Menopause is a natural life process for women. It usually occurs in your early or mid-forties, and, unfortunately, it is accompanied by a number of symptoms that can be quite concerning to most women. Some women experience very few changes during this time, while others report noticeable symptoms. The more you know about menopause, the better prepared you will be to manage any menopause-related problems that might come your way.

These symptoms can be an indication of menopause:

Achy joints - hot flashes - temporary and minor decrease in the ability to concentrate or recall - changes in sexual desire - extreme sweating - headaches - frequent urination - early wakening - vaginal dryness - mood changes - insomnia - night sweats - conditions commonly associated with PMS ....

Also, increased allergies, rapid heart beats, breast soreness, tenderness, sudden weight gain, hair loss, electric shock sensation, in body or head, osteoporosis, fatigues.

One of the first symptoms most women see in menopause is irregular or missed periods. When menopause starts to occur, the estrogen and progesterone levels, stimulated by the ovaries, are seriously decreased. This means that the ovaries no longer get the signal to release the egg, which means that a woman will often notice a disruption in her normal monthly cycle.

Another common symptom of menopause is a hot flash. More than seventy five percent of women who go through menopause experience hot flashes, in varying degrees of severity. This makes a woman feel flush. For example, she can be standing in a room that is only seventy degrees, but she will overwhelmingly feel as if someone has turned the temperature up to ninety degrees. In the very next moment, though, she may feel as if the room is only forty degrees, and she is suddenly shivering. These hot flashes can be accompanied by other symptoms like dizziness, heart palpitations, or faintness. Most hot flashes last up to ten minutes, but not all women experience them to that terrible degree. Some women simply acknowledge them and move on. Poor diet and stress levels in the woman's body have been shown to have a negative effect on the entire process. Most women will experience this symptom for five to six years, though some women have them for the ten to twenty years prior and following menopause.

Hot flashes typically lead to another common symptom of menopause, insomnia. Because hot flashes can occur both during the day and through the night, many women will find that they wake up drenched in their own sweat. Often they must get up to change their clothes and their sheets to escape the level of sweat that the body has produced. If a woman is a light sleeper anyway, and most are after they have children, it can be impossible for her to fall asleep again. Interestingly enough, though, night sweats aren't the only thing that cause these sleep disturbances. The hormone levels in the blood also have an effect on the quality of a woman's sleep. Fixing these hormone levels can sometimes eliminate sleep difficulties.

Learning to identify the common symptoms of menopause can help you learn to deal with them on a much healthier level. Be sure to contact your doctor if any of your symptoms are causing serious problems in your life.