The most common menopause or perimenopause symptoms experienced by the majority of women are, in no particular order.

Hot Flashes
We may all have seen middle aged women in public places suddenly start to take of jackets and loosen their clothing around the neck line and maybe even start frantically fanning themselves, and they may get very red in the face and neck. Yes this is usually a hot flash. A sudden increase in body temperature associated with menopause or more accurately perimenopause or pre menopause. Hot flashes may not be life threatening but they can be very unpleasant, much more than just feeling a little warm.

Night Sweats
Not surprisingly these are the night time equivalent of hot flashes, a very sudden increase in temperature in the upper body which wakes you and really does make you sweat. Apart from feeling very uncomfortable they can happen a number of times during the night so you lose sleep as well. Unfortunately this is a time of life when you may already be experiencing lack of sleep.

Irregular Periods
As your ovulation begins to decrease it can also become very erratic, you might have periods which are lighter than usual or heavier. You may even miss some periods altogether. You should be aware that you can still get pregnant during perimenopause, in fact menopause is defined as the time when you have not had a period at all for one year.

Mood Swings
Many women suffer quite serious changes of mood at this time, you may find you’re feeling depressed, you might cry for no reason or get upset over something that you know isn’t really important. You can feel like you’re not in control of your emotions at all. These feelings can be because of your changing hormone levels but also partly due to tiredness from lack of sleep.

Bladder Problems
You may experience various urinary problems because your levels of the hormone estrogen are falling and as well as controlling your fertility it helps with keeping your bladder in good health. You may find you need to get up often during the night to go to the bathroom, you may also experience stress incontinence, this is when sneezing or coughing or bending to lift things can cause urine leaks. You might also be more susceptible to urinary infections.

Lack of Sex Drive.
Because of all this upset in your hormone levels it’s quite possible that you will suffer from vaginal dryness this not surprisingly can make intercourse difficult or unpleasant, you may also find that you’re just not as easily aroused as you used to be and my not be as sensitive to touch.

Learn more about perimenopause and how to survive it by clicking here

To put it very simply it’s the time in your life when you’re going from having periods to not having periods which is menopause proper. So it’s the start of menopause and for some women it may only last a few months, but it can take up to ten years. So when women talk about “going through the change” or “going through the menopause”, they’re really talking about going through perimenopause. Menopause is when you’ve arrived. Officially you’re in menopause when you haven’t had a period for one year.

It’s not surprising then that many women experiencing perimenopause don’t realise it, they think the symptoms they are experiencing are due to something else like stress, and naturally many women dismiss thoughts of menopause because they think they’re too young.

When does peimenopause begin? It’s probably safe to say most women will begin to notice changes in their  late 40’s or early 50’s, though it’s not uncommon for it to start earlier when they’re in their thirties, it’s less common for it to begin earlier than this but it does happen.

It’s a natural part of the aging process for women that their ovaries begin to stop functioning and they produce less of the hormone oestrogen, perimenopause ends when the ovaries finally stop releasing eggs. Though you can still get pregnant right up until you’ve not had a period for 12 consecutive months.

As said earlier you may think some of the changes you’re feeling are simply just due to getting older, some of the symptoms which you may experience  as a result of perimenopause are, irregular periods, vaginal dryness, tender breasts, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, thinning hair on your head or increased hair growth on your face.

Unfortunately the list goes on, you may also experience trouble with your bladder, this can be a need to get up often during the night to go to the bathroom, or it may take the form of stress incontinence, meaning things like coughing or sneezing or lifting things can cause urine to leak from your bladder. This is because you’re oestrogen levels are decreasing and apart from it’s other functions like regulating your periods and changes during pregnancy, oestrogen also keeps your bladder healthy.

You may also find that you have a lower libido or sex drive, this can be due to a number of things, lower oestrogen levels can mean a reduced blood flow to the vagina which in turn can mean vaginal dryness, making intercourse an uncomfortable experience and so less desirable. You may find you’re less sensitive to touch and not very easily aroused making you less interested in sex.

What can you do about these changes? Some women take birth control pills, not to prevent pregnancy but to control the symptoms of perimenopause, as with all medication you should consult your doctor on the matter.

You can make some changes to you life style which may help ease some of the symptoms, for instance a healthy diet can help control your weight as well as helping you feel healthy generally, and increase of calcium rich foods such as dairy products is a good way to combat the risk of osteoporosis or bone loss. Eat more fruit and vegetables and whole grain foods. Exercise is also very useful, it can help control your weight and contribute to bone strength, and it can also make you feel good. It may help to cut down on your caffeine and alcohol intake; in some women these can trigger hot flashes.

Find out more about perimenopause and how to get through it at Surviving Perimenopause.

When the body starts to produce fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone, it’s quite natural to expect that our periods will become irregular. For some women, irregular periods are accompanied by mild to severe PMS, and even the amount of menstrual bleeding can vary from very light to frighteningly heavy.

Irregular menstrual periods can be disruptive, especially if it is accompanied by severe PMS and heavy bleeding. To help manage these symptoms, I have identified 5 natural solutions you can use to your menstrual woes. Before you try any of these, I would strongly advise that you seek the opinion of your doctor – this is to make sure that you do not have any pre-existing medical condition or are not taking any medication or substances that can interact negatively with these remedies.

Black Cohosh

Black cohosh is an herb that contains properties that mimic the activity of the hormones in our body. It helps to relax the uterine muscles, which acts to decrease and regulate menstrual bleeding. It is also used to help relieve PMS.

Flax seed

Flax seed is considered a “super” plant because its healing properties is used to treat a variety of symptoms. Flax seed is rich in essential fatty acids which is an important component of a healthy diet. This allows it to help in the prevention of heart disease and cancers.

When it comes to treating perimenopause symptoms, flax seed acts by blocking prostaglandins, which is a substance in our body that contributes to excessive bleeding. For best results, flax seeds should be taken in its unrefined form.

Parsley Tea

Parsley is rich in vitamins A, B and C. It is recommended to relieve pain during your menstrual cycle. Depending on the severity of your PMS, you may take 2 to 5 cups to alleviate your symptoms. Not advised for pregnant women or those with kidney problems.

Dong Quai

Dong Quai is a Chinese herb that’s used to help women achieve hormonal balance. It’s been used to help regulate irregular periods, relieve menstrual cramps and enhance fertility.

Dong Quai contains plant sterols, which are similar to the estrogen. If your period is too light or too heavy, this herb may be used to restore a normal volume.

Black Haw

This herb may come it tea of table form. It helps prevent excessive bleeding and cramping during periods by relaxing the uterine wall muscles. It contains two types of phytochemicals – scopoletin and aesculetin – which works as uterine relaxants.

Are you looking for the home remedies you can use for hot flashes and other perimenopause symptoms? Get a comprehensive list – including instructions on how to prepare and how much to use from Perimenopause: Have It, Live It, Love It! For more details, visit Surviving Perimenopause

Perimenopause hot flashes take place because of the fluctuating levels of hormones in our bodies. What’s affected here are not just our sex hormones, but other hormones as well, including those that help regulate mood, body temperature, digestion, and so on.

If you are suffering from perimenopause hot flashes, you’d be glad to know that there are natural home remedies that you can use to alleviate this symptom. Here’s a run down of the more common remedies for hot flashes. Before you try out any of these, it’s best to clear it with your doctor or healthcare provider.

Phytoestrogens

Phytoestrogens are chemical compounds food in plants and in some food that are similar to the estrogen that’s found in our bodies. Hot flashes are symptoms caused by a lack of estrogen in the body. So if we eat food that are rich in phytoestrogens, we help the body replenish its store of estrogen and relieve the symptoms caused by a lack of it.

Foods which can contain phytoestrogens include soy and lentils.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E mimics the action of estrogen in the body. This is what makes it a potent remedy to reduce and alleviate perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes.

Vitamin E an be found in various food like seeds, nuts, whole grain cereals, mangoes, dried beans, liver, and some varieties of fish like herring and mackerel. It’s also found in unprocessed vegetable oils like safflower, sesame oil and peanut oil.

Wild yam

Wild yam is a known antioxidant and is also effective in battling hot flashes. It helps to reduce the occurrence and the severity of hot flash episods.

Chasteberry

Chasteberry relieves hot flashes by helping the body increase its production of progesterone. This is specially beneficial for women who experience estrogen dominant perimenopause (body is producing more estrogen that progesterone).

Black Cohosh

Rather endearingly known as “the woman’s herb” because of its usefulness in helping women achieve wellness, black cohosh is known to have isoflavone, a compound that mimics hormone activity in the body. It’s credited to alleviate a lot of perimenopause symptoms, including hot flashes.

Primrose Oil

Primrose oil is a good source of essential fatty acids and is known to relieve perimenopause symptoms like hot flashes.

Lignan Flax

A type of herb, the oil of the lignan flax is well known for its ability to lessen hot flashes. Aside from this, it’s also used as a topical medicine for certain skin conditions like eczema and acne. It works by removing excess estrogen in the body.

If you are looking for more home remedies you can use to relieve your other perimenopause symptoms? Get a comprehensive list, including instructions on how to prepare and how much to use from Perimenopause: Have It, Live It, Love It!

For more details, go to survivingperimenopause.com

Sign #1: Heavy Menstrual Bleeding

During perimenopause, the imbalance of hormones in the body causes irregularity in our menstrual periods. For some women, they also find that their menstrual bleeding become heavier than normal.

This is a very disturbing effect of perimenopause. For one, heavy bleeding can also point to other medical conditions, so you should consult with your OB-GYN if you observe this symptom. It’s also very disruptive because you constantly worry about changing your pad or tampon. It’s so distressing that a lot of women just consider staying home and cancelling plans because of heavy menstrual bleeding.

Sign #2: Hot Flashes

Hot flashes can occur without any warning. This is what makes it such a disruptive symptom. You could be addressing your team in a meeting and get an embarrassing attack. It may also occur when you deep in sleep, causing you to wake up drenched in sweat and discover that your newly laundered sheets are soaked as well.

Sign #3: Dizziness

For older ladies, dizziness can be a very disruptive symptom that can lead to a fall. Not surprisingly, a lot of older women are afraid of falling because the risk of injury is higher when you are more mature. This is one of those symptoms that can stop women from engaging in activities, even simple ones, if they cannot have a companion with them.

Sign #4: Insomnia

In general, lack of sleep affects our ability to function efficiently during the day time. If affects our mood, our ability to concentrate, and our ability to move with energy and purpose. In many cases, a lot of our other perimenopause symptoms is the by product of not getting enough sleep. For example, dizziness, irritability, forgetfulness, etc.

Sign #5: Depression

Depression is one of the more common perimenopause signs among women at this stage. This is why some women tear easily, even over things that are not really that sad. This can be pretty embarrassing, especially when you are tearing up during inappropriate moments.

The debiitating version of depression though is the type that’s so severe that it causes women to lose the desire to engage in any activity. This could happen because the hormonal imbalance in our body does not just pertain to the sex hormones. It’s a system wide effect and may also involve the hormones that control our other functions, like mood.

If you are suffering from any of these symptoms and are very concerned about the side effects of using drugs for these symptoms, you’ll be glad to know that there are natural home remedies that you can use to alleviate your symptoms. A complete guide is available in the book Perimenopause: Have It, Live It, Love It! Head on over to http://www.survivingperimenopause.com for more details.