What Is Perimenopause? Here Are 5 Things You Should Know About It

Towards the 40s-50s a woman faces an important phase of her life, i.e. menopause. This phase is characterised by a plethora of occurring and pre-occurring which might be challenging for a few women to take up because sudden changes in the body are often depressing. Perimenopause, or menopause transition, begins several years before menopause.

Thus, it becomes all the more important to know what exactly happens with your body when menopause approaches and once you reach that stage of cessation of the menstrual cycle. Moreover, the experience isn't limited to menopause itself. There is also a post-menopause stage which is studded by a chain of events and hormonal changes.

In order to know this stage better, one should be aware of at least five basic things that engulf the topic of perimenopause. Here are five things one should know about perimenopause-

5 Things You Should Know About Perimenopause

1.What is Perimenopause? 

Perimenopause is a period before menopause. It is a time that surrounds the final years of a woman's reproductive life. Dr. Aakriti Gupta, OBG and Infertility expert told SheThePeople.TV, "Before menopause the woman faces a phase of perimenopause in which there are irregular cycles. There is an irregularity of periods. The periods come over a time of 3 months, 6 months, or 8 months. So there is an elongation of the period cycle."

2. Stages of Perimenopause

There are two stages of menopausal transition or perimenopause-

i) The early transition- In this, cycles are mostly regular with relatively lesser interruptions.

ii) The late transition- In this, the amenorrhea becomes elongated and lasts for at least 60 days up to the final menstrual period i.e. FMP.

3.Experience Can Vary For A Few Reasons

It is to be strictly noted that researchers have noted that the experiences can vary for women and diagnosis of menopause can be difficult for women who are taking hormonal treatments. Such as few women take medicinal treatment for heavy periods or PCOS. For such women, the diagnosis might be difficult.

4.Adverse Mood Is A Part Of Menopausal Transition

Perimenopausal women are more likely to report depressive symptoms. Moreover, anxiety symptoms appear to be more likely to be reported as women travel towards menopause. Furthermore, it is important to differentiate depressive symptoms, which occur in a large proportion of women, from major depression as it is a far more serious psychiatric diagnosis.

5.Sleep Deprivation and Vasomotor Symptoms

Women start to experience changes in their sleep patterns in their 40s, and these tend to worsen with entry into the menopausal transition. Perimenopause can stretch from 2 to 8 years and is often characterised by symptoms such as vasomotor symptoms and sleep deprivation. Vasomotor symptoms affect most women during the menopausal transition, although the frequency, severity, and duration vary widely among women. Vasomotor symptoms are characterised by hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. According to researches, hot flashes are reported by up to 85% of menopausal women

It is to be noted that online information can be used to self-educate but for proper diagnosis of a problem one needs a doctor's consultation. The information here is based on observation of general patterns, researches, and doctor's insights. Thus, it might vary for different individuals.

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