Sign of menopause...

Early Sign of Menopause: Menopause can be defined as the end of menstruation. The origin of the word comes from the Greek mens, meaning monthly, and pausis, meaning cessation. It is part of a woman's natural aging process, when the ovaries start producing lower levels of hormones like estrogen and progesterone. The average age of menopause is 52. But it can happen anytime between 42 and 56. Absence of period for a complete year indicates the beginning of menopause. It also symbolizes end of fertility. Other terms associated with menopause include "pre-menopause" which indicates all the reproductive years leading to menopause and "post-menopause" which is the years beyond menopause.

Menopause is a natural process, which happens to every woman, as she grows older. It is not a medical problem, disease or illness, but it creates various physical as well as emotional problems because of the changes in hormone levels during menopause. The phenomenon is noticed as the estrogen level starts dropping; it shortens the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle, and the complete cycle comes down from 28–30 days to 24–26 days. So it causes more frequent periods. If the woman stops ovulating, the cycle becomes longer.

First sign of Menopause:There are many possible signs but each woman feels them differently. The early sign of menopause can be irregular periods. Either the cycle becomes too frequent or it becomes longer. Before menstruation stops completely, most women experience significant changes in their periods. The flow may be lighter or heavier and some may have extensive bleeding with clots. Other important symptoms are gain in weight; hot flashes; insomnia; night sweats; vaginal dryness; joint pain; fatigue; short-term memory problems; bowel upset; dry eyes; itchy skin; mood swings; and urinary tract infections. Most of the time, these symptoms go away after a woman finishes the menopause. However, the first sign of menopause or perimenopause refers to the several years before actual menopause takes place, when a woman starts experiencing the first signs of menopausal transition due to the function of ovaries declinining and dropping the estrogen level. For most women, this happens between ages 35 and 50.

Sign of Menopause in a Male: Male menopause involves hormonal and physiological changes that occur in all men generally aged between 40 and 55. This is also known as Andropause. During this time the hormones naturally start declining. It continues till the time he reaches his eighties. It is therefore a gradual process and quite different from menopause. However, symptoms of Andropause can vary from person to person as the symptoms vary from woman to woman. The general symptoms are erectile dysfunction, general tiredness, mood changes, night sweats and palpitations.