What No One Tells You About Menopause Symptoms As a woman in midlife you know there’s this word that looms, and it most likely involves something called hot flashes, possible night sweats, insomnia, and weight gain among other ‘lovely’ symptoms. But what does this word menopause REALLY mean? I’m not talking about the clinical description, which in a nutshell is the time when your menstrual cycle ends, defining the end of your reproductive period. What I’m talking about is the down and dirty reality of menopause symptoms. That for some reason, no one really talks about. Unless of course, you ask your doctor. Which I wholeheartedly recommend. Because they can help! Take it from me, I suffered a long time before speaking with my doctor and getting on a regimen that absolutely helped reduce and in most cases removed these symptoms. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that has been recommended. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help keep this site up and running! Please check out the disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support! The Down and Dirty Reality of Menopause Symptoms These are my own experiences. I’m not a doctor. But, I am a woman who has been through these symptoms. Your experiences may be different. Honestly, I hope they are. Hot Flashes Or as some fun woman (I hope) named them, Power Surges. I have to be honest, I prefer this empowered name, making this symptom super-hero like. Because let’s face it. We, women, are superheroes in our own right. I digress. That is an article for another time. Back to Hot Flashes. You know you’re having one when all of a sudden, you feel like there is an internal inferno happening in your chest area and moving up your neck and back. Your face may turn red and you might even have sweat dripping from your forehead. This usually happens when you’re stressed, or at least it did for me. Sigh. Good times. Each episode can last a few minutes or longer. Tip: When it’s over, you’ll most likely feel cold. So layer those clothes so you can take them on and off as needed. Night Sweats You’ve been asleep for a while (if you’re lucky – see the Insomnia point), dreaming of being on the beach in Tahiti or some other wonderful tropical place, getting a sunburn while swimming. But in reality, it’s 2 am when you wake up and realize you’re in bed, soaked to the bone with sweat. Eww. And you’ve done nothing fun to warrant this. Ugh. Having to change your clothes and sheets is a definite possibility. And people wonder why we’re irritable during this time… Insomnia This is when you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep. This isn’t so bad if you’re a night owl. But, for the rest of us, it’s not so fun. It could take more than 30 minutes to get to sleep. Or you may actually get to sleep quickly, but then be wide awake two hours later with no chance of getting back to sleep. Bonus: you’ll most likely see your friends on Facebook in the middle of the night because they can’t sleep either. So there’s that. Not having enough sleep can affect many other symptoms. You know how it is when you haven’t had good sleep in days. You can become irritable, eat junk food, and think everything is ten times worse than it is. Oh yay. *eyeroll. Tip: Make your bedroom as cool as you can. 65 degrees is recommended and may help with the night sweats as well. Also, stop any unnecessary noises and turn off any lights that may disturb your sleep. Tip 2: When I had more than 2-3 nights of poor sleep, I took this over-the-counter sleep aid, called Simply Sleep. It has only the sleep ingredients and not the pain reliever of the other popular brands. Weight Gain To say your metabolism slows down is a gross understatement, especially in your midsection. Personally, I didn’t have kids, but whoa did I look like I might have had a few during this time. My belly was huge and it happened quick! One minute I was a normal size, and then what seemed like overnight, it looked like I swallowed a car tire. And it wasn’t just in my belly, the excess was in my hips and backside too. Yes, attractive I know. It has been referred to as the Meno-pot – basically, a potbelly that happens during menopause. And once it arrives, losing fat in that area is tough. But, not impossible. Tip: Eating healthy and moving more is always a good idea at any age, but now especially it is recommended just to keep your current weight. Plus adding weight-bearing and strength training exercises is encouraged to help strengthen your bones. Moodiness One minute you might be laughing and the next second you could be crying your eyes out. You might feel like you’re losing it when in reality those darn hormones are playing you like a fiddle. Truly there is no controlling these mood-swings. They come and go willy-nilly. What a rollercoaster ride it can be. Irritability I was agitated at the simplest things. And honestly didn’t like being in my own skin. It’s never a good thing to be perpetually annoyed, but that’s what this symptom felt like. Although it is absolutely understandable given how our bodies are changing during this time; being tired and sweaty all the time. Depression Not only are you happy one moment and sad the next, you feel like a dark cloud is following you for no reason. I know a thing or two about low-level depression as I’ve had it before in my life. But, this was different. Doom and gloom are what it felt like. And nothing seemed to help. Anxiety This one was interesting, to say the least. I had never experienced anything like it. I can only describe as unexplained fear. For example, one time I was supposed to meet up with some longtime friends, I hadn’t seen in a while. But for some reason, I just couldn’t leave my house. There was no explanation for this feeling. A sour stomach and heart palpitations also were present. Honestly, it freaked me out. So I stayed home and did some meditation. And the next day I was fine. Go figure. Migraines Sometimes people with small headaches exaggerate and call them migraines. But, the reality is these types of headaches are nothing little. They’re like a vice has attached itself to your head and you can barely breathe. And they can last a long time. Or so it seems. Any amount of light, movement or even the slightest sound will make you me, nauseated. Sleeping and Excedrin Migraine coated caplets are the only things that help me. Fatigue We’re not talking just a little sleepiness after a long day. It’s more like you’ve had a great night’s sleep and coffee, but you are still dragging like you haven’t slept a wink in weeks. Which is possibly true, because of that insomnia thing no one’s told you about. Nausea For me, it was mostly being car-sick, especially when I was driving. This posed quite an issue since I’m alone in my car a lot. It felt like the road was moving sideways and my stomach had that sour feeling. Tip: Sucking on ginger candies and drinking fresh ginger tea helped combat this a bit. Tea: Add fresh ginger slices to hot water and let steep for a few minutes. Drink hot. Breast Sagginess Let’s face it, our breasts have been on their way down for a while, but at this stage in life, it’s like they’re skipping two steps at a time to be the first to get to the floor. This doesn’t feel like anything in particular, but it is definitely a symptom of menopause. Joint and Muscle Pain and Aches You know what I’m talking about. When you get up off the couch and now you’re stiff which is new to you. Or you have an unidentified pain in your back or leg and you haven’t worked out in days. Tip: Over-the-counter pain meds help with this. So does unflavored, powder collagen which can be mixed into virtually anything; coffee, soup, oatmeal, water, etc. Plus, it makes your hair, skin, and nails look better too. Dry and Itchy Skin Sometimes so itchy that you might think you will scratch the top layer of your skin right off. Eww. But, this has happened. Increasing your water intake, moisturizing your body and increasing collagen are some ways to combat this symptom. I hope this list helps you prepare for this time in your life and makes it less scary for you. I was freaking out until I went to my doctor and realized all of these symptoms were normal for someone on the menopause path. I also hope that this will help to start more conversations about menopause symptoms and what to expect. This would have been helpful to me while going through menopause, not only for myself but to help others in my life understand what was happening too. Have you had any different experiences? What would you add to this list? 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