The Menstrual Cycle
To understand menopause, you must understand the normal menstrual cycle. Once girls reach puberty, their ovaries release a mature egg once a month in a process call ovulation. If the egg gets fertilized by a sperm, it implants in the uterus and grows into a fetus. If it doesn’t get fertilized, it gets passed through the body along with the endometrium, or lining of the uterus, on a monthly basis.
The Role of Hormones in the Menstrual Cycle
After puberty, women menstruate once about once a month and this process is controlled entirely by hormone, specifically follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). These hormones signal to the ovaries when to grow and release eggs and produce other hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and estradiol that further affect the body. However, once they reach about 50, menstruation becomes erratic as menopause is reached. Most of these women eventually stop menstruating at all because FSH and LH are no longer produced by the pituitary gland.
Menopause is Caused by Hormone Deficiencies
And because FSH and LH are no longer produced, the ovaries stop making estrogen, estradiol, and progesterone . The lower levels of these three hormones wreaks havoc on the body, causing familiar symptoms such as hot flashes, osteoporosis, and fatigue. Remedies for menopause, therefore, must supply the body with the missing hormones.
I am 72 years old. For too many years I have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Due to other conditions, sleep medications cause not dizziness, but unbalance.
Do you have any suggestions?
my concern is tht i have hot flashes so bad til it feels like my body is on fire,and i have to take off everything in the privacy of my room, have to take medium shower to cool my body off,i gt mooded,figate,nausa, feel like i want to cry,my vision gets bad, it’s so much bad stuff tht comes with ths and i hate it,i was wearin thses patches my obgyn perscrib for me,but i dnt have insurance now,i heard tht amberen helps but tht stuff is 99.00.
how do you now pre-menopaus im 48 yer old
Around 40 we are perimenopausal, 45-50 we are premenopausal, and pretty much after 50 we are in full blown menopause. Ragardless if you have symptoms or not. At 48, you are premenopausal. Menopause symptoms can include but are not limited to hotflashes, nightsweats, moodiness, insomnia, vaginal dryness, loss of sex drive, decreased memory and a variety of other issues. At your age I spotted every couple of months, then went a full year without a cycle, but yet, I still have those awful monthly cramps. Then all the physical symptoms of having a “period” went away and was replaced by other symptoms. At 50, I started having the ocassional hot flashes, where you feel like your burning up from the inside out. I’ve been fortunate with these, they only lasted on and off for a year or so. Always had an issue with sleep because, as a nurse, I’ve always worked 7p-7a. Hopefully, you will be lucky also, and not experience what a lot of women go through, I have been blessed thus far, I just get a little homicidal every now and then. LOL. Good luck to you at this crazy time time in a woman’s life. KK
if you are having hotflashes and nightsweats cut out all caffiene it only aggravates your symptoms
I was wondering if anybody else out there is having anxiety besides the hot flashes, and is there anything out there that will help. I was thinking about using I cool, what do you think.