You can't be the same as you were before the menopause because your hormonal balance is completely different, but you can feel that much better. You don't have all the monthly energy dips and spikes, you don't have all the hormonal angst, you don't have the physical drain.
In postmenopause, symptoms of menopause may have eased or stopped entirely, but some women continue to have symptoms for longer. The change in your body's hormones however is a sign to keep looking after your health and wellbeing, and be mindful to listen to your body.
Changes in your brain affect everything.
Menopause triggers mood swings, temper tantrums, and depression – or can make them worse if they're pre-existing conditions. Many women feel like they're going crazy or don't feel like themselves. But it's not personality change.
The major chronic systemic diseases are: cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, sarcopenia, dementia and cognitive decline. Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death in women worldwide.
Menopause symptoms typically last for around 4 years after a person's last period. However, the frequency, severity, and duration of symptoms vary. Common symptoms include hot flashes, low mood, and weight changes.
Commons Indicators for the End of Menopause
Women may find that they are sleeping better and feeling healthier overall as their hormone levels even out. This can also lead to improvements in mood, energy levels, and cognitive function.
Your estrogen takes a nosedive during menopause (defined as when you haven't had a menstrual cycle in 12 months) and the years leading up to it, called perimenopause. This change has a huge impact on your sexual function. It can lower desire and make it harder for you to become aroused.
Bone weakening
Osteoporosis is a more serious loss of bone density, which weakens the bones. Some degree of bone thinning occurs as a natural part of the aging process. Loss of estrogen through natural or surgical menopause can lead to weakening of the bones, increasing the risk for broken bones.
Menopause is a normal life cycle event that may or may not be accompanied by symptoms and medical consequences. The skeleton and the GU tract (vagina and base of the bladder) are the most likely organ systems to be affected by lowered estrogen levels.
Symptoms can linger for a lifetime. And the continued low estrogen levels lead to more serious health concerns. The rate of bone loss speeds up, increasing your risk of low bone density, osteopenia and osteoporosis. You also have a higher chance of having a heart attack, stroke or other heart-related issues.
If your estrogen is high, your brain energy is high,” says Dr. Mosconi. “When your estrogen declines, though, your neurons start slowing down and age faster. And studies have shown that this process can lead to the formation of amyloid plaques, which are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease.”
For many women, reaching menopause is a relief. “Once hormones settle down, most women stop having those mood fluctuations,” says Payne. “But if you have major depression, it's hard to predict if you'll experience postmenopausal improvement.
Weight-bearing exercises, such as walking and running, as well as moderate weight training, help increase bone mass. In postmenopausal women, moderate exercise helps preserve bone mass in the spine and prevents fractures. Exercise also helps improve mood. Hormones, called endorphins, are released in the brain.
It's common for those entering this natural stage of life to gain weight and belly fat (sometimes called “menopause belly”) and experience other bothersome symptoms — sleep-interrupting night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness that causes pain during sex, urinary tract infections, irregular periods, depression, ...
And, at that point, your body just can't cope with everything, and your symptoms can get worse. Included in fatigue is sleep. And yes, you know, if you're getting night sweats, these are going to wake you up. Low oestrogen itself will affect the quality of your sleep.
Researchers found that total life expectancy at the age of 50 years was lower in women who had early menopause and higher in those with late menopause. The difference in life expectancy in women with typical and early menopause was 0.5 and 3.5 years, respectively, compared with women with late menopause.
Caring for a newborn baby is always stressful. This stress, along with body changes, fatigue, and decreased hormonal levels, affects the sex drive of women a lot. Furthermore, menopause also influences hormonal levels, which is why there is a strong correlation between menopause and sexless marriage.
The late stages of perimenopause usually occur when a woman is in her late 40s or early 50s. In the late stages of the menopausal transition, women begin missing periods until they finally stop. About 6 months before menopause, estrogen levels drop significantly.
You'll know you've reached menopause when you've gone 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period.