Feeling sluggish? Reduced sex drive? Irregular or missed periods? It’s not your busy lifestyle taking a toll on you, it may be perimenopause. Before women experience menopause, they often report feeling a million little changes related to the gradual decrease in hormones as they taper off before menopause.

What is Perimenopause?

As the amount of estrogen produced by the ovaries begins to decrease with age, women begin experiencing signs and symptoms resembling menopause. But, unless you have gone 12 months without having your period, you’re not technically in menopause.

Perimenopause, also known as “menopause transition”, actually begins several years before menopause.

During this time, early perimenopause symptoms can start to become noticeable, even so, the ovaries are still producing sufficient levels of estrogen and releasing eggs. However, in the final few years of perimenopause, estrogen levels drop significantly, finalizing the transition to menopause.

Perimenopause usually begins in a woman’s 40s, but this transition can begin in the late 30s or even earlier. While the average length of perimenopause is four years, some women report this phase lasting for only a few months, while others find it lasts much longer, up to 10 years.

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Perimenopause?

The most common signal of perimenopause is a change in your overall menstrual cycle. Some women report longer-than-normal cycles, while others report that their cycles have become shorter. During this time, you may even begin to skip periods and your menstrual flow may become lighter or heavier.

However, you may want to talk to a perimenopause doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms:

  • Your periods are very heavy or they include blood clots
  • Your periods last much longer than usual
  • You experience spotting either between periods or after sex
  • Your periods happen closer together

Other common signs and symptoms associated with perimenopause include:

Hot Flashes

A sudden sensation of heat that rushes to your upper body and face that lasts anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes or longer. Some women experience hot flashes a few times each month, while others have them several times each day. Hot flashes that occur at night, also called “night sweats,” may even wake you up at night and prevent you from falling back to sleep.

Difficulty Sleeping

In addition to the possibility of waking up at night from hot flashes, some women experience difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep through the night.

Mood Swings and More Intense Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

Fluctuations in hormones cause many women to experience stronger and more frequent mood swings. You may also experience more intense PMS, even if you haven’t previously been affected by it.

Vaginal Dryness and/or Discomfort During Sex

As estrogen levels decrease, the lining of the vagina often becomes thinner, dryer, and less elastic, all of which can cause pain during sex.

Urinary Tract Changes

Changing hormone levels often contribute to urine leakage when coughing or sneezing, and can cause the urethra to become dry, inflamed, or irritated. This often causes a more frequent and urgent need to urinate, which can increase the risk of urinary tract infections.

How To Get Help

There are a variety of treatment options available to women who are experiencing perimenopause, including low-dose birth control pills, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, vaginal rings, or supplemental estrogen. ReVital offers free consultations where you can speak to one of our clinicians about ReVital’s Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy. At ReVital, we can conduct simple blood tests to evaluate the levels of these hormones in your system and prescribe supplements or therapies to treat and control the majority of hormonal imbalances. We also encourage that you connect with your regular doctor about any changes in your health and moods.