How to tell if you are menopausal

Menopause is a fact of life. Every woman will go through it eventually. The essential meaning of menopause is the fact that a woman will no longer get her periods and will no longer be able to conceive a child. But the fact is a woman can start showing signs of menopause long before her periods stop.

Some of the signs are pretty evident. Other signs can relate to other health conditions including PMS symptoms.

But there are a few steps a woman can take and things she can start noticing and charting to determine if she is in the pre-menopausal state.

Things You'll Need

• Paper and pen
• Your doctor
• A FSH test

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Instructions

• 1

  If you are not doing it all ready, begin charting your monthly periods. Are they changing any? Are they any lighter? Are the number of days in between each month changing? Are they becoming more irregularly?

  All of these can be signs that you are premenopausal.

• 2

  Watch out and chart such symptoms as:

  Night sweats
  Vaginal dryness
  Bloating
  Mood swings
  Headaches

• 3

  If you are not taking any contractive pills, you may ask your doctor to perform a FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone) blood test.

  If you are going starting to go through menopause, you FSH will be rising. But if you are taking contraceptives, they change the way hormones function and you will not be able to get an accurate reading.

• 4

  No matter if you are taking contractive pills or not, if your symptoms continue, talk to your doctor and discuss whether he/she thinks you may be starting menopause.