Symptoms of menopause in women after 40 years
Last reviewed: 23.04.2024
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Climax is a certain stage when a woman has a transition from reproductive age to menopause. In most cases, the first symptoms of menopause in women after 40 years are noted. During this period, the slow decline in ovarian function begins. This process lasts about five years. During this time the woman notices failures in the menstrual cycle, and also other symptoms of menopause appear. Hormonal restructuring during menopause occurs continuously, but the symptoms appear only sporadically, and then disappear altogether.
What will be the first signs of menopause, it is difficult to predict - they can manifest with varying intensity and consistency. Classic signs are irregular menstruation, "hot flashes", weight gain, periods of rapid heart rate, sleep disturbances.
If there are some of these signs, you do not need to immediately diagnose yourself, but if these signs have been manifested for a long time, this indicates that the climacteric period has already begun. And here there are certain nuances about which every woman should be aware. What can you expect?
Psycho-emotional background
Many people, not even related to medicine, are familiar with the definition of "climacteric neurosis". Of course, mental changes in the body may not have anything to do with the climax and accompany the woman in other periods, but it is during the menopause that they can be found more often and, in general, they are accompanied by somatovegetative disorders of a more complex nature. Women can experience fatigue, loss of interest in themselves and in life, unreasonable anxiety, suspiciousness, susceptibility, fears associated with approaching old age, mood swings.
Sleep Disorders
This symptom is very common in menopause. More than 60% of women during this period fall asleep worse, the quality of sleep decreases, frequent awakenings occur. These symptoms of menopause in women after 40 years have a connection with central and peripheral nerve disorders: vascular disorders, metabolic disorders in the brain, emotional imbalance (depression, anxiety, fears). During the night period, often with frequent menopause, breathing disorders (snoring, apnea) and motor disturbances are often noted, when many movements take place in a dream. In addition, women note headaches in the morning, increased pressure and drowsiness during the day. Violations of the peripheral nervous system are manifested in the form of frequent urination, "hot flashes", numbness of the limbs, a feeling of "goose bumps" in the body.
Vegetative and psycho-vegetative disorders
These disorders are often accompanied by violations of a psychoemotional nature. During menopause, women often experience discomfort on the left side of the chest, palpitations, lack of air, rapidly changing blood pressure, disruption of the digestive system, "hot flashes". Also, the symptoms of menopause may manifest as attacks of aggression or panic.
Deteriorating performance
Violation of the function, which is responsible for consciousness and thinking, affects the performance. These changes in the body lead to the fact that it is more difficult for a woman to switch to another type of activity, the ability to remember information worsens, and it is more difficult to concentrate.
Psychosocial syndrome
Another symptom of menopause in women after the age of 40 is psychosocial syndrome, when, due to violations of cognitive function, vegetative and sexual disorders, sleep disorders, there are difficulties in social adaptation, isolation, a woman is stressed, there are difficulties in communicating at work and in the family . Of course, because of this, the quality of life falls and serious diseases can appear against this background. For this reason, women who have immature mechanisms for protecting the psyche and unsuccessful ways to overcome stress need the help of a doctor.
Metabolic and hormonal changes
In women during the menopause, the appetite often changes: it may rise, and the abyss, weight grows, the fluid from the body is withdrawn more slowly, which causes swelling. In women after 40 years, joint pathologies, osteoporosis and diseases of the heart and blood vessels are often developed.
Sexual Disorders
According to statistics, from 1/2 to 3/4 of women during menopause, there is a decrease in interest in sexual intercourse, as well as the place of sex in the scale of values. This is explained by endocrine changes: the fading function of the ovaries, when fewer hormones are produced. Decrease in the level of estrogen becomes the cause of thinning of the vaginal mucosa, the lubrication of the vagina is produced more slowly and in smaller amounts, which causes soreness in sexual intercourse. Lack of free testosterone leads to a decrease in libido, and a decrease in the level of progesterone leads to lethargy, loss of strength, headaches, which also affects sexual interest.
The physiological withering of the female organism is an inevitable process and provokes an ambiguous attitude toward itself. For some women, it passes in tranquility and contemplation, their way of life is built with these changes in mind, others - stubbornly resist reality, without reconsidering their habits. But in both cases it is possible to continue to live a full and rich life - the symptoms of menopause in women after 40 years should not become a hindrance.