Post Menopausal

Postmenopause is a term to describe the time after someone has gone through menopause. When you're in postmenopause, your menstrual period has been gone for longer than 12 consecutive months. At this stage in life, your reproductive years are behind you and you're no longer ovulating (releasing eggs). The menopausal symptoms you’ve experienced in the past may become milder or go away completely. However, some people continue to experience menopausal symptoms for a decade or longer after menopause.

There are three stages of menopause: perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause.

• Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause. It describes a time when hormones start to decline and menstrual cycles become erratic and irregular. You may start to experience side effects of menopause, like hot flashes or vaginal dryness.
• Menopause occurs when you’ve stopped producing the hormones that cause your menstrual period and have gone without a period for 12 months in a row. Once this has occurred, you enter postmenopause.
• Postmenopause is the time after menopause has occurred. Once this happens, you're in postmenopause for the rest of your life. People in postmenopause are at an increased risk for certain health conditions like osteoporosis and heart disease.

Symptoms

Most people in postmenopause feel lingering symptoms from menopause. The symptoms are less intense. In some cases, they almost disappear. Lingering symptoms are caused by low levels of reproductive hormones.

• Hot flashes and night sweats.
• Vaginal dryness and sexual discomfort.
• Depression.
• Changes in sex drive.
• Insomnia.
• Dry skin.
• Weight changes.
• Hair loss.