the 34 symptoms of perimenopause & menopause - as reported by women like you

This list of 34 common perimenopause and menopause symptoms that occur during perimenopause and menopause was developed from the real-life experiences of hundreds of women. All menopause and perimenopause symptoms were experienced by numerous women and were either cyclical in nature or responded to treatments (both traditional and alternative) known to address hormonal imbalances.

(Starred items, see notes below for further details)
1. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling* 
2. Bouts of rapid heart beat
3. Irritability
4. Mood swings, sudden tears
5. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
6. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles
7. Loss of libido*  
8. Dry vagina*
9. Crashing fatigue
10. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
11. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom 
12. Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
13. Disturbing memory lapses
14. Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence 
15. Itchy, crawly skin 
16. Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
17. Increased tension in muscles
18. Breast tenderness
19. Headache change: increase or decrease
20. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
21. Sudden bouts of bloat
22. Depression 
23. Exacerbation of existing conditions
24. Increase in allergies
25. Weight gain  
26. Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
27. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
28. Changes in body odor
29. Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head 
30. Tingling in the extremities 
31. Gum problems, increased bleeding
32. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
33. Osteoporosis (after several years)
34. Changes in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier

Symptoms may also be associated with other conditions including:
· hypothyroidism
· diabetes
· depression with another etiology
· other medical conditions

If you have reason to believe you may have one of the 4 conditions above, please see your doctor for treatment.

*Notes:

1.Hot flashes are due to the hypothalamic response to declining ovarian estrogen production. The declining estrogen state induces hypophysiotropic neurons in the arcuate nucleas of the hypothalamus to release gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in a pulsatile fashion, which in turn stimulates release of luteinizing hormone (LH). Extremely high pulses of LH occur during the period of declining estrogen production. The LH has vasodilatory effects, which leads to flushing.
7.   For some women the loss is so great that they actually find sex repulsive, in much the same way as they felt before puberty. What hormones give, loss of hormones can take away.
8. Often results in painful intercourse
11. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
14. Reflects a general loss of smooth muscle tone
15. Feeling of ants crawling under the skin (referred to as formication), not just dry itchy skin
16. May include such problems as carpal tunnel syndrome
22. Different from other depression, the inability to cope is overwhelming. There is a feeling of loss of self. In many women hormone therapy ameliorates the depression dramatically
25. Often around the waist and thighs, resulting in 'the disappearing waistline'
29. "the feeling of a rubber band snapping in the layer of tissue between skin and muscle. It is a precursor to a hot flash"
30. Can also be a symptom of B-12 deficiency, diabetes, alterations in the flexibility of blood vessels, or a depletion of potassium or calcium

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This list of the signs of peri-menopause and menopause was developed by women on the Internet Menopaus mailing list, based at Hershey Medical Center/Penn State University Hospital, Hershey PA. The electronic mailing list has approximately 475 subscribers, with about 230 participating actively at the time the list of menopause signs was developed in January 1996. Contact judy.bayliss@hmc.psu.edu for more information.