If you are currently suffering from hot flashes and other challenging symptoms of menopause, you may want to hear that it will be over very soon!
Unfortunately, the answer to how long your menopause will last is complex and varies from woman to woman.
What is menopause?
Menopausal transition is a natural phase in a woman’s life when the cocktail of hormones produced by the body to enable conception and childbirth begins to reduce significantly over a period of years.
Menopause occurs when periods stop. The period before menopause is called the perimenopause stage, and once you have had no periods for at least twelve months, you are considered to be in the post menopausal phase.
The average age of menopause
Most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55, but by the point at which their periods stop, many have already been experiencing peri-menopausal symptoms from as early as their late thirties.
The different stages of the menopause
Peri-menopause stage
Some women experience perimenopause symptoms up to ten years before their menstrual periods finish.
From the late thirties, hormone levels begin to drop, causing mental and physical symptoms.
Perimenopause symptoms may include irregular periods and all the classic menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, brain fog and difficulty sleeping.
The length of the perimenopause stage is approximately 4 to 7 years, but this varies significantly, and the initial symptoms can be so subtle that it is difficult to pinpoint precisely when the menopause transition has begun.
Most women find that their symptoms become more challenging over time, and daily life is often affected.
Menopause
Menopause is defined as the point at which you have not had a period for 12 months, and the average age at which this happens in the UK is 51.
Unfortunately, the cessation of your menstrual periods doesn’t mean that your menopause symptoms will suddenly stop.
Postmenopausal phase
Even though you have entered the postmenopausal phase, you may still experience symptoms for some time.
Some women find that the most disruptive symptoms, like hot flashes, reduce, but other symptoms, like weight gain, vaginal dryness and joint aches, remain a problem and will need long-term management.
How long do menopause symptoms last?
Be prepared for the possibility of experiencing menopause symptoms for an extended period, potentially between 4 and 10 years or longer.
A small percentage of women even report challenging symptoms twenty years after their periods stop.
Factors influencing how long symptoms last
There is a considerable variation in the ways that women experience menopause transition, and we do know that its duration and the severity of menopausal symptoms can be influenced by a number of factors.
Health conditions
Most women experience menopause transition gradually, but others are put into menopause more abruptly through surgery to remove the ovaries or medication to ‘switch off’ hormones to prevent the recurrence of hormone-dependent breast cancer.
Lifestyle habits
Certain lifestyle habits can make symptoms of menopause worse.
For example, changes in appetite and stress eating can lead to weight gain. Excess weight can exacerbate many menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, joint pain and difficulty sleeping.
Family history
You may be able to predict the type of menopause you will have by observing your mother’s experience.
Early and late menopause tend to run in families, as does the severity of menopause symptoms.
What can help with the common symptoms of menopause?
Your healthcare professional can help you improve your overall well-being and address the disruptive symptoms of menopause with medication and lifestyle changes.
There are effective strategies to manage these symptoms and improve your quality of life.
Lifestyle changes
Some simple lifestyle changes can lessen the impact of menopause symptoms.
For example, the severity of hot flashes can be eased by wearing light layers of clothing made from sweat-wicking materials.
Many women find that stress can make flashes worse, so learning relaxation techniques may also help.
Difficulty sleeping can be addressed by good sleep hygiene and controlling alcohol and caffeine intake.
Being mindful of your well-being, avoiding stress, and maintaining a healthy weight through a balanced diet and regular exercise will all help you navigate these challenging times.
Hormone therapy and other medications
Most women can take hormone replacement therapy, which is highly effective in helping with hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms.
Your health professional can also prescribe other medications to tackle specific issues, like vaginal lubricants to help with vaginal dryness.
In conclusion
Every woman’s menopause journey is unique, with some sailing through and others facing serious challenges.
If your symptoms are affecting your daily life, relationships, and overall well-being, don’t hesitate to seek help.
Proactive management can make a significant difference.
Our private HRT clinic is CQC registered. To book an appointment, please call 01706 691683, email info@themenopauseclinic.com, or book online here.
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