What is Perimenopause ?

But don't despair, while it's true perimenopause brings along a smorgasbord of unpleasant symptoms, it doesn’t have to control your life. There are steps you can take to feel your best during this phase.





Perimenopause lasts for four years on average but sometimes only a few months. In the last one or two years of perimenopause, the drop in estrogen speeds up, and women experience menopause symptoms while still having a period.

Perimenopause signifies around menopause and alludes to the time amid which your body makes the characteristic change to menopause, denoting the finish of the regenerative years. It's additionally called the menopausal progress.

The first sign is typically a disruption of your menstrual cycle. For many women, your period starts earlier or later than normal. For example, if your menstrual cycle has always been 28 days, during perimenopause, your period could come as early as 21 or as late as 35 days. Some women start skipping months entirely and then experience heavier-than-normal periods when they do have them.

The average length is four years, but for some women this stage may last only a few months or continue for ten years. Perimenopause ends when a woman has gone twelve months without having her period.

During perimenopause, woman can experience a variety of symptoms. The reason: The ovaries have been making estrogen since your first period. During perimenopause, the estrogen production decreases substantially. Your body has to adjust to functioning with less of the hormone, putting you into estrogen withdrawals. The type and intensity of symptoms vary greatly among women – some just feel a little off or don't notice anything at all.





You spot between periods.

Your periods happen closer together.

Your periods are very heavy, or they have blood clots.

Your periods last several days longer than usual.

You have spotting after sex.

Causes of abnormal bleeding include birth control pills, hormone problems, pregnancy, fibroids, blood clotting problems or, rarely, cancer.

Often your doctor can make the diagnosis of perimenopause based on your symptoms. A blood test to check hormone levels may also help, but your hormone levels are changing during perimenopause. It may be more helpful to have several blood tests done at different times for comparison.

If you thought hormonal ups and downs ended in your teenage years, surprise! Perimenopause, the time leading up to your final menstrual cycle, can also be a hormonal roller coaster.Perimenopause, or menopause transition, begins couple years before menopause. It's the time when the ovaries gradually begin to make less estrogen. It starts in a woman's at 40s or aboves, but can start in 30s or even earlier. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. Your ovaries are shutting down, but the process takes some time. For some women, perimenopause is barely noticeable, but for others, the symptoms make them miserable.Women begin perimenopause at various ages. You may see indications of movement toward menopause, for example, menstrual anomaly, at some point in 40s. Be that as it may, a few women see changes as right on time as their mid-30s.The dimension of estrogen, the fundamental female hormone, in the body rises and falls unevenly amid perimenopause. Menstrual cycles may extend or abbreviate, and women may start having menstrual cycles in which ovaries don't discharge an egg (ovulate). You may likewise encounter menopause-like manifestations, for example, hot flashes, rest issues and vaginal dryness. Medicines are accessible to help facilitate these side effects.Symptoms of PerimenpauseIrregular periods.As ovulation becomes more unpredictable, the length of time between periods may be longer or shorter, your flow may be light to heavy, and you may skip some periods. If you have a persistent change of seven days or more in the length of your menstrual cycle, you may be in early perimenopause.Irregular periods are common and normal during perimenopause. But other conditions can cause changes in menstrual bleeding. If any of the following situations apply to you, see a doctor to rule out other causes:Mood changes.Mood swings, irritability or increased risk of depression may happen during perimenopause. The cause of these symptoms may be sleep disruption associated with hot flashes. Mood changes may also be caused by factors not related to the hormonal changes of perimenopause.Sleep problems and hot flashes..Hot flashes are common during perimenopause. The intensity, length and frequency vary. Sleep problems are often due to hot flashes or night sweats, but sometimes sleep becomes unpredictable even without them.Bladder and Vaginal problems.When estrogen levels diminish, your vaginal tissues may lose lubrication and elasticity, making intercourse painful. Low estrogen may also leave you more vulnerable to urinary or vaginal infections. Loss of tissue tone may contribute to urinary incontinence.Decreasing fertility.As ovulation becomes irregular, your ability to conceive decreases. However, as long as you're having periods, pregnancy is still possible. If you wish to avoid pregnancy, use birth control until you've had no periods for twelve months.Loss of bone.With declining estrogen levels, you start to lose bone more quickly than you replace it, increasing your risk of osteoporosis — a disease that causes fragile bones.Changing cholesterol levels.Declining estrogen levels may lead to unfavorable changes in your blood cholesterol levels, including an increase in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol — the "bad" cholesterol — which contributes to an increased risk of heart disease. At the same time, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol — the good cholesterol — decreases in many women as they age, which also increases the risk of heart disease.Menopause, perimenopause and postmenopause are stages in a woman's life when her monthly period stops. Perimenopause is the first stage in this process and can start eight to ten years before menopause. Menopause is the point when a woman no longer has menstrual periods. Postmenopause is the stage after menopause.