They’re usually derived from plant sources, such as Mexican wild yam and soy, unlike traditional hormones, which come from sources such as the urine of pregnant horses and are molecularly different to a woman’s own.  Bioidentical hormones on the other hand have been produced by the human body for your entire life.  Further, they are not usually given in a standardized, 'one size fits all' dose, but tailored to a woman's presenting history.  The types and doses needed for each person can be determined by blood tests and even some saliva tests through your doctor’s office.

These more natural hormones are a good alternative to traditional hormone replacement therapy.  They can be used to treat menopausal symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain and fatigue.  Many women have seen tremendous results in their menopause symptoms even in a short time from using this form of natural hormone replacement.

Bioidentical hormones have been around for many years.  However, up until now, they have not been widely advertised or promoted by the medical community.  Hormones, whether synthetic or natural, carry serious risks when misused.  You need to be tested and have hormones prescribed for you that fit your needs and you should be retested on regular intervals. 

Menopause is not some enemy you have to stand on guard for and wait for it to come over the horizon. Many women get themselves into an absolute flutter standing on guard for the signs of symptoms of menopause when they don't need to.

The best way to prepare for them is to simply know what they are and understand them and the treatment options available. This is great for mental preparation but don't go overboard and think it signals the end of your life. Well in a way it does end the life you've known from a reproductive point-of-view but the truth is, it's the beginning of a whole new experience and life for you.

In this article, we will examine the signs of menopause symptoms from the more common to those which affect some women and not others. Another great way to get up to date is to simply have a chat with your physician.

Menopause Symptoms

There are about thirty-five common signs of symptoms of menopause that you need to be aware of and these include hot flashes and flushes, night sweating that alternates with cold flashes and feelings of clamminess are also commonly experienced, among other things. When these signs start to show up; they do so very frequently and cause a lot of discomfort to the patient.

Other common signs of menopause include rapidly beating heart along with mood swings accompanied by shedding of tears for no plausible reason. In addition, there can also be some amount of problems experienced with getting adequate sleep at night and these sleeping problems can be accompanied with night sweats or without it.

Another sign of menopause is that your periods start to become irregular – being heavier in some instances and lighter in other instances. In addition, there is also phantom type periods that can be shorter or even longer than normal periods. People that have begun to notice signs of menopause will also notice that their libido suffers adversely and dry vaginas are another consequence of menopause.

Having problems with concentrating, feeling slightly disoriented as well as being fuzzy in the mind and being forgetful are other signs of menopause. You may also suffer from inconsistence when sneezing, coughing or even when laughing. In addition, you can suddenly want to go to the toilet which in turn will cause you to feel anxious about going out of the home, especially to places where there are no restrooms.

Other common signs of menopause include itchy skin and joint pains as well as soreness in the tendons and muscles. Some signs of symptoms of menopause can also cause you embarrassment such as when your hair begins to thin, or when you may start to notice excessive hair beginning to grow on your face. You may also suffer from body odor which can cause acute embarrassment and your fingernails too can become weakened and will crack quite easily.

Another cause for concern for every woman in her middle age is that of pre-menopause symptoms, which occur prior to the onset of menopause and which should be treated at an early stage in order to cope with menopause on a firmer footing.

Natural Herbal Remedies - Home Remedies

When it comes to your health and overall well-being, home remedies can be cost saving and beneficial. Many people have been aware of home remedies for years and now more consumers are being made aware of how easy it is to use simple fixes for minor complaints. For years, doctors have prescribed expensive drugs for ailments that could be handled with a cheap and simple home preparation. With remedies that you can prepare at home you don’t have to worry about safety…the ingredients are all natural and there are no side effects.

Nothing beats a hot salt-water preparation to gargle with when you have a scratchy throat. This has been a standard in many families for generations and now doctors themselves will tell patients to use this for a simple sore throat fix. For healthy teeth and gums, you can mix a little salt and baking soda together. There are even large companies who make this simple home remedy and market it in a paste form today and it is very popular natural toothpaste. You can even make soothing remedies for colds by brewing tea from different herbs that you can purchase or grow in a window box or garden. These herbs include peppermint, rosemary, and thyme.

Hypoglycemia

Abrasions, insect bites, and minor skin inflammations can respond well to topical applications of aloe or lavender oil. For diabetics there can even be help with mango leaf tea, grapefruit and tea made from the edible pods of string beans. Any of these can be made at home or purchased at health food stores. The leaves of the stevia plant provide wonderful natural sweeteners and a sweet tooth can receive a healthy fix by merely chewing one or two of these leaves. There are even home remedies for acne, dry skin and indigestion or bloating from internal gas.

Symptom of Sugar Diabetes

The scientific studies that have been reported prove that natural and organic products are much better for everyone. People today are becoming much more informed about health issues as well. There have been some critical concerns involving medication safety and side effects and many commonly drugs are now being shown to have harmful side effects. These are all some of the reasons that consumers are now searching for healthier alternatives to prescription products. Home remedies can provide health conscious individuals with natural ways to treat many problems.

How do you know if you have all you need even though you hear a lot about vitamins and minerals? You probably are, for the most part. There are times when we don't however, and this lead to a very interesting theory. My mom offered me a book she read a long time ago, and it stated that those who do not get enough vitamins and minerals each day might get sick easier and also might walk around with strange cravings.

After I read the book, it made me think about a teacher I had in seventh grade. This guy was your classic teacher, though he was not very animated. Many times he would eat the chalk he had in the class room. I never considered there had to be a reason why he did it even though we thought it was funny at the time. May be it had something to do with the quantity of vitamins and minerals in his diet? I am not sure, but this book told me it was. It's a fascinating theory. But would it makes us eat chalk if our body craves for vitamins and minerals it is not getting?

So this might be the explanation why you demand certain foods. That's definitely not as shocking as eat chalk, but this could explain odd cravings, especially during pregnancy. Expecting women need more vitamins and minerals than anyone else, and they must to be sure they get them. If they are not getting the vitamins and minerals for themselves as well as what they need for their growing baby, does this drive them to ask for Italian dressing and hotdogs in the middle of the night? I don't know.