This list of common symptoms that occur during perimenopause and menopause was developed from the real-life experiences of hundreds of women. All symptoms were experienced by numerous women. Natural treatments and bio-identical hormones can help address the symptoms.

1. Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats and/or cold flashes, clammy feeling
2. Irregular heart beat
3. Irritability
4. Mood swings, sudden tears
5. Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
6. Irregular periods; shorter, lighter periods; heavier periods, flooding; shorter
    cycles, longer cycles
7. Loss of libido (see note)
8. Dry vagina
9. Crashing fatigue
10. Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
11. Feelings of dread, apprehension, doom
12. Difficulty concentrating, disorientation, mental confusion
13. Disturbing memory lapses
14. Incontinence, especially upon sneezing, laughing
15. Itchy, crawly skin (see note)
16. Aching, sore joints, muscles and tendons
17. Increased tension in muscles
18. Breast tenderness
19. Headache change: increase or decrease
20. Gastrointestinal distress, indigestion, flatulence, gas pain, nausea
21. Sudden bouts of bloat
22. Depression (see note)
23. Exacerbation of existing conditions
24. Increase in allergies
25. Weight gain (see note)
26. Hair loss of thinning, head, pubic, or whole body; increase in facial hair
27. Dizziness, light-headedness, episodes of loss of balance
28. Changes in body odor
29. Electric shock sensation under the skin and in the head (see note)
30. Tingling in the extremities
31. Gum problems, increased bleeding
32. Burning tongue, burning roof of mouth, bad taste in mouth, change in breath
      odor
33. Osteoporosis (after several years)
34. Changed in fingernails: softer, crack or break easier
35. Tinnitus: ringing in ears, bells, ‘whooshing,’ buzzing etc.

Notes:

• Symptom 7 (loss of libido) For some women the loss is so great that they actually find sex repulsive. What hormones give, loss of hormones can take away

• Symptom 15 (itchy, crawly skin) feeling of ants crawling under the skin, not just dry itchy skin

• Symptom 22 depression different from other depression, the inability to cope is overwhelming. There is a feeling of loss of self. Natural hormone therapy ameliorates the depression dramatically.

• Symptom 25 (weight gain) often around the waist and thighs, resulting in the ‘disappearing waistline’

• Symptom 29 (shock sensation) the feeling of a rubber band snapping in the layer of tissue between skin and muscle. It is a precursor to a hot flash