What is menopause?
Menopause describes the stage in a woman’s life when their periods stop due to declining oestrogen levels. This is a natural part of women’s natural ageing process and usually occurs between the ages of 45 to 55.
In the years approaching menopause, and sometimes even after, many women experience symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, irregular periods and mood swings, which can start to impact their daily life.
In this guide, we explain more about menopause and how an Advanced Menopause Profile test can help determine whether you have entered this stage of your life.
What is menopause?
Menopause describes the stage in a woman’s life when their periods stop due to declining oestrogen levels. This is a natural part of the ageing process for women and generally occurs between the ages of 45 to 55.
Menopause can occur earlier in some women due to lifestyle factors, genetics, some cancer treatments, or if you’ve had surgery to remove your ovaries or uterus.
Stages of menopause
Menopause is a gradual process with three main stages:
- Perimenopause – This is the first stage of menopause and usually starts several years before your periods stop. Perimenopause occurs as your oestrogen levels start to drop, which can cause you to start experiencing symptoms typically associated with menopause, like irregular periods, night sweats and changes to your mood.
- Menopause – This is when you have had no period for a year. At this stage, your ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and making most of their oestrogen.
- Postmenopause – This is the stage used to describe the years after you have been through menopause. Most women’s symptoms start to subside during this stage.
Bleeding after menopause
If you experience any vaginal bleeding after menopause, it is important to contact your GP. Some bleeding after menopause can be entirely normal and caused by the hormonal changes in your vagina. However, there are other potential causes of vaginal bleeding after menopause, including some cancers, so it’s important you get it checked out.
Common symptoms of menopause
The signs and symptoms of menopause can vary from person to person. Some women experience very few symptoms, whereas others may find that menopausal symptoms significantly impact their day-to-day life.
Similarly, some women start experiencing symptoms up to 10 years before menopause, while others may only experience them a year or two before.
Whatever your experience, common symptoms of menopause to look out for include:
- Irregular periods – changes to your monthly periods are usually the first sign of perimenopause. This could be more infrequent periods, changes to the length or flow of your periods, or even spotting in between your periods. However, if you do experience spotting, you should contact your GP as there are many other potential causes.
- Hot flushes – one of the symptoms of menopause most people have heard of, hot flushes tend to be short and intense and can cause profuse sweating, blotchiness on your face and neck, dizziness and disrupt your sleep.
- Night sweats – during perimenopause and menopause, changes to your hormones can cause changes to your body temperature through the night that cause night sweats. Night sweats can significantly impact your sleep quality and can worsen other menopause symptoms like low mood.
- Vaginal dryness – falling oestrogen levels can cause the lining of the vagina to become thinner and dryer, which can make having sex more painful.
- Difficulty sleeping – changes to your hormones can make it harder for you to fall asleep, or you may start to wake up multiple times in the night. This is often not helped by hot flushes and night sweats.
- Reduced sex drive – falling oestrogen and testosterone hormone levels can cause you to lose interest in sex, which can impact your personal relationships.
- Memory and concentration difficulties – often put down to other causes, like age or having a lot on, memory and concentration problems can be a sign of menopause. These issues can be compounded by poor sleep quality and can start to affect your work as well as your personal life.
- Dry skin – as oestrogen levels drop, the production of collagen and elastin in your skin reduces, which can cause your skin to become thinner and looser. You may even start to notice more wrinkles during this time.
- Urinary symptoms – some women may also experience repeated urinary tract infections, leaking urine and needing to go to the toilet more often.
- Muscle and joint pains – it is common for women to experience aches, stiffness and swelling around their joints during the menopause.
The emotional effects of menopause
As well as the above symptoms, the hormonal changes that occur during menopause can also impact your emotional wellbeing. Many women start to feel more anxious and irritable or experience mood swings during the peri-menopause and menopause. It can also increase your risk of developing depression, so if you have been feeling low for two or more weeks, you should contact your GP for support.
How long do menopause symptoms last?
The symptoms of perimenopause vary from person to person. Typically, symptoms start a few months to a few years before your periods stop, while the symptoms of menopause often continue for up to four years after your last period. As a result, perimenopause and menopause can have a significant impact on your life, especially if you experience more severe symptoms, so it’s important you seek support from your GP.
Can you have menopause without symptoms?
Most women experience some symptoms of menopause, but not all women will experience all symptoms, and the severity can vary significantly.
One of the first signs of perimenopause is usually changes to your periods, but other menopause symptoms like mood swings, hot flushes and night sweats may be more subtle, or you may not experience them at all.
Diagnosing menopause
Menopause is when you have no period for one year, so there is no one specific diagnostic test to confirm you have reached menopause. However, it is possible to check you have gone through menopause through your:
- Menstrual history - your healthcare provider may ask you about your menstrual cycle over the last year, as you’re only considered to have reached menopause if you’ve gone a full year without having a period.
- Blood tests - you may be advised to have blood tests to check certain hormone levels, which can suggest you’ve reached menopause and rule out other causes for your symptoms. However, due to fluctuations in hormone levels during perimenopause, hormone blood results should always be considered alongside your symptoms and discussed with a GP, which is why our Advanced Menopause Profile includes a private GP consultation.
For women who may be experiencing menopause symptoms but are still having periods, a follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) blood test can help indicate if you are approaching menopause and rule out other causes of your conditions.
An FSH blood test measures your FSH levels, which rise as your body stops producing eggs, so elevated FSH levels can indicate the onset of menopause.
What are the benefits of having a menopause test?
The benefits of a menopause test include:
- Providing you with insights into your body and hormone health
- Ruling out other causes of your symptoms
- Offering reassurance that your symptoms are related to the menopause
- Enables you to take a proactive approach to managing your symptoms, whether through lifestyle changes or seeking appropriate treatment
Treatments for menopause
Many women can manage their symptoms at home and don’t require any specific treatment. This can include taking steps such as:
- Dressing in layers so you can more easily manage your temperatures when you experience a hot flush
- Avoiding things that trigger your hot flushes
- Exercising regularly to help boost sleep and lift your mood
- Doing pelvic floor exercises to help with urinary symptoms
- Taking over-the-counter medications to help manage pain
- Making changes to your lifestyle to help reduce your symptoms
- Complementary therapies such as aromatherapy, acupuncture and reflexology, although there is no evidence they will improve your symptoms
Medical treatments for menopause
For women who experience more severe menopause symptoms, seeking medical support can be vital to help make day-to-day life more manageable. This can include:
- Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) – HRT can help alleviate some of the symptoms of menopause, such as night sweats, hot flashes, mood swings and vaginal dryness. It does this by helping restore your blood levels of the hormone oestrogen. HRT comes as tablets, patches, skin gels and nasal spray as well as vaginal rings, creams and pessaries, and usually starts to reduce symptoms within three months. However, there are some risks and side effects to taking HRT, so it’s important to discuss whether HRT is right for you with your GP first.
- Talking therapies – such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you manage symptoms of low mood or mood swings.
- Vaginal lubricants – some vaginal lubricants are available over-the-counter, but if these aren’t helping speak to your GP as they may be able to prescribe something that is more effective for you.
- Non-hormonal medications – this can include things like anti-depressants to help you manage your mood, as well as a medication called clonidine, which can help with hot flushes and sweats.
- Testosterone – taking testosterone as a hormone replacement can help to boost your sex drive.
Check your hormone health
If you are experiencing symptoms you believe may be related to menopause or perimenopause and want some reassurance, why not book a private Advanced Menopause Profile blood test? At Bluecrest Wellness, our complete female hormone package provides insights into five key female hormones as well as a private GP consultation to discuss your symptoms to help determine if you are experiencing menopause. It can also help you plan and adjust treatment options like hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to your bespoke needs.
We offer appointments across the UK, so you can book a private hormone profile blood test at a time and location to suit you. Plus, you can be confident that we will deliver fast, efficient and accurate results as we have established links with leading UK laboratories and are fully accredited for a wide range of private blood checks.
