How can I know if I am starting menopause? That is a question every women out there asks herself at one time or another, myself included.

Age is NOT a determining factor. Women in their 20's have gone into menopause and other women in their 60's still aren't there. Part of it is genetic, you are very likely to experience menopause within a couple of years of the time your mother started. Surgery (hysterectomy or removal of one or more ovaries) can start dump you right in the middle of menopause and so can some cancer therapies.

First, let me say that no woman has EVER experienced ALL of the symptoms but if you are experiencing two or more symptoms of menopause you may be entering "peri-menopause" which means you body isn't there yet; but, it is getting ready for menopause in another year or two.

Here is a list of menopause symptoms:

1.Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
2.Bouts of rapid heart beat
3.Irritability, grouchiness
4.Mood swings, sudden tears
5.Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
6.Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; phantom periods, shorter cycles, longer cycles
7.Loss of libido
8.Dry vagina
9.Crashing fatigue - one minute you're fine, the next you have ZERO energy
10.Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
11.Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
12.Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion, "brain fog"
13.Disturbing memory lapses, and simple forgetfulness
14.Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing; urge incontinence
15.Itchy, crawly skin
16.Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
17.Increased tension in muscles, tightness or feeling hard to the touch
18.Breast tenderness
19.Headache change: increase or decrease
20.Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
21.Sudden bouts of bloat
22.Depression
23.Exacerbation of existing conditions, other health problems suddenly get worse
24.Increase in allergies
25.Weight gain
26.Hair loss or thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
27.Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
28.Changes in body odor
29.Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head
30.Tingling in the extremities,
31.Gum problems, increased bleeding
32.Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath odor
33.Osteoporosis (after several years)
34.Changes in fingernails (or toenails): softer, crack or break easier
35.Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, 'whooshing' buzzing etc.

Now, I am sure you realize there can be other causes for these symptoms, but your doctor can do a simple blood test which will tell him about your hormone levels and he can tell you whether you are in menopause, have developed a thyroid problem, or some other condition.

Learn more about this author, Ginger Kazay.
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