What are the symptoms of Menopause?

Vaginal Dryness

Lower estrogen levels mean less natural moisture and elasticity in vaginal tissues, leading to discomfort, irritation, and sometimes pain during intimacy. It can have a huge impact on your sex life so make sure to discuss it with your partner - try a quality brand of lubricant to help you but don’t just put up with it for the sake of not offending your partner. Your health is key!

Sleep Disturbances

If tossing and turning has become your new bedtime routine, you're not alone. Hormonal shifts, night sweats, and even anxiety can all interfere with restful sleep, leaving you exhausted the next day which then has a massive impact on your energy levels. Over 70% of women experience this in menopause. Here are a few ideas that may help you sleep better.

Fatigue

Ever feel like you've hit a wall before noon? A mix of poor sleep, fluctuating hormones, and general menopause-related stress can leave you drained of energy, even when you've done very little. Glucose isn’t used as efficiently by your muscles so your mitochondria isn’t getting the fuel it needs to give you energy and your lethargy and sluggishness can also be a result of this. Your brain uses 70% of your glucose so let’s give your cells a boost by maintaining your blood sugar levels efficiently.

Memory Issues (Brain Fog)

Have you recently walked into a room and forgetten why you're there? Do you lose track of your thoughts mid-sentence and forget words? Estrogen plays a key role in brain function, so its decline can affect memory, focus, and mental clarity. The messages simply aren’t getting across the neurones to tell the brain the whole story. Calcium also plays a role in helping neurotransmitters do their job so check your levels. 60% of women report cognitive issues.

Weight Gain

Noticed that stubborn weight around the middle that won’t budge? As estrogen levels drop, muscle mass declines, metabolism slows and fat distribution shifts which often leads to weight gain, especially around the belly. Insulin resistance is also a big contributor to weight gain in menopause - your muscles simply aren’t removing the sugar from your blood so it’s being stored as fat. Add that to a sedentary, often stressful life and that goes along way to explain your weight gain. You can read more advice in my weight gain blog post.

Hair Thinning / loss

If your ponytail feels thinner or you're finding more strands in the shower drain, blame declining estrogen. This hormone helps keep hair thick and healthy, so when levels drop, hair can become weaker and fall out more easily. In menopause our hair spends 15% of its time in resting phase which explains heavy hair loss. As blood flow potentially becomes more sluggish due to arterial stiffening, nutrients aren’t delivered as efficiently so our scalp and hair follicles don’t receive as much love as they used to.

Joint Pain

Achy knees? Sore shoulders? Estrogen has natural anti-inflammatory properties, so when levels dip, joints can feel stiff and painful, making even simple movements a challenge. Try cooking with extra virgin olive oil as this has been proven to help with joint pain due to its phytoestrogens which mimic our oestrogen and check your vitamin D levels - vitamin D is involved in the production of calcium and our bones and muscles require calcium to help them to remain strong.

Decreased Libido

If intimacy feels more like a chore than a pleasure, it's not just in your head. Hormonal changes (particular testosterone), combined with vaginal dryness and fatigue, can lower sexual desire and make intimacy less enjoyable. Again, make sure you talk to your partner about this as we have to remember, menopuase doesn’t just affect us but can also play a huge part in our relationships.

Headaches

If you’ve suddenly started experiencing more frequent migraines or tension headaches, fluctuating estrogen could be the culprit. These hormonal shifts can trigger headaches, especially in women prone to them before menopause.

Heart Palpitations

A racing heart out of nowhere can be unsettling. Estrogen helps regulate circulation, so its decline may lead to occasional heart palpitations, making your heartbeat feel fast or irregular. If you are concerned about this however, make sure you see a Doctor.

Digestive Issues

Bloating, gas, or sudden food sensitivities? Hormonal changes can disrupt gut bacteria and digestion, leading to digestive discomfort that wasn’t an issue before. 70% of our immune system is based around our gut so a diverse thriving microbiome is definitely linked to our overall health - and the best way to diversify your microbiome is through nutrition - probiotics and prebiotics as well as eating a colourful range of fruit and veg.

Tinnitus

That annoying ringing in your ears? Hormonal fluctuations can affect the nerves in your ears, leading to tinnitus or increased sensitivity to sound. Oestrogen helps keeps the hairs in our inner ear healthy so , as levels decline, these hairs can die off and cause tinnitus. If you listen to music through AirPods, make sure you don’t have it turned up too loud. Every little bit of help counts in menopause.

Dry, Itchy Eyes

Estrogen and progesterone play a role in tear production because they keep the melbournian gland (which is responsible for ‘eye irrigation’) healthy so, as they decline, eyes can become dry, itchy, teary or more sensitive to light. 61% of women are affected by dry eyes so have some good eye drops on hand.

Dizziness

Feeling lightheaded or off-balance? Fluctuating hormone levels can affect blood pressure and circulation, leading to dizzy spells. Estrogen helps keeps the hairs in our inner ear healthy and these hairs also play a huge role in balance and controlling dizziness. Many women say they are a lot more clumsy in menopause - that’s also down to this off balance factor.

Weak Nails

If your nails seem more brittle or break easily, hormonal shifts might be to blame. Depleting estrogen affects the production of keratin as well as regulating water retention - as levels of these both dip, our nails become dry and crack or flake. Watch out for too many shellac manicures as if you remove the polish youreself, you’ll pull off the top layer off your nail.

Urinary Incontinence

Noticing unexpected leaks when you cough, laugh, or sneeze? Lower estrogen levels can weaken pelvic floor muscles, making bladder control more challenging especially when you’re doing sport. This isn’t talked about often but ask your friends - they’re surely suffering from this too!

Dry, Itchy Skin

Your skin might feel drier and itchier than usual due to declining estrogen, which helps retain moisture and elasticity in the skin. Try using a natural oil rather than chemical filled creams.

Facial Hair

Seeing a few unexpected chin hairs? With lower estrogen and relatively higher testosterone, some women develop more facial hair during menopause.

 Dry/Burning Mouth

A strange dryness or burning sensation in the mouth can be due to reduced saliva production, another side effect of hormonal changes. This can be a particular problem at night so always make sure to have a glass of water by your bed (but don’t drink too much or your weak bladder will have you up to pee)

Irritability

Snapping at loved ones over the smallest things? Hormonal imbalances can affect your stress response, making you more irritable than usual. Try to take a deep breath and think before you speak. Definitely easier said than done!

Breast Pain

Just when you think breast tenderness is behind you, menopause brings it back. Fluctuating hormone levels can cause soreness, making your bra feel more uncomfortable than usual. Try a cotton sports bra or buy bras without underwriting.

Acne

Breakouts aren’t just for teenagers! Hormonal shifts (especially an increase in testosterone) can lead to increased oil production, causing acne to reappear, even if you haven’t had it in years.

Tingling Sensations

A strange pins-and-needles feeling in your hands, feet, or other parts of your body? Estrogen helps support nerve function, so its decline can cause tingling or numbness.

This may feel like overwhelm, and that you will never feel the same again; but you are not alone, and this is not a journey you should go on alone. Menopause is not the end, it is the start of something new!