The few famous and many never-spoken of symptoms of perimenopause

From the previous post, we know where most of women's sex hormones and the wide range of roles they play in the body.

And we have all surely heard of hot flushes. But what other things happen when our hormones go away? Buckle up. It's quite a list.

Vasomotor Symptoms

• Hot flashes: Sudden sensations of intense heat, often accompanied by sweating

• Night sweats: Hot flashes during sleep

Genitourinary symptoms:

• Vaginal dryness: reduced lubrication and vaginal tissue thinning

• Urinary incontinence: leakage of urine, especially with coughing, sneezing, jumping

• Urinary urgency and frequency: sudden and frequent urges to urinate

• Painful intercourse: due to vaginal dryness and tissue changes

• Vaginal itching or irritation: discomfort in the vaginal area

Psychological Symptoms

• Sadness/Depression/Mood Swings. Estrogen stimulates serotonin, a major mood neurotransmitter, that brings on feelings of happiness. When estrogen levels drop, it can cause a drop-in serotonin in the brain, causing feelings of sadness or depression.

• Anxiety/Stress/Panic. Estrogen and progesterone are involved in the production of the stress hormone cortisol. Thus, feelings of panic, stress and anxiety may be heightened as hormone levels change.

• Brain fog. Difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, and impaired cognitive function

Physical Changes

• Sleep disturbances: difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep

• Low libido

• Weight gain: especially around the abdomen

• Heart palpitations: feels like heart is racing/skipping beats

• Fatigue: unexplained tiredness, constant or periodic

• Digestive problems

• Joint pain and muscle aches, frozen shoulder

• Headaches and migraines

• Skin and hair changes: drying, thinning, texture changes

• Body odor changes

• Breast tenderness/pain

There are many things that women can do to get relief from their symptoms. From HRT to changes to nutrition, exercise and sleep hygiene to Stress reduction strategies and support groups. I will cover each of these in more depth in future posts.

Now that we know the symptoms of low sex hormone levels, read on about the long-term consequences.

For my sources used in this post please see the bottom of my previous post.