Typical Age For Menopause

The early warning sighns of menopause,what are they?

I'm in my 30's & would like to know of starting sighns of menopause.When is the typical age it starts to happen? What should I keep my eye out for?

Many women have irregular periods and other problems of "pre-menopause" for years. It's not easy to predict when menopause begins, although doctors agree it is complete when a woman has not had a period for a year. Eight out of every 100 women stop menstruating before age 40. At the other end of the spectrum, five out of every 100 continue to have periods until they are almost 60. The average age of menopause is 51.

There's no mathematical formula to figure out when the ovaries will begin to scale back either, but a woman can get a general idea based on her family history, body type, and lifestyle. Women who began menstruating early will not necessarily stop having periods early as well. It is true that a woman will likely enter menopause at about the same age as her mother. Menopause may occur later than average among smokers.
The most common symptom of menopause is a change in the menstrual cycle, but there are a variety of other symptoms as well, including:

Hot Flashes

night sweats

insomnia

mood swings/irritability

memory or concentration problems

vaginal dryness

heavy bleeding

fatigue

depression

hair changes

headaches

heart palpitations

sexual disinterest

urinary changes

weight gain

Diagnosis

The clearest indication of menopause is the absence of a period for one year. It is also possible to diagnose menopause by testing hormone levels. One important test measures the levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) that steadily as a woman ages.

However, as a woman first enters menopause, her hormones often fluctuate wildly from day to day. For example, if a woman's estrogen levels are high and progesterone is low, she may have mood swings, irritability, and other symptoms similar to premenstrual syndrome (PMS). As hormone levels shift and estrogen level falls, hot flashes occur. Because of these fluctuations, a normal hormone level when the blood is tested may not necessarily mean the levels were normal the day before or will be the day after.

If it has been at least three months since a woman's last period, an FSH test might be more helpful in determining whether menopause has occurred. Most doctors believe that the FSH test alone can't be used as proof that a woman has entered early menopause. A better measure of menopause is a test that checks the levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones at mid-cycle, in addition to FSH.

Be Sociable, Share!

•