Five Things You Should
Know About Menopause

We all hope to live long, happy, and healthy lives. And, the average age of menopause in the U.S. is 51 years old. That means that women can live over a third of their lives in postmenopause! So, we should absolutely strive to make the menopausal years a time to look forward to, rather than something to suffer through because it’s ✨natural.✨

In the name of living your best life at all ages, we’re here to talk all things menopause! From what it actually is, to how long it lasts, to symptoms like joint pain, fatigue, night sweats, and how to treat them. It’s time to quit googling “34 symptoms of menopause” and read some actually useful information below!

#1: What is menopause?

Basics are important! Menopause is officially defined as the time in your life when you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period. This marks the end of your menstrual cycle–which makes it the end of your reproductive years. In the U.S., the average age of menopause is 51, but it can happen anywhere from age 45 to 56 for most women. About five percent of women go through natural early menopause, from age 40 to 45, and about one percent before age 40–known as premature menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency (1).

Genetics and lifestyle factors can influence when you go into menopause naturally, but it can also be caused by certain medical treatments including chemotherapy, radiation, and surgical ovary removal (oophorectomy).

So, why does menopause happen? Well, as you get older your ovaries stop producing high levels of estrogen, the hormone that regulates your menstrual cycle and helps you ovulate. But, your estrogen levels can start to fluctuate wayyy before your period stops and you enter menopause. This stage is known as perimenopause and it can last anywhere from a few months to several years. During this time you might start to notice changes in your menstrual cycle and some symptoms of menopause, but you’ll still get a period and can still get pregnant.

#2: What are the symptoms of menopause?

Menopause is a major life transition and each person’s experience is unique–your body will react to hormonal changes differently than anyone else’s. That said, more than 80 percent of women experience some menopausal symptoms (1). And with around 1.3 million women entering menopause each year in the U.S., that’s a wholeee lot of symptoms! Let’s look at the most common.

Vasomotor symptoms

The most common menopausal symptoms fall under the name vasomotor symptoms, which include:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Heart palpitations
• Migraines

More than 80 percent of women have hot flashes during menopause (2). They can last one to five minutes and make you feel hot, sweaty, anxious, and cause chills. Hot flashes at night are called night sweats, which can seriously disrupt your sleep. Genetics, weight, and lifestyle choices like cigarette and alcohol use can influence the severity of hot flashes. Menopausal hormonal changes can also cause migraines. Migraines usually improve after your body adjusts to these changes.

Genitourinary symptoms

Another common group of menopausal symptoms is genitourinary symptoms, with 50 to 70 percent of postmenopausal women having at least one symptom (3). These symptoms include:

• Vaginal dryness
• Loss of vaginal elasticity
• Painful sex
• Lower libido
• Frequent urgency to pee
• Recurrent UTIs

Vaginal dryness is the most common of these symptoms, with one study showing it affects 93 percent of women who experience genitourinary symptoms (4). Genitourinary symptoms are mainly due to lower estrogen levels and they can seriously impact your quality of life, especially if you’re sexually active! Dryness and vaginal atrophy won’t improve on their own, so treating them early with topical estrogen or non-hormonal moisturizer is a must!

Psychological and emotional symptoms

Did you know that there are estrogen receptors in the parts of your brain responsible for regulating your mood and cognition? Wild! So, when your estrogen levels drop during menopause, it makes total sense that your emotions and thought processes are impacted. Psychological and emotional symptoms of menopause include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Irritability and mood swings
• Forgetfulness
• Brain fog
• Fatigue
• Insomnia

While lower estrogen levels have an effect of their own, many of these symptoms can build on top of each other. Distress from vaginal dryness can make you irritable. Hot flashes can make you anxious, which can lead to insomnia. Night sweats can give you menopause fatigue. Obviously, these combinations are no fun. Luckily, treatment options are available and you don’t have to suffer through on your own!

Menopause joint pain and other symptoms

It’s estimated that over 50 percent of women experience arthritis and joint pain during menopause (5). This isn’t just due to aging–though that’s part of the cause–but also because of how hormones themselves affect tendons and joints. Other symptoms include:

• Thinning hair
• Bone loss
• Muscle loss
• Dry skin
• Weight gain

Controversy exists around menopause weight gain. It’s not totally clear if menopause causes weight gain directly–aging and physical activity changes also play a big role. That said, lower estrogen can make you move around and fidget less. Low estrogen levels also cause fat to redistribute around your midsection and organs, which increases cardiovascular risk and insulin resistance (6). So, whether “menopause weight gain” officially exists or not, low estrogen levels can definitely impact where you carry your body fat and its effect on your overall health.

#3: Does menopause make you tired?

If you’re in the midst of this stage of life and feeling tireddd, know that menopause fatigue is a very real thing. It’s true that night sweats can make it harder to sleep through the night. But, studies have shown that menopausal women report more trouble sleeping, regardless of night sweats and other vasomotor symptoms (7). Sleep difficulties can include trouble falling asleep, waking up more than once, and waking up earlier than usual.

Besides all that, increased anxiety and depression levels can amplify your menopause fatigue and leave you feeling drained or lethargic. Feeling low and fatigued can make it harder to be physically active, which can contribute to menopause weight gain.

#4: Does menopause make you nauseous?

Nausea isn’t the most common symptom of menopause, but everyone’s body is different so it still might happen. Recent research has shown that estrogen influences your gastrointestinal (GI) tract (8). So, it’s possible that menopausal hormonal changes could affect your digestion and cause some nausea–but more research is needed!

Other menopausal symptoms might also cause nausea. Anxiety and hot flashes might make you feel uneasy and upset your stomach. But! Don’t forget that pregnancy definitely makes you nauseous. You can start having symptoms of menopause and irregular cycles long before you’re officially menopausal. Meaning, your period hasn’t stopped yet and it’s still possible to get pregnant.

#5: How long does menopause last?

Everyone’s experience with perimenopause and menopause is different! That said, the vasomotor symptoms of menopause last an average of four years. Symptoms start ramping up about two years before your final period, and they peak about one year after your final period (9).

Symptoms like hot flashes gradually improve on their own, but treatments like hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) and certain medications can seriously help! HRT and topical creams are recommended treatments for vaginal dryness, which won’t go away on its own. Similarly, menopause joint pain won’t disappear overnight. Maintaining a healthy weight for you can help ease pressure on your joints and you can always talk with your doctor for additional help.

Menopause is a major transition and we’re all going to go through it eventually! That’s why we’re all about empowering yourself with knowledge, talking about your symptoms, and finding available treatment options, so you can keep living a healthy and fulfilling life at all stages. Wisp is on your side the whole way–and the future’s looking bright. 😎