Perimenopause is generally said to be around the 40s, but many women actually express early symptoms in their 30s. It is a transitional phase when a woman's level of hormones (especially estrogen and progesterone) begins to fluctuate. With symptoms appearing secretly and irregularly, many women will brush off these signals as stress, lifestyle changes, or mental fatigue.
Irregular periods or changes in flow typically are one of the first signs of approaching perimenopause. Most women would see gross changes in their cycles; there would be heavier or lighter ones, or they could just show up whenever they felt like. Many view themselves as experiencing through temporary hormonal imbalances without realizing that what they are observing may, in fact, be the arrival of perimenopause.
These highs and lows in emotional space seem to arrive without any apparent trigger. So, where elevated irritability, anxiety, or feeling all-out emotionally drained is concerned, to blame would be the sudden fluctuations in estrogen levels, changes commonly blamed on work or personal stress.
The latest onset of tiredness is one good early hormonal warning, even after a full refreshing sleep. A hormonal fluctuation disrupts energy regulation, with tiredness emerging among the topmost signs, albeit often disregarded.
One may suspect that something was wrong with his sleep-wake rhythm right from those thirty-something years. Nighttime disturbances are often more related to hormonal changes than sleeping habits.
The ungracious feeling of not concentrating, being forgetful, or simply feeling "mentally cloudy" can be disconcerting. These cognitive changes tend to manifest early in perimenopause but are seldom associated with any hormonal fluctuations.
Hormonal changes results in metabolic changes thereby giving rise to unwarranted weight gain which usually settles around the abdomen. This change, very often, occurs even with no perceived change in diet or activity level.
Reduced desire for intimacy or even discomfort during intercourse could be signs of a possible hormonal imbalance. Most women lock the discussions, figuring their issues discussing it temporarily, requiring emotional maturity.
Stress may feel hardest to deal with these days. The hormonal status quo alters cortisol response and overwhelms simple daily stresses.
Early identification of perimenopause allows women to inform themselves and plan their health in a direction that best suits them. Changes in lifestyle patterns, stress management, and medicinal intervention may help alleviate symptoms or promote health over the long haul.
