There's no dependable test for pre menopause. You and your doctor can decide when you are pre menopausal by diagnosing your pre menopause symptoms such as the irregular periods described above. Other regular symptoms of perimenopause include hot flashes and night sweats; mood swings; headaches or more headaches; problems sleeping; and vaginal dryness. Because the pre menopause symptoms also are symptoms of other disorders and diseases or conditions, it is best that you discuss your symptoms with your physician to rule out other causes.

The pre menopause symptoms can occur ten to fifteen years before regular menopause develops, which is the last end of your menstruation. Pre menopause is really the period you experience the noticeable symptoms of menopause. Once that has come to an end, you're considered postmenopausal. Most physicians will say a female is postmenopausal once she has not had a period for a year.

The age when the pre menopause symptoms occur differs among females. Many females recognize pre menopausal symptoms in the forty-five to fifty-five age range, even though it differs, and some females never have any symptoms. The average age for the final menstruation for a woman is fifty-one. Females who have had hysterectomies with one or both ovaries removed normaly undergo surgical menopause as soon as possible. Some hysterectomized females whose ovaries were not remove experience pre menopause as well.

Eliminate Pre Menopause Symptoms!

Use Alternative Natural Therapies to Eliminate Pre Menopause Symptoms and Avoid Taking HRT!

Is Pregnancy Possible During Pre Menopause?

Yes, pregnancy is possible during pre menopause. As long as you are still having your menstrual cycles, you are still ovulating. What this means is that pregnancy is very probable during pre menopause. In fact, pregnancy is possible until menopause occurs which occurs only when you have not had a menstrual cycle for twelve (12) consecutive months. Ask your physician about your choices for contraceptives or birth control, unless you desire to become impregnated during pre menopause.

You definitely need to remember that birth controls don't protect you from sexually transmitted diseases (STD's). You still must use dental dam or a latex condom correctly each time you have sexual intercourse or contact unless you're in a long term monogamous relationship.

Is Bleeding After Sex Normal During Pre Menopause?

While it is normal to experience irregular bleeding during pre menopause, it is important to recall that not all menstrual issues are created by perimenopause or menopause. There are many things that can cause abnormal bleeding. Call your doctor if you have:

Extremely heavy bleeding.
Clots in menstrual cycles.
Periods lasting over one week period.
Spotting between menstrual cycles or periods.
Bleeding after sexual intercourse

Does Pre Menopause Cause Mood Changes?

Many issues may sometimes influence your emotional state during perimenopause. The cause of pre menopause mood changes is a subject of debate among physicians and researchers. Some think the decreased amount of estrogen produced during pre menopause triggers brain changes that cause depression. Others believe perimenopausal mood fluctuations such as depression, irritability, and anxiety are influenced by other pre menopause symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, fatigue, and troubled sleep and not by changes in your hormones. And still others are convinced that it is a combination of both changing hormone levels and the pre menopause symptoms.

Other factors that may influence mood changes during pre menopause include:

Having a history of depression or anxiety.
Severe menopause symptoms
Increased stress
Having a negative perception of menopause
Smoking
Being physically inactive
Being unemployed
Being unsatisfied about your relationship or lack of one
Not having children, or wanting more children
Financial problems
Poor self-image
Lack of an adequate support system

If you are feeling depressed, anxious, or stressed, see your health care provider for treatment. You don't have to accept mood changes as a "normal" part of perimenopause, with proper treatment you can begin to feel like yourself again.

How Can I Prevent or Reduce the Pre Menopause Symptoms?

Preventing and reducing the pre menopause symptoms is easier than you might believe when you have a transparent picture of your monthly cycle and symptoms. Buy a journal, or use a calendar to record your symptoms throughout the month. Write down any pre menopause symptoms you experience such as hot flashes, night sweats, and changes in your mood. Be sure to note when your period, or any bleeding, occurs and whether your period is heavy, normal, or light.

Be aware of changes that occur quickly before you experience perimenopause symptoms. For instance, what is the temperature of your surrounding? Have you eaten any hot or spicy foods? Being overheated often triggers hot flashes. Reduce the thermostat and avoid hot, spicy foods if they are hot flash triggers. Other things you can do to help prevent or reduce the pre menopause symptoms include:

If you are not already exercising at least 30 minutes a day, five days a week, now is a great time to begin. Not only does regular physical activity help prevent or reduce the pre menopause symptoms, it also significantly reduces your risk of several types of cancer and heart disease -- the number one cause of death for women in the U.S.
If you are a smoker, quit smoking. For help and support in your effort to quit smoking visit Quit Smoking Today.
Learn your BMI - body mass index and keep it at a normal level by following a heart healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as proper portions of lean meats and fish. A regular exercise plan (as mentioned above) also helps keep your BMI level normal.
Pre menopause may cause pain due to vaginal dryness during sex. This is easily solved by using a vaginal lubricant prior to sexual activity.

The most important thing you can do for yourself during perimenopause is to stay active, volunteer, take a class, or just spend time visiting with your friends. Ask your friends and relatives who are in pre menopause or menopause about what's happening to them -- you'll probably discover that they are going through the same thing as you.

If you feel depressed during pre menopause or menopause, be sure to talk to your health care provider who can prescribe one of several very effective antidepressants that are available. If you have any questions about how to prevent or reduce the pre menopause symptoms, be sure to talk with your health care provider about your concerns.

Eliminate Pre Menopause Symptoms!

Use Alternative Natural Therapies to Eliminate Pre Menopause Symptoms and Avoid Taking HRT!

35 Products and Resources on Menopause

What Are the Early Signs of Menopause?

What Is Menopause?

But what is menopause exactly? Menopause is an intermediary stage that takes place when a woman’s reproductive organs fail to produce eggs, causing her menstrual cycle to stop. Typically menopause begins after or around the age of 50, however there are exceptions with some women commencing menopause earlier or later in life. And, more often than not the symptoms of menopause begin some time before onset.

There are a whole host of symptoms that can accompany menopause. Some of the more common signs are hot or cold flashes; weight gain; mood swings and irritability; emotionality; decrease in libido; muscle and joint soreness; depression; rapid or irregular heart rate; disordered sleeping patterns and irregular periods as well as lighter or heavier menstrual bleeding. In fact, the symptoms of menopause are so many and so individual that it is almost a case of “expect the unexpected”. Some women even say they feel as if their skin is crawling!

The truth is that menopause should not be feared. Instead we should embrace and celebrate it as a normal stage in our cycle of health and wellness. That said, the symptoms and signs of menopause can be difficult to live with, and women should not face it alone. Think about it this way. If men had to go through menopause, just imagine the level of support, public awareness and caring workplace practices that would be established to help them through it! As it is, women have to muddle through menopause as best they can, dealing with it day-by-day, with their friends and sense of humor as their best allies.

Like all health matters, being well-informed about the sorts of symptoms you might experience allows you to physically and mentally prepare. Indeed, some women do not even realize they are going through menopause because they simply lack the information to explain what they are feeling! It’s not until they research and explore the signs that they make the connection. And it’s no wonder, given that the list of potential symptoms is so long and diverse.

The Early Menopause Symptoms

Early menopause symptoms - every woman at some point in her thirties or forties will wonder if what she is experiencing is really the first symptoms of menopause. Menopause is defined as the cessation of menses or the end of menstrual cycles for a period of 12 months or more. Menopause is a natural process for a woman, not an illness. It is quite common for a woman's hormone balance to begin shifting in her early thirties to forties, resulting in early menopause symptoms. Why? There are several reasons why.

Women often demand much of their bodies. Stress exists in many forms for an active, involved woman today. Women have demanding and stressful careers. Women have family responsibilities. The relationship with the spouse or partner may not be the best. Aging parents can add to the burden. These and other responsibilities add up in the toll they take on the body, health and well-being of a woman.

And at the same time, the woman's body may not be getting the support it needs to function as it was designed. Obesity, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, excess caffeine and alcohol add to the problem instead of helping the body cope with what is demanded of it. This stressful lifestyle, coinciding with inadequate support given to the body, contributes to experiencing many of the early menopause symptoms.

Eliminate Pre Menopause Symptoms!

Use Alternative Natural Therapies to Eliminate Pre Menopause Symptoms and Avoid Taking HRT!

Common first symptoms of menopause for women are:

Irregular menstrual cycles
Light or heavy menstrual flow
Lumpy or tender breasts
Fibroid tumors
Endometriosis
Mood swings
Water retention and bloating
Sleep problems
"Foggy, fuzzy" thinking and memory lapses
Anxiety and depression
Inability to handle stress
PMS
Hot flashes and night sweats
Vaginal dryness
Weight gain

Then there are the hormones, the menstrual cycle and hormone production in the body. In the normal menstrual cycle and a healthy woman, estrogen is the dominant hormone that is produced for the first 10-12 days following the previous menstrual flow. Ovulation then signals the female body to produce progesterone, which happens for the next 12 days or so. If there is no pregnancy, progesterone and estrogen levels will drop at around day 28, allowing menstruation to begin.

However, if there is no ovulation, progesterone will not be produced by the body that month. This event, called an anovulatory cycle, is a typical occurrence today for women in their thirties and forties - no ovulation, no progesterone. This leaves the woman with an excess of estrogen and a deficiency of the hormone progesterone.

Many women in their thirties and forties are actually having fewer ovulations which creates hormone imbalance, resulting in many of the early menopause symptoms. And once ovulation ceases at menopause, progesterone levels fall to virtually zero. At the same time, estrogen is still being produced, again leading to hormone imbalance and the resulting first symptoms of menopause. If a hysterectomy has happened, surgical menopause means the woman no longer produces progesterone.

Besides the problems created by missed ovulations or hysterectomy, excess estrogen is regularly obtained from other sources. Birth control pills, household chemicals and pesticides, certain foods that have been sprayed or given chemicals and many construction materials used in homes are all sources of estrogen which leads to excess in the body.

Doctors call this hormone imbalance condition of excess estrogen in the body "estrogen dominance". What are the symptoms of estrogen dominance? The symptoms include low sex drive, bloating and weight gain, headaches before the menstrual period, mood swings, irregular periods and excessive menstrual bleeding. If the amount of unbalanced estrogen in the female adult increases beyond what is desirable and healthy, you will definitely experience early menopause symptoms. On the other hand, when your hormones are balanced, you feel more alert, energetic and ready to take on the challenges of life.

How can a woman tell if the first symptoms of menopause being experienced are because of hormone imbalance? An easy and effective way is to take the online test provided by a leading women's health clinic for early menopause symptoms. It takes just a few minutes and the test is free. Find out more about your health, pre-menopause and menopause symptoms, what the symptoms are telling you and what to do about it based on your answers to important questions. Read more about hormone imbalance, estrogen dominance symptoms, side effects of a hysterectomy and physician-recommended natural treatments for eliminating the early menopause symptoms.

Living through Menopause without Stress

Here are 10 easy steps for distressing you when entering menopause:

Write a list of goals you'd like to achieve. Focus on doing a few really well, rather than a lot in a mediocre way. You can't add hours to the day, but you can cut down on activities.
Say no instead of yes. People agree to requests from others because they like to please them. Instead, realize that you have a right to say no. Creating plans or policies makes saying no easier. ("I'm sorry, I already have a financial planner." "I'm sorry, we already have a plan for giving to charities.")
Stop being a slave to communication tools. Do you really need an office phone, a home phone, a cellular phone, pager, fax, e-mail and internet ICQ technology?
Stop spending time to save money. Instead, spend money to save time. Don't drive across town to save a few cents on a grocery item. It's not worth your time. Do hire someone to do chores you're not fond of.
Cancel subscriptions to magazines you never get around to reading. Only read one newspaper per day.
Cut back on television time. Only watch those shows you decide on beforehand. Circle them in the television-listing magazine. Then turn off the television when the program is over. Cancel extra cable television packages for channels you rarely watch. Go for broke. Give up watching television altogether.
Clean out your basement or your office. If you're not using something, get rid of it. Put an expiration date on items when you can't decide to keep them or not. Get rid of them when the expiration date arrives.
Quit organizations that aren't contributing to your advancement, your network or your fun.
Automate repetitive, clerical, mechanical tasks. For instance, set up automatic bill payments. Include your automatic savings plan as part of your monthly spending.
Make a plan for the weekend that doesn't involve work. Plan to spend more time with your family or with people who make positive contributions to your life. Stop spending time with people who are a drain on your energy or vitality.