Menopause Duration, Symptoms and Treatments
So you want to know ”How long does Menopause last?” You are probably sick and tired of the symptoms you are experiencing and just want to know if you have suffered enough and that menopause will soon end.
To help you out, we will not only answer your question, we will also direct you to information about menopause treatments.
After all, that is the next step, unless you feel that you have to suffer through the change without any support from either natural or other treatments.
There is much more to the menopause transition than most women are aware of. It appears that the question” how long does menopause last?” should have a simple answer.
But you will soon find that the whole menopause issue is very complex and there are no easy answers to even simple questions.
Here you will find the answers to:
- How long do I have to put up with this misery?
- Why am I suffering?
- Is it normal to have symptoms for years?
- What can I do about it?
Menopause Duration
The answer to “How long does Menopause Last” is actually determined by the length of the menopausal transition. This transition lasts from your early 40s to the mid 50s.
Severe symptoms occur typically for 2-3 years before and after your period stops – the actual menopause. The average length of severe symptoms is about 5.8 years.
But many women complain about menopause symptoms for a lot longer – it is just that the symptoms change, depending on your stage of the menopause transition.
How long a woman is experiencing severe symptoms is determined by a lot of factors:
- Genetic
- Family history
- Health history
- Lifestyle (i.e. smoker vs non-smoker)
Some lucky women breeze through menopause with hardly a hot flash, others suffer for years from numerous symptoms (like us).
Stage of Menopause Determines Symptoms
The stage of menopause determines greatly the kind and the intensity of your symptoms.
Noticeable symptoms begin usually in your mid to late 40s when the hormone levels begin to change more dramatically, but earlier signs probably slipped right by you (looking back you can probably think of some things that started to change in your early 40s).
The time after the actual menopause (meaning your periods have stopped altogether) is usually the worst for symptoms that are due to low estrogen levels (such as hot flashes and night sweats etc.)
First Symptoms of Menopause
By the time you are asking: “How long does menopause last?”, you are probably well on your way to late peri-menopause because that is when you really begin to suffer from multiple symptoms.
The first symptoms of menopause are usually irregularities with your menstrual cycle and PMS like symptoms.
These PMS symptoms are less and less associated with your normal menstrual cycle as you progress through the transition and your hormones begin to change more rapidly.
After a while you might experience hot flashes, night sweats, increasing vaginal dryness and mood swings.
Heavy Bleeding during Premenopause
In your early to mid 40s, you may experience heavy menstrual bleeding, caused by estrogen dominance (estrogen stimulates cell growth), but not every women has this (very unpleasant) experience.
Should you find yourself in this situation, talk to your doctor aboutprogesterone treatments which can help.
Your doctor may also prescribe birth control pills but because of the estrogen dominance that is likely they cause more side effects than in younger women (high blood pressure, breast tenderness, and the other risks associated with birth control pills).
For more information about menopause periods click here.
Symptoms Change During the Menopausal Transition
After your periods have stopped altogether your symptoms will change. Your body will gradually adapt to the lower hormone levels.
Some of the symptoms will disappear just like magic (for example the mood swings) but others are likely permanent (for example vaginal dryness).
Make Changes in Your Lifestyle as Early as Possible
The good news is that you can prevent, or at least lessen, these things if you make some changes early and start with a menopause lifestyle. Better nutrition, natural and herbal supplements and exercising will go a long way to help you on your way to a great second phase of your life.
So the question: “How long does Menopause last?” does not have to be asked in panic and fear.
Aside from lifestyle changes you can look for some menopause treatments.You have many options available ranging from hormone therapy all the way to alternative treatments like acupuncture.
There are a lot of options with natural remedies alone. Only you can decide what the best treatment for your situation is.