What Are Pre-Menopause Symptoms - What Will You Experience During Menopause?

If you are a woman approaching your late 40s, you have probably begun to have thoughts about the changes your body will experience during menopause. It is only natural for women to feel apprehensive as that time in life approaches, particularly if they have not taken the time to research the various pre-menopause symptoms they will soon be experiencing. Educating yourself can help you to avoid the common misgivings that many women feel, and also offer you the opportunity to seek out early treatments that can often serve to minimize some of the more serious symptoms.

One of the first pre-menopause symptoms that you will experience is irregularity in your menstrual cycle. This can take a variety of forms, but usually begins with a shorter cycle - with the frequency of your periods being reduced from once every 28 days to something closer to once every 24 days. In addition, those periods may see an increase in the amount of blood flow at the onset of pre-menopause, which gradually lessens until there is little or no bleeding at all. If you experience these pre-menopause symptoms, you may be somewhat alarmed at the sudden changes. If they cause you undue concern, always consult with your physician.

In addition to changes in the menstrual cycle, other pre-menopause symptoms include the well-known hot flashes and mood swings. Both can be disconcerting, but are natural by-products of the changes in your body's hormone levels. Hot flashes can be especially bothersome, as they can be very uncomfortable and can even interrupt normal sleeping patterns. The mood swings that affect many women can make you irritable and more prone to emotional outbursts of sadness and anger.

These feelings can be aggravated by other stress in your life, and can leave you feeling disillusioned and even depressed. Many women suffer from feelings of hopelessness and loss as they endure these pre-menopause symptoms, and feel as though they are losing something very precious to them.

If you begin to feel that way, you may want to talk to a professional or a close friend or family member who has undergone these changes already. Your feelings are perfectly natural, since you are indeed losing something during this period of change. All of these pre-menopause symptoms are a sign that your body is beginning the process of ending your reproductive capacity - hence the feelings of loss.

If you are one of the millions of women for whom the effects of pre-menopause symptoms prove to be too much to bear, you can consider treatment options such as hormone replacement. While this does not end the process of menopause, it will alleviate many of the symptoms by helping to at least partially restore the balance of hormones within the body. The important thing to remember is that there is assistance available to you as you manage your pre-menopause symptoms, and that you need not suffer through the effects of menopause alone and in silence.