Perimenopause is a medical terminology used to describe the years of a woman’s life before and after the stage of menopause is reached.
Menopause which means complete cessation of menses usually occurs at the age of 50 years. But its symptoms begin to show as much as five years earlier, and can last till five years further of the age when menopause is reached.
Thus women in the age group of 45- 55 years are usually going through the transition period of
perimenopause. It is a transition period as it causes a variety of alterations in a woman’s body, both at physiological as well as functional levels. Occurrence of menses is vital for a woman to be fertile, which is to be able to produce an offspring.
The reproductive cycle of a woman is maintained through a balanced production of various hormones such as progesterone, and estrogen. As a woman grows old, these hormonal levels start going erratic as a part of a normal ageing process to bring to cessation the state of woman’s fertility. Thus as this
perimenopause stage sets in, the consequences of such physiological changes cause women to suffer from a variety of symptoms.
Hot flashes, insomnia, irritability, mood disturbances, night sweats, fatigue, depression are the common symptoms. Bone and heart health too begins to get risky; hence regular check- ups are important. Menses start getting irregular until ceasing fully when menopause is reached. The
Perimenopause symptoms continue after menopause and last for some years before phasing away on their own.
