Women between the ages of 45 and 60 typically find themselves just before, in the middle of, or just after menopause. Even though menopause is not a disease, up to 80 percent of women experience menopausal symptoms. One in three women in this age group suffers so severely that she can only cope with everyday life poorly without treatment. Typical symptoms of menopause and their causes are presented below.
Phases of menopause: definition of terms
Menopause, also known medically as the climacteric, is divided into three individual phases, all of which relate to menopause, the time of the last menstrual period.
- Premenopause is the period before menopause and mostly affects women between the ages of 40 and 50. There is a slight increase in the release of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). The production of the corpus luteum hormone progesterone, on the other hand, decreases. This can lead to shorter periods between two bleedings. However, periods still occur regularly. Since estrogen levels are often increased, the individual bleeding may be more intense and last longer.
- The “peak phase” of menopause is perimenopause. It lasts on average six to seven years. Here there are usually significant irregularities in the cycle up to the complete absence of menstruation. The production of progestins decreases more rapidly than that of estrogens, so that the concentration ratio between progesterone and estrogens fluctuates greatly. Affected individuals may experience hot flashes, palpitations, mood swings or increased nervousness.
- Postmenopause begins a year after the last period and lasts until the hormone balance has reached a new stable level. The menopausal symptoms subside. The end of postmenopause and thus the end of menopause varies from woman to woman and depends on the subjective experience of symptoms in addition to hormonal changes.
When does menopause begin?
On average, women are 51 years old at their last menstrual period. The exact time of menopause can only be defined retrospectively, when there has been no further menstruation for a year. Overall, the period of menopause can last about ten to 15 years. Due to the significant increase in life expectancy, women today often spend more than a third of their lives after menopause. For them, therefore, how they get through menopause is crucial. For many, this phase represents an opportunity to change and begin a new phase in their lives, one in which they once again see themselves as independent personalities and not just nestmates for the family.
Symptoms of the climacteric
About 20% of women have no or hardly any symptoms during menopause. Their bodies can do without outside help. However, in one fifth of all women, hormone levels drop so quickly that this is experienced as a physical and emotional burden. When the first signs appear, you should talk to your gynecologist about it. He or she can help you adjust to this new stage of life and create the right treatment for you. As you age, the lack of hormones can cause the following symptoms, among others:
- Regression of the mucous membranes in the vagina.
- Skin sagging
- Bone loss
- Cardiovascular problems
- Weakening of the pelvic floor muscles and associated incontinence.
- Decreasing hair growth and hair loss
Complaints and their medical causes
Menopause is a physiological process of change. The massive fluctuations in estrogen levels often manifest themselves as irregularities in temperature regulation and are perceived in the form of hot flashes, sweating or blushing. In addition, vegetative changes can occur, i.e. changes in the nervous system, which is not controlled voluntarily and regulates vital functions such as heartbeat, breathing, digestion and metabolism.
Common complaints during menopause
The frequency of different menopausal symptoms is listed in the following table:
| Menopausal symptoms in women aged 45 to 54 years | Frequency in percent |
|---|---|
| Nervousness, irritability | 90 % |
| Fatigue, lethargy, decrease in performance | 80 % |
| Hot flashes, sweats | 70 % |
| Depressive mood, crying fits | 70 % |
| Headache | 70 % |
| Forgetfulness, lack of concentration | 65 % |
| Weight gain | 60 % |
| Sleep disorders | 50 % |
| Joint and muscle pain | 50 % |
| Constipation | 40 % |
| Heart trouble | 40 % |
| Loss of libido (decreased sexual desire) | 30 % |
| Paresthesia (sensory disturbances such as tingling or numbness) | 25 % |
| Dizziness | 20 % |
Hormones go crazy
Progesterone and estrogens exert an opposing influence on the autonomic nervous system. In many women, the ever-changing concentration ratio of hormones is accompanied by palpitations, increased nervousness, sleep disturbances or mood swings. The real estrogen deficiency symptoms do not appear until postmenopause. They affect the female reproductive organs, the main target organs of estrogens, and may manifest as dry vagina, bladder weakness, and altered sexuality.
Nonmedical changes in middle age.
The characteristic menopausal symptoms cannot be explained solely in hormonal terms. While mood swings do indeed also reflect the ups and downs of hormone concentrations, the causes are more varied. Individual constitution, family situation, as well as life history and socio-economic factors, all play a role in determining how women individually experience and cope with the menopausal transition phase. In addition to the physical changes, which are often associated with a particular emotional sensitivity, the menopausal phase is a time when many incisions occur in the personal and family environment. Some examples are:
- The children leave home (empty nest syndrome).
- Parents become ill, in need of care or die
- Crises in the partnership
- Problems with re-entry into the profession (change / further development of the job).
- “Age-related” difficulties in changing jobs
The fact that such factors affect mental health is evidenced by the statistics of incapacity for work: among the causes of days of incapacity for work (AU days), diseases affecting the psyche occupy the fourth place. Here, it has been proven that mental illnesses occur more frequently in women (rank 3 of days off work) than in men (rank 5).
