Symptoms and Complications
Before her periods stop completely, a woman might experience a variety of unpleasant symptoms, including hot flashes, irritability, night sweats, loss of bladder control, urinary infection, vaginal dryness, and pain during intercourse. These symptoms may also continue after menopause. About 75% of women have hot flashes. During a hot flash, the woman's head and neck will become red and warm, and she may perspire a lot. A hot flash lasts from 30 seconds to 5 minutes and may be followed by a chill. Hot flashes usually go away after a year.
Fluctuating hormone levels may cause a woman to feel irritable, tired, and nervous. She might also have trouble sleeping, have headaches, feel dizzy, or have a rapid or irregular heartbeat. Lack of estrogen makes the skin of the vagina thinner, causing vaginal dryness, itching, or burning. It can also cause pain during intercourse. Some women may experience poor bladder control and, occasionally, aching muscles and joints.
Postmenopausal women are more likely to have osteoporosis, which is a thinning of the bones. Women with osteoporosis break their wrists, hips, and backbones easily. Older women may not even have to fall in order to break a bone. A woman loses 3% to 5% of her bone mass every year during the first 5 years after menopause. After 5 years, she loses from 1% to 2% of bone mass yearly. Smoking, heavy drinking, lack of exercise, and not getting enough calcium in the diet can increase a woman's risk of bone loss.