What Is Perimenopause?

by Aimee Amodio | More from this Blogger

08 Nov 2006 11:53 AM

Okay... I'd never heard of perimenopause until my mother started going through it a few years ago. Perimenopause is the transitional stage in a woman's reproductive life. It starts when the ovaries start to produce less estrogen, signaling the approach of menopause.

For most women, perimenopause starts in the forties. Some women experience it in their thirties, too. The average length of the transitional period is four years, but the actual length may vary greatly from woman to woman. Some women are in perimenopause for only a few months; some are in perimenopause for as long as ten years. Perimenopause ends twelve months after menopause -- one year after a woman has stopped having her period.

So how do you know if you are experiencing perimenopause? Look for some or all of the following symptoms:

• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Tenderness of the breasts
• Irregular periods
• Worsening of PMS symptoms
• Decreased libido
• Urine leakage when coughing or sneezing
• Urinary urgency -- a more frequent need to piddle
• Mood swings, fatigue, and difficulty sleeping

The intensity of the symptoms vary from woman to woman -- just like the duration of perimenopause.

Talk to your doctor if you need help dealing with the symptoms of perimenopause. Certain low-dose birth control pills may help balance the hormones that are causing the symptoms. An antidepressant can help ease the mood swings. Being in general good health can't hurt, either. Make sure you get regular exercise, plenty of sleep, and all the vitamins (especially calcium) your body needs.

You CAN still get pregnant during perimenopause. Until you have gone twelve months without having your period, you should continue to use some form of birth control if you do not wish to get pregnant. Once you've gone a full year without having your period, congratulations! You have officially arrived at menopause!

More women's health information from Families.com!

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Aimee is a fiction writer... dog lover... music lover...

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