Irregular Menstruation: One of the preempting signs of menopause is irregular menstrual flow. Sometimes, the period may come on the 21st day, others 26th, 30th etc. Sometimes also a period of two or three months may elapse before the period reappears.
During this period most women, particularly those that still desire pregnancy may assume they are pregnant. If such a woman has fibroid, she would confidently tell you she feels the kicking of the baby. In such a case, all devils, scan and doctors shall be liars except herself.
Amenorrhea: This simply means lack of menses. This is the classical sign of menopause. Cessation (stopping of menstrual flow) for at least six months in a woman above 40 years without evidence of pregnancy confirms attainment of menopause.
Hot Flushes: This is a very disturbing sign of menopause. It is characterized by sweating, redness of skin and internal heat and restlessness. It causes serious concern to some women. The latter group sometimes require estrogen therapy in addition to reassuring them.
Genital/Breast Atrophy: This is one of the signs that follow menopause (post-menopausal signs). This manifests with:
- Vaginal Dryness
- Weakening and shrinking of the muscles of the vagina and the womb
- Falling and dryness of the breast.
The weakening of the muscles and ligaments holding the womb and the vagina in position sometimes lead to protrusion of the womb or vagina to the outside of the vagina, a condition known as Genital Prolapse. All these result from decrease in the estrogen level as well as devastation of free radicals.
Dyspareunia: This simply means painful sexual intercourse. It occurs as a result of vaginal dryness. When the vagina loses its lubricating property, it becomes dry, leading to pains and sometimes bleeding during sexual intercourse.
Infection: Urinary tract infection is usually common following menopause and could manifest with any of these symtoms:
- Pains during or after urination
- Vaginal Discharge
- Vaginal itching
- Sometimes fever
This has been found to be due to the narrowing of the gap between the vagina and urinary opening (urethra). This makes the two orifices (openings) closer thereby leading to infection from either way. In some cases, a menopausal woman may accuse the husband of unfaithfulness following such infection which may result from poor hygiene.
Bone Loss: It is interesting to know that the thickness of a woman's bone is three times less than that of man. Bone formation is completed by the age of 25 years in women. After this age, the bone gradually begins to reduce in size; an effect master-minded by a hormone called Parathyroid Hormone. This hormone causes bone resorption (thinning of bone), thereby weakening the bones. This graduall process continues throughout life.
Interestingly, the female hormone called estrogen, prevents the excessive action of the parathyroid hormone thus preventing excessive bone loss in women. However, during menopause, when the estrogen level is highly reduced, the rate of bone loss increases greatly thereby leading to thinning of the bone, bending forward and sometimes breakage of bone without a cause (pathological fracture). The latter occurs more frequently in older women. This excessive loss of bone density as well as attendant complications is called osteoporosis.
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