Menopause is a natural and unavoidable stage of life. However, due to its vague symptoms and sudden changes, it is often challenging and even disruptive. Despite its inevitability, many women lack the knowledge needed to navigate this period with greater ease.
This article, along with two upcoming blog posts, captures key insights from a conversation with Dr. Dovile Kalvinskaite, a skilled obstetrician-gynecologist and lifestyle medicine expert based at a menopause clinic in England. She shares her expertise on menopause management and lifestyle approaches tailored to women's health. Drawing from her extensive experience, Dr. Dovile offers practical advice on how embracing healthy lifestyle principles can help manage symptoms and enhance overall quality of life.
What is Menopause, Perimenopause, and Post-Menopause?
Menopause is, in fact, a single-day event in a woman's life, marking 12 consecutive months without menstruation. The average age for women to experience menopause is between 45 and 55. It’s important to note that some symptoms improve within 5 to 10 years after menopause, but others can gradually worsen if no action is taken.
When menopause occurs before the age of 40, it is considered premature ovarian failure, which requires medical treatment.
Early Menopause occurs when menstruation stops between the ages of 40 and 45. About 5% of women naturally experience early menopause, while for others, it may begin after a hysterectomy, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and so on.
Perimenopause is the transitional period leading to menopause. It can begin 7 to 10 years before menopause. Symptoms can vary widely and may not affect all women.
Post-menopause refers to the time after menopause, essentially the rest of a woman’s life. This stage is often also referred to as menopause.
Symptoms of Perimenopause
The later symptoms appear, the shorter they tend to last, and vice versa. Symptoms may persist anywhere from a few years to over a decade. For example, hot flashes and brain fog often subside after a few years, but in some cases, they can last 5 years or even several decades. On the other hand, symptoms like vaginal dryness, low libido, painful intercourse, and bone thinning typically worsen with age if left untreated.
Possible Symptoms of Perimenopause:
- Changes in the menstrual cycle
- Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
- Vasomotor symptoms (e.g., hot flashes, sweating, frequent heartbeats, dizziness)
- Fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating
- Cognitive decline (often one of the earliest signs)
- Brain fog
- Mood swings
- Weight gain
- Headaches
- Reduced sexual desire (low libido)
- Heart palpitations
- Pain and stiffness in joints, bones, and muscles
- Frozen shoulder
- More severe PMS/PMDD symptoms
- Tinnitus (ringing in the ears)
- Dizziness
- Changes in body odor
- New or worsened allergies
- Paresthesia (feeling like electric shocks on the skin, or "crawling sensations")
- Sleep apnea
- Digestive issues, bloating
- Decreased self-esteem or self-worth
- Anxiety or panic attacks
- Depression
- Feeling disconnected from yourself
- Difficulty managing work, family, and relationships
- Skin changes, hair thinning, loss of collagen
- Urogenital atrophy (vaginal dryness, discomfort, painful intercourse, worsening urinary incontinence, recurrent urinary tract infections, bladder irritation)
- Sexual dysfunction
Perimenopause is closely linked to changes in the reproductive system, often leading to symptoms like irregular periods and heavier bleeding. During this time, it's essential to choose hygiene products that are gentle, non-toxic, and won’t cause irritation. Genial Day pads and liners offer the perfect solution, providing reliable protection during this transitional time.
What Blood Tests Should Be Done During Perimenopause?
If symptoms are troublesome and affect your quality of life, it’s important to see your family doctor or gynecologist.
Because hormone levels can fluctuate significantly during perimenopause, testing them may not yield reliable or meaningful results. One day your hormone levels might fall within the normal range, while the next day they could be above or below it, leading to inconsistent findings.
Estrogen and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone (FSH) testing is crucial for diagnosing early menopause. For example, if a woman’s periods stop before the age of 40, an FSH test is done twice, with a 6-week interval between tests. If both results show elevated FSH levels, along with low estrogen levels, this would be a diagnostic criterion for early menopause.
It’s important to conduct certain blood tests to rule out other potential causes, such as thyroid dysfunction, vitamin D deficiency, infections, autoimmune diseases, and more. For example, thyroid hormone imbalances can cause very similar symptoms, including weight gain, hair loss, skin changes, hot flashes, insomnia, and more.
Healthy Lifestyle and Its Significance
It’s clear that up to 40% of women could prevent or manage perimenopausal symptoms by consistently following the principles of a healthy lifestyle. However, it’s important to note that, in some cases, even strictly adhering to all healthy lifestyle recommendations may not help reduce symptoms due to a woman’s individual response to estrogen deficiency. In such cases, this doesn’t mean that a healthy lifestyle isn’t important—it’s still crucial for preventing other diseases or health issues.
Symptom Management
Let’s imagine we have three buckets:
In the first bucket, we have a healthy lifestyle, which includes proper nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress management, quitting smoking/alcohol, and maintaining positive relationships with others. These are the fundamental elements that have the greatest impact on health, and they should be the starting point.
In the second bucket, we have supplements and other alternative treatments.
In the third bucket, we have medical treatment, which can be either hormonal or non-hormonal, used when the first two buckets are not enough to manage symptoms.
We’ll cover each of these "buckets" step by step in the upcoming articles. Stay tuned and subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to know when a new blog post goes live!
