When Will I Reach Menopause?

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Your hormone levels begin to fluctuate in the years before menopause. During this transitional time, called perimenopause, most women begin to experience changes in their menstrual periods. Your periods could be longer, shorter, heavier, or lighter — the changes are different for each woman.

At menopause, estrogen production severely drops and your periods stop. You officially enter menopause when you haven’t had your period for 12 consecutive months. Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45-58, but the average age is 52.

Symptoms of Menopause
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It is important to know each woman has a different journey through menopause. Some experience few or mild symptoms, while others have severe hot flashes that make it hard to get through the day. The classic symptoms of menopause include:

• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Mood swings
• Low sex drive
• Fatigue
• Insomnia
• Hard time concentrating
• Difficulty with memory
• Urinary incontinence

Without enough estrogen, the vaginal lining becomes thin, dry, less elastic, and fragile. Additionally, blood supply and lubrication in the vagina decline. This condition, called vaginal atrophy, affects nearly half of all women at menopause.

If you develop vaginal atrophy, you’ll have symptoms such as:

• Vaginal dryness
• Vaginal burning
• Painful intercourse
• Bleeding after intercourse
• Less lubrication during intercourse
  
  Treatment
  

• Treatment is customized to meet the needs of each patient 
• Some patients may benefit from hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As HRT restores estrogen back to normal levels, you’ll get relief from the full range of menopause symptoms and prevent future problems like osteoporosis.