Menopause Common and Uncommon Symptoms

Here you will find holistic health education that provides guidance on Menopause and the common and uncommon symptoms that accompany the body changes during this time of life.

Everyone has heard of the most common symptoms of menopause, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, etc. but there are some very uncommon symptoms that most women don't even know menopause can cause. These symptoms can occur in any combination and, if you don't know menopause is the cause, they can really make for a health mystery. For example, I had absolutely no idea that menopause could cause sudden and unexplained bloating. Or irregular heartbeat. Or inexplicable feelings of doom and dread. Or even loss of sexual interest. Another one, is inflammation in the joints.

For example stiff fingers upon awakening in the morning. Two doctors diagnosed this symptom as Arthritis, which didn't seem right. It wasn't until I talked with a women's health specialist that I realized it was due to hormonal imbalances. (this can happen in men, too.) As soon as I began taking better nutrition supplementation the stiffness went away.

I actually received a great education on the uncommon side of menopause symptoms simply by visiting forums dedicated to the subject, and reading all the incredible posts of the menopausal women who had something to share. Wow. As all these weird things had begun happening to me and I had no idea they were all tied into those drastic hormonal swings. As I read about women struggling with itchy, crawly skin and bleeding gums and tinnitis, I thought "maybe I'm not going crazy after all."

I also learned the peri-menopause (the period before actual menopause when a woman begins to go into menopause but still has menstruation) can last as long as 15 years. This was huge for me because I looked back on 10 years of increasingly strange health weirdness and realized, it all could be symptoms of peri-menopause. All of it, including the sudden tears over nothing, the irritability that didn't seem tied to PMS, the absolutely overwhelming fatigue that would hit me suddenly, the difficulty concentrating at certain times, the dizziness, the occasional incontinence, aching joints and muscles, All Of It.

One of the most startling changes in my own body, which I now realize signaled coming even closer to menopause, was sudden weight gain. It seemed as if, practically overnight, I gained twenty pounds. All In my stomach! And they were extremely stubborn pounds. 

Some of the other changes I haven't experienced yet include thinning hair, bleeding gums, the strange "burning tongue" sensation (I bet that's a wild one!) that I've read many other women have experienced, or the change in body odor.

I'm saying all this to say that menopause, because it involves delicate hormonal balances, is a truly complex situation that has far-reaching effects for a woman. All women will experience this time in their own unique way.

One of the best places to start, for balancing those hormonal swings, is good nutritional support and support to help your body produce its own natural progesterone. Some women have found the use of natural progesterone when peri-menopausal or menopausal can help. Why suffer more than we have to suffer? Why not support your body in balancing hormones, so you don't have to endure all these wild symptoms.

Here are Some Benefits When the Body Balances its Natural Progesterone:

• Helps to reduce night sweats and hot flashes
• Serves as a natural diuretic for less bloating
• Assists in regulating periods and heavy bleeding during menses
• Has a calming, relaxing effect on the system to reduce irritability
• Assists in cases of menopause migraines and helps ease cramps
• Slows down and even helps to reverse the path of osteoporosis
• Increases fat burning for balancing menopausal weight gain
• Helps with memory improvement and better energy levels
• Excellent for vaginal dryness—helps restore libido
• Reduces Sleep Disturbances related to menopause—Natural sleep aid
• Provides extra breast cancer protection. Also shrinks fibroids
• Helps reduce wrinkles and fine lines—anti-aging properties

You may find that Natural Progesterone Cream can help in the short term to boost your body in producing its own.

What Lifestyle Changes Can be Beneficial for the Menopausal or Peri-Menopausal Woman?

• Eating at diet of at least fifty percent healthy raw foods and limiting or eliminating meat and dairy products (they are known to promote hot flashes).
• Avoiding foods and drinks containing a lot of sugar and spice.
• Avoiding alcohol and caffeine.
• Getting regular moderate exercise
• The avoidance of stressful situations.
• Drinking two quarts of water daily.
• Quitting Smoking
• Using a vaginal lubricant

Read More Menopause Information from Herbal Remedies

Thermograms

Another wonderful aid to check your breast health, as well as get a read on other health issues, is to have a yearly thermogram. Not only can you check the health of your breasts, but inflammation and other symptoms are often revealed. You can take preventative steps way before disease takes hold.

Learn about Breast Thermography, a safe and effective, non invasive breast cancer detection procedure which can locate suspect cancer cells up to 10 years before they ever form.