Premenopause is the time of life when the famale ferility period is about to end permanently or in other words when the cesation of menstruation is started. The time of premenopause is accompanied by a set of different psycological and physical disturbances which effect the qualiity of life to a major extent.
The changes in behaviur and physcial appearance start appearing due to hormonal imbalances that are prominent just before menopause. There is irregular cycles and invulatory menstrual cycles where the menstruation occurs but ovulation does not. Women sometimes notice swelling in breast with tenderness (painful touch). Mood swings are also common. Sleep disturbance, water retention and weight gain are noticed durinf this period. The lack of ovulation and resulting lack of progesterone promote estrogen dominance and its related symptoms.
Other symptoms include fatigue, depression, little or no desire for sex, and headaches.
During this period when a woman’s menstrual cycle becomes erratic, there are also other changes to her period. Some women’s period becomes lighter or shorter, and some experience a heavier or longer blood flow. Not many women stop menstruating abruptly, though this can happen in some cases, even without an early menopause brought on by other factors like surgery or chemotherapy.
Estrogen levels in the developing primary follicles causes the endometrium lining the uterus to thicken and develop new blood vessels in preparation for ovulation. More growth would occur after ovulation, and if a woman doesn’t fall pregnant, this blood and tissue would then be passed out of her body during the menstrual cycle. But if a woman hasn’t ovulated, there may not be much to pass out. And as the number of primary follicles reduces, so will the number and frequency of her periods.
Interestingly, as women age, instead of just one follicle maturing, groups of them do. That’s why multiple births have a higher chance of occurring then. But, it also means that there is an increased loss of follicles, and because of the other hormonal changes, less of these eggs actually ovulate.
It’s not just erratic periods that can give a woman a clue she may be experiencing pre menopause symptoms. Other peri menopause symptoms include headaches, insomnia, aches in the body, tiredness, irritability, hot flushes, mood swings, a decreased sex drive, weight gain particularly around the abdomen and hips, breast tenderness, and water retention.
Fortunately, there are a lot of natural treatments designed to ease pre menopause symptoms.