What are Some Common Signs of Menopause?

Menopause is the time in a woman's life, marked by the cessation of a woman's menses and her ability to bear children. The onset of this time varies for each individual woman, but overall a woman can expect to see the signs of menopause appear from as early as 40 years of age on up into her 60s. The fluctuation of her hormones causes the symptoms of menopause.

The sometimes drastic changes in a woman's hormonal levels come during the perimenopause phase, according to the Mayo Clinic. The following symptoms indicate common signs of menopause.

This represents a very common sign of menopause. During the time of perimenopause a woman may have an early period or a late one. The amount of blood flow changes. She'll have some months with very heavy bleeding while others will fall into the low to normal range. In the later stages of pre-menopause, a woman will skip periods. She'll know that she is in full blown menopause when she hasn't had a period for 12 consecutive months.

For the woman trying to have a child later in life, perimenopause causes some of the mature eggs in a her body not to drop, causing fertility issues. A woman may also experience a loss of libido during this phase of her life due to the hormonal changes as well.

The hair on a woman's head may start to thin, and she may as well start growing hairs on places like her chin and above her upper lip. These represent some of the most disconcerting signs of menopause.

Hot flashes are responsible for a woman feeling like it's July in the month of December. The hot flash brings with it symptoms like a flushed face and sweating. Hot flashes can interfere with sleep are one key sign of menopause that indicates a woman is in the latter stages of the process.

Symptoms such as depression, inability to concentrate, anxiety and mood swings are all indicators of the onset of menopause.

Many women experience symptoms such as crashing fatigue, ringing ears, changes in heart rhythm, aching joints and breast tenderness represent just a couple of the physiological signals that a woman is approaching menopause.