Unspoken symptoms of menopause
If you are menopausal or not, the chances are you will know someone who is, whether it is your partner, sister, mother, best friend or just the women in the office who is just not themselves these days!
It is therefore inevitable that we will somehow be touched by it, as it is unavoidable, it is coming for all women at some point in their lives. For years no one ever spoke about it, but thankfully this is now changing as it seems that Menopause is having its moment in the spotlight and it’s about time.
But it doesn’t just affect midlife women, we can start to experience subtle hormonal shifts in our late 30’s and early 40’s or in some cases in our 20’s. For this reason, I tend to view Menopause as a shift in our hormone health rather than just a sign of ageing!
These shifts at first may go unnoticed but over time our awareness of these changes in how we think, feel and function can present themselves in much more intense ways which in some cases can lead to many diverse signs and symptoms of the Menopause.
We have probably all heard of the usually associated hot flushes, night sweats low mood and anxiety. However, symptoms can be much more diverse and overlap with other hormonal irregularities which then play their parts in the hormonal symphony which makes up our wonderful bodies. I believe that we are far more than the sum total of our sex hormones oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
The following list highlights some of the lesser-known symptoms of the Menopause which we may not have realised which can be associated with fluctuating hormone levels:
- Headaches
- Joint pain
- Weight gain
- Brain fog
- Hot flushes and night sweats
- Depression and anxiety
- Loss of libido
- Hair thinning and loss
- Heart palpitations
- Vertigo and dizziness
- Suicide
- Vagina dryness
- Aching Muscles
- Lack of motivation
- Itchy skin and eyes
- Stress
- Insomnia
- Panic attacks
- Body odour
- Nausea and digestive problems.
- Irregular periodsTiredness and fatigue
- Bloating/Water retention
- Electric shock-type feelings
- Acne
- Changes in skin texture
- Sore, tender breasts
- Burning mouth
- Poor concentration
- Bladder weakness and UTIs
This list is not meant to be exhaustive and when I look at it, it was easier to identify which symptoms I didn’t have rather than list the symptoms which I did have. When I was transitioning through my Menopause journey, I experienced all but 4 of the above symptoms, not all at the same time thankfully!
Over the coming months, we will look at some of these symptoms in a little more detail and consider options for how we can support our hormonal journeys while ultimately preparing positively for the next part of our lives.
Until next time a useful exercise for you may be to quietly ask yourself What Does The Menopause Mean to you? Ultimately your answer may help you consider which is the best treatment option for you, if you need it, but bear in mind some women in fact 25% don’t have any symptoms during their transition.