The first signs of menopause, or the beginning of a new period in a woman's life

A woman is a beautiful creature, whose true purpose is not only to adorn the world, but also to continue the human race. The time comes when the sexual function of the fair sex fades, and they begin to notice the first signs of menopause, which is a signal for the end of an important period in a woman's life, when the reproductive function in the body was physiologically supported.

When does menopause occur?

The structure of the female body with all its roundness and protuberances, the processes occurring inside the female organism are aimed precisely at the reproduction and development of new life. But this process is not eternal, like all living things on the planet.

Over time, the production of sex hormones, in particular estrogen and progesterone, decreases, sexual desire and the likelihood of pregnancy decrease, and a lot of unpleasant sensations associated with hormonal changes in the body arise. When a woman will have the first signs of menopause, and what they will be, is a purely individual matter, because each person's body is unique and reacts in its own way to various changes occurring both outside and inside the body itself.

Usually, menopause, as the climacteric period in women is commonly called, begins to manifest itself at the age of 45-50. This is considered a physiological norm, which, however, has its deviations. Pathological menopause with all its manifestations can begin at 30 years. This is facilitated by various reasons, starting with ovarian dysfunction and genetic pathologies, and ending with the consequences of chemotherapy and various injuries and operations in the genital area.

For various reasons, changes occur in the functioning of the hypothalamus and the associated pituitary gland, which in turn regulates the functioning of the sex and endocrine glands. Disturbances in the functioning of the pituitary gland affect the production of sex hormones, their level in the blood decreases and early menopause occurs.

The first signs of early menopause

Early menopause is menopause that occurs in a woman under 40 years of age. Before reaching the age of forty, a woman is considered quite capable of natural conception, but some malfunctions in the body can significantly shift this boundary. Already at the age of 30, some women begin to notice the manifestations of menopause, and in some particularly severe cases, such symptoms are observed even in adolescence, which is an obstacle to motherhood in the future.

Although menopause can manifest itself differently in different women, the first signs of early menopause are generally considered to be:

• Various disturbances in a woman's menstrual cycle, such as an increase or decrease in the intervals between periods, as well as a complete absence of menstrual flow.
• The appearance of symptoms similar to hot flashes, characteristic of the usual physiological menopause (it throws you into heat, then into cold). Sometimes there is causeless chills or heat in the face and hands.
• Disruption of the sleep rhythm and psycho-emotional state of a woman: fatigue and drowsiness, irritability, aggression, frequent mood swings, decreased memory (especially short-term) and concentration, tendency to depression.
• Disorders associated with urination (pain during urination, urinary incontinence).
• Fluctuations in weight towards increase.
• Deterioration of the appearance and condition of the skin, hair, nail plates. The skin becomes dry and flabby, hair loss increases, nails crumble and break.
• Increased blood pressure surges, increased heart rate, tachycardia.
• Frequent headaches accompanied by dizziness.
• Decreased sexual desire (libido), the appearance of painful sensations during sexual intercourse against the background of dry labia, decreased vaginal discharge and itching in intimate areas.

These are common symptoms of early menopause, but again, they may not manifest themselves fully and with varying intensity. Everything depends on the specific female organism.

The age from 40 to 45 years is considered a borderline period. The appearance of menopause symptoms during this period of time is considered a normal variant, although there is an opinion that the later menopause begins, the better for women's health.

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The first signs of menopause in women aged 45-50

A decrease in the secretion of female sex hormones at the age of 45-50 is considered a physiological norm. As well as the associated changes in the woman's body, which must be perceived adequately and as calmly as possible in order to avoid unnecessary exacerbation of symptoms.

Physiological menopause has 3 periods, which can be designated as premenopause, menopause and postmenopause. Premenopause is the time when the hormonal function of the ovaries begins to fade, which lasts until the last menstruation. It is at this time that women aged 45-50 begin to show the first signs of menopause to one degree or another.

For different representatives of the weaker half of humanity, the duration of this period can vary from 2 to 10 years, during which the following is observed:

• A sharp decrease in the likelihood of conceiving a child.
• Menstrual cycle disorders: irregular cycle, scant or, on the contrary, increased volume of discharge, up to uterine bleeding.
• Increase in the interval between periods from 1-1.5 to 3 months.
• With scanty discharge, the volume of blood released gradually decreases until menstruation stops completely.
• Sometimes, coarsening of the mammary glands is observed, associated with fluctuations in estrogen levels.

Cases of sudden cessation of menstruation are the exception rather than the norm, so women usually know about the approach of menopause in advance. The period of menopause lasts for a year after the end of the last menstruation, after which postmenopause begins, which accompanies a woman for the rest of her life. Starting with menopause, a woman loses the ability to become pregnant naturally, the figure begins to lose its rounded feminine shape, the shape of the mammary glands changes (they sag, losing their elasticity, the nipples become flatter), hair thins, mucous discharge from the vagina disappears, and the skin, even in the area of the mucous membranes, becomes dry, flabby and wrinkled.

In addition to the above-described manifestations of premenopause, there are some other symptoms that indicate the onset of the pre-climacteric period. The first signs of menopause include the so-called "hot flashes", accompanied by sudden heat that begins with the face, neck and hands, gradually spreading throughout the body. At the same time, a slight increase in temperature may be observed, the pulse rate increases, the skin becomes spotty and acquires a red tint, sometimes increased sweating is noted, especially at night.

Hot flashes are the most common symptom of the pre-menopausal period, which few manage to avoid. However, the intensity of this symptom in women can vary significantly, so some ladies simply ignore such manifestations.

In addition, the onset of menopause may be marked by:

• Insomnia, problems falling asleep, when unpleasant thoughts about the day gone by and the problems that arise swarm in the head, and instead of sleeping, the woman tries to find a way out of the current situation.
• Severe attacks of rapid heartbeat, when the heart seems to jump out of the chest without any reason for concern.
• Pressure surges, which sometimes increase, sometimes drop sharply, causing nausea, headaches, dizziness, and even fainting.
• Inexplicable chills that often disrupt sleep at night.
• Increased fatigue and lethargy, memory and concentration problems, which significantly affects performance and quality of life.
• Muscle pain.
• Anxiety and worry, even to the point of an obsession with the idea that the woman is developing an incurable disease.
• Pain in the lower abdomen or lower back, which women associate with all sorts of pathological processes in the body.
• Decreased sexual desire. In some cases, the opposite occurs: an increase in sexual libido, which is also normal.
• Against the background of circulatory disorders, a feeling of pressure in the chest, numbness of the limbs with characteristic tingling, trembling and “goosebumps” on the skin may appear.

Many women experience daytime changes in body temperature, a feeling of oxygen deficiency, taste changes, dry mucous membranes of the mouth and eyes, and weight gain during this period. Hair actively turns gray, becomes thin, brittle, and less thick. Skin also ages due to a lack of hormones responsible for its elasticity and beauty.

What to do at the first signs of menopause?

Menopause is a normal physiologically conditioned process, symbolizing a certain wear and tear of the body, which makes no sense to fight. It is possible to increase the elasticity of the skin by means of special cosmetic methods and means, to reduce the symptoms of menopause by means of drugs prescribed by a specialist doctor, but it is simply impossible to return the body to youth and the ability to reproduce.

It is a different matter if menopause for some reason has come very early. Early onset of menopause is fraught with various complications. Such patients have a high risk of developing dangerous cardiovascular pathologies. Hormonal imbalances can provoke the appearance of benign, and often malignant neoplasms in the mammary glands and ovaries. Bone mineralization deteriorates, resulting in osteoporosis.

Hypertension, vascular atherosclerosis, diabetes, obesity, infertility are diseases that are fertile ground for the development of early menopause. That is why it is so important to immediately consult a gynecologist, endocrinologist, and possibly even a psychiatrist when the first signs of menopause appear before the age of 40. And there is no need to be embarrassed about this when it comes to a woman’s health.

In any case, no matter when menopause occurs, prescribing treatment for symptoms on your own is a thankless task, since it can lead to unpleasant consequences. After all, only a doctor can select the necessary drugs and means based on the characteristics and needs of the body, about which the patient himself knows little.

Usually, with mild and moderate severity of menopause, drug treatment is not required; folk remedies are sufficient to help combat irritability, insomnia and headaches. In severe cases, doctors resort to drug therapy in combination with physiotherapy, water therapy, homeopathy, folk medicine, sessions with a psychologist and psychotherapist, and sanatorium treatment.

There are special drugs with a complex effect, such as "Remens", "Klimoksan", "Tsi-Klim", "Feminal" and others, which alleviate the condition of women during menopause. But, despite the fact that they are generally safe and have a small number of side effects, it is very difficult to predict what effect they will have on each specific woman. After all, each of us has our own "ailments" and "concerns".

It is also not always possible to limit oneself to traditional medicine recipes in the form of soothing herbs and various infusions that do not have a negative effect on the body, because menopause can manifest itself differently in each specific case. The prescription of stronger antidepressant drugs is again within the competence of a specialist doctor.

Early menopause is dangerous due to the development of various complications, such as osteoporosis. To prevent and treat it, you may need to take special bisphosphonate drugs (Pamifos, Osteomaks, etc.), calcium and vitamin D compounds, including as part of vitamin-mineral complexes and drugs for osteoporosis. Prescribing such drugs to yourself is no less dangerous than drugs for high blood pressure, which is one of the symptoms of menopause.

Moreover, with the early onset of menopause, non-hormonal treatment is unlikely to give the desired result, and the prescription of hormonal agents must be approached with particular caution, because both a deficiency of hormones and their excess can negatively affect the patient's health.

Why take hormones at the first signs of menopause?

Early menopause in women is associated with a pathological deficiency of certain hormones, so the main treatment will be aimed at replenishing the reserves of these hormones in the body. Usually, when treating menopause in women aged 30-40, drugs containing 2 main hormonal components are used: estrogen and progestogen (analog of progesterone). Estrogen has a positive effect on cellular compounds dependent on it, and progestogen prevents the development of malignant tumors, particularly in the genital area.

These two hormones are the ones that can prevent the onset of unwanted complications of early menopause. But their dosage in the prescribed drugs depends on the needs of a particular organism, therefore, in addition to complex drugs (Diane-35, Rigevidon, Novinet, etc.) containing both hormones, the doctor prescribes monodrugs that help adjust the dose individually.

Estrogen-containing drugs include Estrogel, Ovestin, Extremex, Microfollin, etc.

Analogues of human progesterone are "Depostat", "Progestogel", a drug with the same name "Progesterone", etc.

As we can see, it is very difficult to overestimate the importance of hormonal drugs in the treatment of menopause. You can try to replace them with hormone-containing folk remedies and homeopathic drugs, but even such treatment should be carried out under the supervision of the attending physician, so that the first signs of menopause at an early age, which served as a signal for action, help prevent possible complications, and do not turn into major health problems.