• Shorter or longer periods each month. Some women may also miss a few periods. Since menopause signifies the end of menstrual periods, if you miss a few and then have your period again, chances are, you are experiencing perimenopause.

• Less sex drive. You may experience less of a need to be sexually active. This is due to hormone changes or when sexual intercourse becomes painful. If there is pain, you can use a lubricant to help decrease this pain.

• Mood swings. This can occur at any time during one’s life, but during perimenopause, you may experience mood swings more often.

• Forgetfulness. This can occur as the body begins to produce less estrogen. Taking vitamin B and other vitamins to counteract the loss of estrogen may help.

These are just a few of the many symptoms you may have during perimenopause. Some women do not have many symptoms at all, while others may exhibit all of them. This seems to be genetic. If your mother had symptoms, chances are you will also. Exercise and diet are ways to help you adjust to life changes. Keep living a healthy, active life and these symptoms will not seem so bad. Ask a doctor for advice about vitamin supplements and other advice concerning perimenopause.

Getting enough sleep is essential when performing your daily activities. Not getting enough sleep can result in:

• Being sluggish throughout the day
• Concentration levels lowered
• Poor diet
• Premature aging

Menopause for many women is not convenient. Many women work full-time, are raising children, and need sleep in order to complete their daily tasks. But nature is not going to stop just because the timing is wrong. There are ways women can help themselves and make the effects of menopause a little easier to take.

Taking a look at your diet is the best way to help ease the symptoms of menopause. Cutting back on spicy foods, caffeine, and alcohol, especially at nighttime will help. Getting plenty of exercise, even if it is just taking the stairs instead of the elevator, will cause symptoms of menopause to decrease. Not only will a healthy diet and exercise help relieve the symptoms of menopause, diet and exercise will also reduce stress, which will help you get a good night’s sleep.

Wearing layers of clothing that can be taken off will make sleeping more comfortable in case you have a hot flash during the nighttime. The most important thing to remember is that you should try to take care of yourself the best way you can and try to be prepared when the symptoms of menopause occur during the night.

Exercising for at least thirty minutes a day may be difficult for women at any age. But as women age, their bodies may be weakened by a lack of calcium, by cancer or other disease, or may simply not have the time to get enough sleep or to eat a healthy diet and exercise.

Be creative. Find ways to exercise by participating in your favorite activities. If traditional methods of exercise are not for you, take walks or try to find ways to use the stairs.

Take control. Try to fit in thirty minutes of exercise into your day. It can be five minutes here, or five minutes there. Time yourself to see how many minutes a day you can exercise.

Begin a new diet. Improving overall health includes a healthy diet in addition to exercise.

Get friends involved. Find others who are also going through menopause and start a walking club. You and your friends can chat while staying fit. This is a good way to find time to spend with friends and also get your thirty minutes of exercise in for the day.

At the end of a long day, you will feel better if you exercise and eat a healthy diet. This is particularly important for those who suffer from hot flashes and night sweats.

You may have mixed feelings when menopause begins. But many times this is because you are entering a new phase in your life and are unsure how it will play into your current lifestyle. You will have mood swings, you will have hot flashes and night sweats, all of which might cause you to become depressed. But once you learn how to handle these things, your depression will disappear.

There are a few ways that can help when adjusting to menopause. Diet and exercise will help keep the body healthy which will promote the production of mood lifting hormones. Taking walks or starting a new hobby will also help curb depression. Talking with friends and others who are going through menopause may put some of your reservations to rest.

If the depression persists, then contact your doctor to see if there are other problems. If you are going through a divorce or other event that might be painful, talking with a therapist may be the answer. Many times the depression felt during menopause is something else that is happening in your life. Taking care of yourself means staying informed and making changes in your life where you can.

• Exercise regularly and try pelvic exercises that will build up the muscles. This should help the muscles control the bladder and keep involuntary urination to a minimum.

• Do not eat or drink before bedtime will help the body adjust to the weakened muscles.

• Regulate the body by using the bathroom at specific times during the day like after lunch, in the morning, and before bedtime.

• Consider HRT to regulate your estrogen levels. Use only the lowest dosage of estrogen as prescribed by a doctor.

If these suggestions do not help, then consult a doctor because something else could be wrong. If you are having other symptoms such as stomachaches, headaches, soreness, or other symptoms that do not seem right, contact a doctor right away.

Even though you have to go through menopause, this does not mean you should feel uncomfortable in public due to bladder problems. Learning how to live with menopause is the first step toward feeling better about yourself and enjoying the next phase of your life.

Having a hysterectomy, even though necessary, can still leave a woman with many questions. For instance, you may see symptoms of menopause appearing much earlier than usual. This is because menopause has begun earlier. There are many symptoms of menopause, and you should visit your doctor to see if menopause has started. Many times, women do not experience too many symptoms. This will vary from woman to woman. This is why it is important to be seen by a doctor.

It is important for all women going through menopause to eat a proper diet and exercise regularly. Getting the proper amount of vitamins each day will help maintain the body and keep symptoms of menopause from causing too much of a disturbance in your life. Having regular check ups by a doctor is also important especially if you had a hysterectomy due to cancer. Taking care of oneself will help you stay active, stay happy and enjoy life.

So what does this mean for those with menopause? It means that every case is unique and you should seek a doctor who can give you an honest opinion about HRT. Many doctors today feel that in severe cases, a very low does of HRT may help relieve symptoms brought on by menopause. Doctors warn, however, that these doses should be short-term only.

HRT does not work for everyone. There are other ways to combat symptoms of menopause. Diet, exercise, reducing stress, and living your life despite that fact that you have menopause are more effective ways to reduce the effect of the symptoms.

But if you are still looking into HRT, there are a few things you should do before beginning any treatment.

• Always consult a doctor
• Talk with others who have had HRT
• Find out all the information you can
• Decide if it is better to just wait it out instead of taking any medication

Look into your family history also and see if any types of cancer are present. Some studies suggest that HRT may cause cancer. Have regular check-ups with your doctor to monitor your body’s reaction to HRT.

Eat foods that are high in fiber. Fruits, vegetables such as broccoli and spinach are great sources of many vitamins and also fiber. Fiber will keep your bowels clean which will give you more energy during the day.

Getting more calcium into your body will help keep your bones healthy and also help when losing weight. Drink plenty of milk and eat foods such as yogurt, cheese, and dark green leafed vegetables will help you achieve your daily allotment, which should be 1000mgs per day.
Avoid foods that are high in sugar and fat. This includes most dessert items as well as bacon, and hot dogs.

Once you have modified your diet, you will begin to have more energy and you will begin to sleep better at nighttime. In addition to eating properly, it is also important to exercise as well. Drink plenty of water in order to stay hydrated and try to walk or perform some other sort of exercise at least three days a week. Menopause is not the end of your life, but rather a beginning of the next half of it.

Gaining weight, along with the various psychological and physical signs, is often the common problem that women complain about when they start interacting with menopause symptoms. This dilemma is a natural result when people age but with women who are dealing with menopausal stage, this can be more depressing probably because they experiences different levels of emotional stress. Weight gaining could add up to their anxieties so it is important that you know how to maintain and deal with your body even before perimenopause stage occurs.

Causes of gaining weight during menopausal stage

Perimenopause is the time when your menstruation cycle starts to fluctuate. This is also the most common time wherein women may feel the increasing and shifting of their weight. During this stage, women’s ability to produce hormones ceases. The female sex hormone, called oestrogen, is the one responsible for the woman’s ovulation. Because of the hormonal imbalance, the woman is no longer fit for fertility. Some studies showed that the lack of oestrogen distributes fat to the body, which leads also to gain weight.

Aside from the oestrogen being an influence to the weight gain, there are other factors why women of this stage quickly change their body composition. Along with the aging factor, the following are basis for the weight gain:

- Reduced physical exercises. For women reaching menopausal age, they tend to have less physical activities than other younger women. With their sedentary life, they can easily gain weight.

- Increase in their food intake. As their lives become sedentary, they tend to turn their attention to eating. Naturally, eating more will mean more calorie intake. Calorie intake is converted to fat. Because they have less physical activities, fats accumulated are not burned down for energy.

- Slowing down of your metabolism. Because you burn more calories than fat, your muscles weaken and decrease their amount. The result is stored fat instead of taking them away.

Some truth about menopausal gaining weight

In contrast to the weight loss commercial pitches, weight loss is really not all about willpower. Gain weight during menopause is a natural result. It is inevitable that women who undergo menopause symptoms will increase their weight, because however frequent they take on early weight loss diets, certain factors that they encounter during this crucial stage of their lives will end them up overlooking their healthy lifestyles. One factor is the consequences of emotional menopause symptoms. Because of different depression levels they interact with, often, unresolved emotional issues, they cause these women to lead into unhealthy eating habits.

How to deal with weight gain during menopause process

Gain weight during menopause stage, however, may be countered albeit cannot be avoided when women can regulate their healthy eating habits in their younger years, prior to perimenopausal stage. After your menopause, you can manage your weight by maintaining your healthy lifestyle by eating low-fat, high-fiber diet. Sustain regular aerobic exercises so your metabolism will boost. This should be carried on on a daily basis. Other training exercises, such as walking, bicycling or any other weight bearing exercise will help maintain and build your muscles again.

And finally, maintain bright and positive outlooks in life. Learn to accept the changes on your life, specifically the second phase of your femininity.

What are these menopause symptoms and how to cope with them?

Psychological menopause symptoms – when a woman undergoes menopause transition, different kinds and levels of depression is more likely to envelop her. However, some studies showed that these depressions are not only the cause of the menopausal transition itself but also other factors such as household circumstances and the lack of sleep. The following are the most typical psychological dilemmas that women go through:

· Difficulty in concentrating

· Irritability

· Forgetfulness

· Mood swings

· Overreaction to minor details

· Anxieties; and others

You can alleviate the severity of these emotional difficulties if you will exercise regularly. Through physical exercises, you can preserve your bone strength and maintain your hormonal balance. Also, talking with other women who are undergoing such process may be a big help to deal with the problem a lot easier.

Vasomotor menopause symptoms – the most common is hot flashes, wherein you may experience them even few years before you stop menstruating. They are the result of the changing temperature control of your body. They would continue for a little more years, after your menopause. Hot flashes usually occur at nighttimes, where you may feel sudden waves of heat all over your body, more particularly on your face and chest.

Other problems that accompany hot flashes:

· Palpitations

· Perspiration

· Chilling or sweating

· Headaches

There are alternative treatments that you can take to control hot flashes. Some of these are:

- Herbal treatment
- Taking vitamins and natural supplements
- And some medical treatments prescribed by the doctor

By following these simple tips, you can minimize the discomforting effects of hot flashes:

- Avoid too much stress
- Minimize caffeine, spicy foods, and alcoholic beverage intake
- Drink cold water when you start experiencing signs of hot flash
- Wear comfortable clothes
- And when the hot flash starts, splash cold water on your wrists and face.

Sexual problems – your intercourse activities will be affected as vaginal dryness is already appearing as another menopause symptom. This is the result of the decreased estrogen level. You can try to apply some stimulants so to reach orgasm. You can also have vaginal lubricants for a less painful intercourse.

Urinary problems – estrogen loss has been discovered to play a role in the urinary problems of women undergoing menopause process. Because of the loss, tissues found on the urinary tract also undergo changes, leaving these women to encounter difficulties with their urinary activities. The following are the typical problems that these women may find themselves with:

· Urine leaks (may occur even from your small movements such as laughing and coughing)

· Vaginal dryness, and vaginal discharge, itching and burning.

· Urine infection

· Frequent passing of urine (daytime and nighttime)

You can have a regular exercise to combat the severity of these urinary problems. Also, exercise bladder training can be a simple yet effective treatment to lessen the amount of discomfort that urinary problems are giving you.

Sleep/Insomnia problems – these are usually the result of the hot flashes occurrences. You may experience tossing and turning at nights leaving you awake all night and tiredness during the days. Seek medical help from the doctors so they can prescribe proper treatment from this problem.