Know What Pre-Menopause Means

We have all heard of menopause and most women dread the time they will start going through the change. They hear about the hot flashes, mood swings, and the changes to their body and realize they have hit the age where they are older, no longer able to produce, and their sexual drive has decided to leave them. Pre-menopause is the beginning of menopause. By this, I mean it is defined as life before menopause where you begin to miss a few periods and start getting the hot flashes.

Another term for pre-menopause is perimenopause. During pre-menopause, you can still have children, though it becomes more difficult to conceive. Most women begin this pre-menopause state in their thirties, most usually their later thirties.

Therefore, now that you know what pre-menopause is let us look at a few things that you will need to do. First, you will still need to visit your doctor on a yearly basis for checkups. Speak with your doctor about what you should expect for this stage in your life. What symptoms you should be aware of and how to treat these symptoms.

A few things that you will notice are some irregular periods, but most likely, they will still be what you are used to, mood swings that are stronger than before, insomnia, fatigue, forgetfulness, headaches, cravings, weight gain, and a drier vagina. You may not experience all of these symptoms, but you will begin to experience some of them.

As a woman going through the pre-menopause stage you will react differently than other, women have or are, just like when you hit puberty. That is why some of these symptoms may not occur as a result of hitting pre-menopause.

These symptoms listed above will become more pronounced when you are in menopause so it is a good idea to understand them now and learn how you can counteract the affects before they become what you might term unmanageable.

There are a few treatments you may start while you are going through pre-menopause to help you with the mood swings and hot flashes. The natural treatment is simply taking herbs or drinking herbal teas that are known to help hot flashes, such as sage or St. John's Wart. You may decide to diet and exercise in preparation for weight gain. This may simply be changing some of the foods you eat such as having more fiber in your diet than you previously did.

You and your doctor can speak about pre menopause and what to expect once you have entered menopause. It is important that you keep in touch with your doctor during this stage in your life so that you can understand the changes your body is going through.