9 Early Signs of Menopause
1. Night Sweats/Hot Flushes:
You may not actually sweat, but notice that you wake up feeling warm and need to throw the duvet off or stick a foot out from under the covers. It’s easy to think that you may have the heating on too high and ignore things
2. Memory issues:
have you ever gone upstairs and then stopped halfway thinking “now what was I coming up here for?”. We can all forget things from time to time, but this forgetfulness seems to increase when we get to this stage of life. It’s frustrating and can also make you feel self-conscious when you are talking to friends and having to stop to think and remember things.
3. Irregular Periods:
Most women, whilst not being exactly on a 28-day cycle from month to month, will have a pattern of periods with which they will become familiar. As menopause approaches, some women will find that their periods become more erratic; periods can become more frequent or equally start to space out. However, please also be aware, that if you are experiencing bleeding in between cycles, this may be an indication of underlying medical issues which should always be reported to a medical practitioner.
4. Tiredness:
Menopause tiredness is a strange double headed beast: you’re sleep deprived (because you’re waking up and not being able to get back to sleep) coupled with a lethargy that creeps in. You make all sorts of plans to do things and then end up not doing them which can also get you feeling down.
5. Feeling Crabby:
Some of us can get a bit “snappy” a few days before our periods, but that generally goes away within a couple of days; imagine that crabbiness never going away…!
6. Hair:
If you are waking up and finding that it looks like your dog has slept on your pillow or that you could start weaving a met from the hair that collects in the plug when you wash your hair, then this may well be related to the menopause.
7. Skin:
Is that a wrinkle I see? Modern media, prompted by the marketing budgets of beauty brands have made us aware of the importance of looking good to the point of quasi obsession. This particularly affects women who are almost ind
8. Nails:
Another of those things that define us as women, although it has to be said that you’re either someone who has a nail polish to match each outfit and more besides or you just view your nail trimming as just another chore that has to be done when they grow too long. Once you hit the menopause, expect your nails to start to chip and break at the slightest knock, for which no amount of nail hardener will benefit.
9. Sleep Disorders:
It’s quite common for women to wake up around 2:00h in the morning and then be unable to get back to sleep again. Lying there just tossing and turning (especially when you are trying not to wake up your partner) only makes things worse. You end up making lists of things you have to do the following day which of course isn’t exactly conducive to helping you wind down again. Eventually you fall back asleep around 5:00h, fully aware that the alarm is going to go off in less than 2 hours’ time… it’s a rough time!
These are all signs that you may be approaching the menopause years, but as always, if you have any health concerns, please make an appointment to see your doctor.
