Understanding Perimenopause

By: Sharon Bell

Are you a woman between 35 and 50 who has PMS, migraine headaches, sudden weight gain, fatigue, irritability, tender or lumpy breasts, memory loss, fibroids, or cold hands and feet? If so, you may be experiencing symptoms of perimenopause.

The term “premenopause” is usually misused to describe the years immediately before menopause where a woman experiences menopause symptoms. That stage is correctly called perimenopause.

Whether its perimenopause or premenopause, however, most women in their mid-thirties don’t want to hear those words.

The depression that accompanies perimenopause is made worse by a decrease in sexual interest, making the person feel very unattractive. During this time, she needs the support of her husband, children, and family to help her come to terms with herself and go through the tumultuous period she is passing through.

Almost all women will suffer perimenopause symptoms eventually. In fact, they can become so serious and disrupt your life. So you should stay informed about the ways to relieve these symptoms by controlling the main cause - a hormonal imbalance produced by declining estrogen levels.

The massive hormonal imbalance that occurs in the body during the pre-menopausal stage causes massive mood swings and bouts of depression at the most inopportune moments.

The psychological effects of the perimenopause period give rise to the worst possible symptoms. Depression is sudden, unpredictable, and violent. It can make one burst into tears over a broken glass or any other trivial happening, totally baffling the woman herself and those around her.

One of the reasons that perimenopausal women don't want to talk about their condition is because they dread this period in their lives. This attitude is sad and contributes heavily to the emotional causes of these symptoms. This attitude is particularly true with many women who have postponed having children and who wonder if they're ever going to have children before their biological alarm clock goes off.

It's easy to believe that you're immortal up to your mid-thirties or mid-forties until the aging process sets in. But if you take care of yourself now, you can delay this process and make things less debilitating for you.

Maintain physical, mental, and emotional balance through the mid-cycle of your life and aging will be more graceful and less painful. Making healthy lifestyle choices may help ease some of the symptoms of perimenopause. For more information, check out www.zalestra.com.