The 34 Common Signs of Perimenopause

Did you know there are at least 35 known signs of perimenopause? We want to acknowledge and thank the women at ProjectAWARE, who, in 1997 (that’s right, TWENTY-THREE years ago) had the same frustrations we are having now. Just to put that in context, it was only in 1990 that the very first website, of any kind, was published to the Internet.  One of the incredibly useful things ProjectAware did was to catalog a list of symptoms, because no researchers or doctors at the time were doing this. We want to say THANK YOU from our hearts to the women who spent so much time and effort educating us. It is our mission at HelloPause to amplify and continue their work.

“The “Association of Women for the Advancement of Research & Education” was an idea born out of frustration, frustration regarding lack of beneficial and comprehensive health care information available to women today. So two women—one from Kansas and one from New York—with the same idea came together in an effort to get that information to as many women as possible…

This list of common symptoms that occur during perimenopause and menopause was developed from the real-life experiences of hundreds of women. All symptoms were experienced by numerous women and were either cyclical in nature, or responded to treatments (both traditional and alternative) known to address hormonal imbalances.”

  1. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
  2. Irregular heart beat
  3. Irritability
  4. Mood swings, sudden tears
  5. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats),  insomnia
  6. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding, shorter cycles, longer cycles
  7. Loss of libido
  8. Dry vagina
  9. Crashing fatigue
  10. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
  11. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
  12. Brain Fog: Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
  13. Disturbing memory lapses
  14. Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
  15. Itchy, crawly skin
  16. Sore/inflamed joints, muscles and tendons
  17. Increased tension in muscles
  18. Breast tenderness
  19. Headaches/migraines
  20. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
  21. Bloating
  22. Depression
  23. Increase in allergies
  24. Weight gain, esp. around the middle.
  25. Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
  26. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
  27. Changes in body odor
  28. Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
  29. Tingling in the extremities
  30. Gum problems, increased bleeding
  31. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
  32. Osteoporosis
  33. Brittle fingernails
  34. Tinnitus