SYMPTOMS

There are many different symptoms of menopause, and not all are present in every patient. While some women have no or very light symptoms during and after menopause, others have severe and ongoing problems. Possible menopausal issues include the following: 

• Heat flashes (sometimes accompanied by heart racing)

• Night sweats (fluctuating hormone levels affect the body's temperature control)

• Mood swings (emotional instabilities), irritability, headaches, difficulties with concentration

• Vaginal dryness (sometimes leading to dyspareunia, i.e. painful intercourse) 

• Skin and mucosal dryness (i.e. dryness in other mucous membranes, such as the mouth, nose, eyes)

• Insomnia (difficulty falling asleep or sleeping through the night)

• Urinary frequency and urgency (loss of estrogen causes pelvic floor muscles to weaken)

• Joint pain (inflammation)

• Weight gain (rearrangement of fat deposits from the legs and buttocks towards the abdomen)

• Hair loss (thinning)