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