Menopause - Medtick

Menopause

What is it?

A condition where a women’s eggs are near the end of their life cycle (final menstrual periods) due to a lack of hormone oestrogen in their blood.

  • If one has a lack of period and/or have lighter and/or less frequent periods then this condition should be considered.
  • Some women have menopause before 40 years (premature ovarian failure) or have conditions causing menopause such as injury to ovaries.
  • One’s ovaries don’t slow their function in a predictable way (some months one may have strong symptoms of menopause while others one does not) and is known as the perimenopause phase
  • This phase can be a period of two to five years.
  • Menopause is not reversible, once your ovaries have stopped producing hormones, one will no longer have a period.
  • Menopause is defined as when a woman has ceased having periods for 12 months.
This condition can be mistaken for Premature Ovarian Insufficiency

Perimenopause
  • Defined as a time period preceding cessation of menstruation. Perimenopause lasts for 7 years on average but can have a duration of up to 14 years.
  • During perimenopause, many women experience symptoms associated with corresponding changes in hormone levels.
  • The perimenopausal stage may involve a range of symptoms. Some of these symptoms may continue or change when a woman reaches menopause. The most common and well-recognized symptom of perimenopause is a change in menstrual pattern, which may include irregular periods, lighter periods, shorter periods, longer periods, or heavier periods.
  • Additionally, some patients may experience menstrual bleeding for 1-2 days between their periods, with the period lasting for 3-5 days.

National Institute on Aging. What is menopause?

  • Common symptoms of perimenopause include:
    • Irregular menstrual periods
    • Mood changes
    • Sleep disturbances
    • Fatigue
    • Brain fog
    • Hot flashes
    • Night sweats
    • Weight gain
    • Muscle or joint aches and pains
    • Nasal congestion
    • Worsening headaches or migraines

Flanagan MR, Fantasia HC. Comprehensive management of menopausal symptoms. Nurs Womens Health. 2024 Aug 27:S1751-4851(24)00167-3.


Diagnosis Tests
  • Wellspring (helps clarify menopause guidelines from the UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) while fostering shared decision-making with evidence-based data)

Cause

Premature ovarian failure maybe due to:

Syndromes 

Treatments

  • Surgery to remove ovaries
  • Radiotherapy
  • Chemotherapy
  • Hysterectomy (remove womb)

Symptoms

(Symptoms can vary)

  • Headache which is on and off or a constant headache longer than 24 hours?
  • High temperature greater than 38°C (100°F) or over and/or chills and sweats longer than 72 hours?
  • Night sweats?
  • Swollen ankles?
  • Heart palpitations, irregular heartbeats?
  • Recurrent cystitis/vaginal conditions?
  • Woman experience dryness and itching in vagina making sexual intercourse painful (walls of vagina lose moisture and become thinner leading to vaginal discomfort, painful sex and/or  vaginal infections)?
  • Increase thirst, heavy sweating and need to urinate frequently?
  • Hot flushes/ flushed face (hot flash lasts anywhere from one to five minutes, and most women will have at least one per day)?
  • Sleep disturbance?
  • Osteoporosis symptoms?
  • Loss interest of sex and/or low sex drive?
  • General discomfort (muscle weakness), uneasiness or ill feeling (malaise) and/or fatigue (tiredness)?
  • Memory loss?
  • Weight gain (especially around the waist)?
  • Loss of muscle and/or muscle are shrinking(flabby arms, belly and legs)?
  • Anxiety and/or mood swings?
  • Low mood and/or depression?

Complications /Information to beware of/General tips:

Do not wait, phone for an ambulance if have or develop:


This condition can lead to:

This condition can lead to less common conditions and symptoms:

  • Aching muscles, spasm and stiffness
  • Asthma
  • Balance and dizziness
  • Burning sensation in the mouth
  • Change in breath odour or a “bad taste” in the mouth
  • Change in body odour
  • Indigestion
  • Hair loss
  • Joint stiffness and pain
  • Low blood pressure
  • Ringing in the ears (tinnitus)
  • Strange dreams
  • Unusual neurological experiences like “creepy crawly” feelings in the skin, tingling, numbness, itching, “electric shocks”

verywell Health


Leukoplakia

  • Some women may develop leukoplakia on the outside of their genitals in the vulva area as well as inside the vagina. This is usually seen in menopausal women.
    • It’s a benign condition.
    • If there is concern about anything more serious, you should contact your doctor.

Healthline


This condition may show similar symptoms to:

Please talk to your healthcare professional (i.e. Medical Doctor/Pharmacist) for further advice

Detailed Information

Please copy and paste any key words from the title: Menopause in the following respective 'Medtick References and/or Sources' to find out more about the disease (this also may include diagnosis tests and generic medical treatments).

  • NHS

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  • Verywell Health

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