Meno 101

You are not considered in menopause until you have not had your period for an entire year. But remember that this is a diagnosis made in hindsight. Because when a woman is having that final menstrual period, she does not know it is the last one. You really have to wait it out for 12 months, and if you have gone without having it for the full year, then you know you are in menopause.

Weight gain is nuanced. When you talk about pure weight gain, that is really not a menopause phenomenon but rather mostly an age-related thing. What menopause does cause is changes in body fat distribution. Meaning, women tend to carry weight in the middle section or belly area, due to the decline in estrogen. After menopause, your overall weight may not change at all, but we are all also losing muscle mass as we are getting older. So if you lose muscle mass, and gain fat, your overall weight may not change. The gained fat has a greater tendency to deposit around the belly after menopause rather than settling in the lower half of your body.

For most women, the perimenopause timeframe is in the ballpark of two to three years. But sometimes women are in it for longer. That can be upsetting and distressing as many women have the most bothersome symptoms during perimenopause. But for some women, symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats may get better one they have had their final menstrual period.

Sleep disturbance is a multifactorial, complex issue. Several factors can affect sleep—night sweats, mood disorders, and even just the lack of estrogen due to menopause. Broadly speaking, women with anxiety and mood issues (which may be a result of the menopause transition), usually greater have trouble falling asleep, because the mind can’t stop. However, women with sleeping difficulties due to the menopausal state itself usually have greater trouble staying asleep—they tend to fall asleep easier but wake up in the middle of the night, and have a hard time going back to sleep.