Menopause is the end of symptoms rather than the beginning as most people believe.

The medical definition of menopause: the end of menstruation. It concludes after one year of not having a period.

At this time, the symptoms you experienced during perimenopause begin to taper off or end altogether. Though this is not true for everyone, some women experience symptoms long after menopause.

Are you experiencing the symptoms normally associated with menopause? If so, you may have questions like, “How long is menopause?” or “What is the menopause age?” Keep reading to find out what you need to know.

When Does Menopause Start? 

There’s no age written in stone about when menopause starts. It’s different for everyone and has many stages with different durations for every woman that goes through it.

In general, perimenopause begins when a woman is in her late 40s. Some women can start experiencing symptoms in their 30s. When twenty-somethings have menopause symptoms, it’s considered premature menopause.

Factors Affecting Duration

Just as every person has their own individual DNA, they also have many factors that affect their own experience with perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause.

Things like genetics, overall health, diet, stress, lifestyle, and cultural dimension affect their experience with menopause. The majority of women experience menopause over a period of two to ten years, from the mid-forties to mid-fifties.

Menopausal Symptoms 

This natural part of aging begins with perimenopause. The symptoms a woman starts to feel include hot flashes and the production of less and less estrogen. Night sweats, trouble sleeping, mood swings, irritability, muscle and joint pain, memory loss, and vaginal dryness are also common symptoms.

Perimenopause can start up to ten years before you reach menopause, though the average is around four years. Once you have 12 consecutive months without a period, you’ll reach the postmenopausal stage.

Menopause Treatment

Though it’s a normal part of aging, there are some things women can do to manage the sometimes uncomfortable symptoms.

Exercise and eat right. Avoid spicy food and alcohol for fewer hot flashes. Use an over-the-counter lubricant or vaginal moisturizer for vaginal dryness.

If you’re thinking about hormone supplementation to restore hormone balance by increasing estrogen levels, learn more about the differences between them.

Bioidentical hormones have an identical chemical structure to the ones a female naturally produces. A compounding pharmacist uses natural substances to create the dosage specifically customized for the patient.

In order to produce synthetic hormones, the manufacturer synthesizes estrogen and progestin using urine from pregnant horses.

How Long Is Menopause? 

The symptoms of menopause can last for different lengths of time for each individual woman. But when you’re wondering, “How long is menopause?”, you can count on it lasting around seven years on average, from perimenopause to postmenopause. Whether you start experiencing symptoms early or when most women begin, the length of menopause remains the same for you.

Be sure to browse through our site for more helpful information. We cover topics like education, games, health, sports, and more.