What are the symptoms before menopause?

Menstruation is something that every female friend will experience. Menopause will occur when they reach a certain age, but many people don’t know what symptoms will occur before menopause. Infrequent menstruation, irregular menstrual cycles and sudden menopause are all symptoms before menopause, so female friends need to learn more about the relevant knowledge to be better prepared, and when symptoms such as irregular menstruation are found, timely conditioning and medical treatment are needed.

Generally, there are three symptoms from ovarian function decline to menstruation cessation, that is, before menopause:

1. Infrequent menstruation: The interval between menstrual cycles is long, from the normal 20 to 30 days to 2 to 3 months or even longer. The menstrual flow may be normal or less than before, and the interval between menstruation may gradually increase to 4 to 5 months or half a year, and then stop completely.

2. Menstrual cycle disorders: the normal menstrual cycle changes to irregular vaginal bleeding. Sometimes the menstrual period is prolonged or becomes continuous vaginal bleeding, which lasts for more than 1 to 2 months. Heavy vaginal bleeding may also occur. The patient may develop anemia, sallow complexion, general fatigue, palpitations, and shortness of breath. In severe cases, hemoglobin may be significantly reduced. Some women have repeated bleeding, but generally after 1 to 2 years, menstruation stops completely. At this time, the doctor should conduct a detailed examination, first excluding bleeding caused by tumors. For women over 40 years old, a comprehensive examination or endometrial biopsy should be performed. After excluding the tumor, treatment is then continued for menopausal menstrual disorders. Menstrual cycle disorders are most common before menopause. It is reported that an observation of 282 premenopausal women found that 181 of them had menstrual cycle disorders, accounting for 63.8%.

3. Sudden menopause: A small number of women have had normal menstrual cycles and periods in the past, but now suddenly experience menopause; others have normal cycles, with only a few periods where the amount of menstruation gradually decreases, and then the menstruation suddenly stops. It was reported that 282 women with natural menopause were observed and found that 40 of them had sudden menopause, accounting for 14.1%. Therefore, the majority are the first two manifestations.

Another group of patients experience uterine bleeding after a period of amenorrhea, which lasts for 2 to 4 weeks. The amount of bleeding and the duration of bleeding are related to the duration of estrogen action and the speed of its withdrawal.

The diagnosis of menopause is confirmed in retrospect and can only be established if the absence of menstruation lasts for at least 6 months to 1 year.