Some of the most common symptoms are:

• Changes in periods (your menstrual cycle may be longer or shorter, or you may skip periods)
• Hot flashes (you may experience a sudden rush of heat in upper body)
• Night sweats (hot flashes that happen while you sleep), often followed by a chill
• Trouble sleeping through the night
• Vaginal dryness
• Mood changes, feeling grouchy, depressed or worried (up and down like an emotional roller coaster)
• Trouble focusing, feeling mixed-up or confused or having trouble remembering things
• Headaches
• Oily hair and skin
• Weight Gain

Some women experience severe symptoms that may disrupt the quality of their daily lives, and others may experience only a few mild symptoms.

Symptoms tend to get worse the first year or more after menopause, but over time, hormone levels even out and many symptoms improve or disappear entirely.  Finally, you can enjoy being free from periods and birth control concerns!

Here’s my story.

My daughter, who is 10 years old now, was born a very early preemie (13 weeks early weighing only 875 grams).  After a very difficult pregnancy….severe hyperemesis….severe toxemia and  4 1/2 months in the hospital surviving on an IV, my hormones went crazy.  My moods were all over the place and I didn’t know if I was coming or going.  I saw my doctor and she agreed my hormones were acting up….she prescribed low dose birth control pills which made me sick all the time.  When that didn’t work, she prescribed antidepressants which gave me migraines.  After that I was on my own.  I figured I would get through it without any help and everything would balance out in time. I was wrong.

3 years later I found out that I was full of fibroids which were causing heavy bleeding and irregular periods.  I went to see a gynecologist and he recommended that I have a hysterectomy.   Since I was considered dangerously high risk if I was to ever get pregnant again, I agreed.   I didn’t know enough about the changes my body would go through until much later when I started having migraines, emotional roller coaster rides, hot flashes and extremely oily hair and skin that I realized that I was going through early perimenopause.  I talked to my doctor about some of the symptoms and all she would tell me was that it was my hormones.  Because I have a condition that makes me oversensitive to medications, I’ve had to seek out other treatment options.  Right now I’m taking red clover which has helped me sleep better and seems to even out my moods  without any side effects so far.   It’s supposed to mimic estrogen in your body…without all the risks and side effects of HRT.  I’ve also increased the soy in my diet.  So far so good

Please feel free to leave a comment or share your story….we’d love to hear from you.

Christina Rytter