Menopausal test kits can be used to help advise in a potentially challenging time. Menopause is the point in a woman’s life that symbolises the end of her menstrual cycle. To fully diagnose menopause, one has to consistently for 12 months without menstrual periods. It is common for women to experience menopause in their 40s or 50s.
Naturally, all women should undergo menopause at some point in their lives. However, this period in a woman’s life comes with specific symptoms that can be very stressful, like hot flashes. However, knowing that you’re undergoing menopause or perimenopause helps you seek alternative treatments that can help you transition easily, including hormone therapy and lifestyle adjustments.
What are menopausal test kits?
A menopause test kit checks for a person’s follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) level in their blood or urine. The follicle-stimulating hormone controls a person’s menstrual cycle. It also helps eggs in the ovaries develop.
Every month, there is an increase in FSH levels in the body so that ovaries can produce eggs. FSH levels can also rise during menopause when ovaries no longer produce eggs. To indicate whether you’re undergoing menopause, measuring this hormone’s levels will help you.
What is menopausal transition?
Menopause is defined as a point in time when a woman has gone 12 months without a menstrual period. However, there are years of irregular menstrual periods and symptoms before one reaches this point.
These symptoms leading up to menopause are known as perimenopause or menopausal transition. These include symptoms like hot flashes and changes in monthly cycles. Usually, the menopausal transition begins between 45 and 55. These symptoms often last for around seven years, but they can last for up to 14 years, depending on various factors.
Lifestyle factors like smoking, ethnicity, race, and the age it begins, determine how long it takes for one to reach menopause. During perimenopause, estrogen and progesterone, made by the ovaries, vary greatly.
When a woman is undergoing a menopausal transition, it affects each body differently. The body starts using energy in different ways, and fat cells change. This may affect a woman’s weight. Often, it results in weight gain. It may also cause changes in heart health, bone health, body shape and composition, and physical function.
“True” menopause doesn’t happen until a year after a woman’s first menstrual period. This means that if you don’t want to be pregnant, you should keep taking your birth control to prevent getting pregnant until you’ve been without menstrual periods for at least 12 months. That’s the only time you should be sure you’re in menopause and can’t get pregnant.
Even though menopause is often triggered by age, its onset can also be due to hysterectomy, which is the surgical removal of one’s uterus, which produces hormones. If you’ve had surgery to remove your uterus, you will experience menopause symptoms immediately.
After menopause, women often get into post-menopause. Post-menopausal individuals are vulnerable to osteoporosis and heart disease. During this time, keeping your calcium intake, staying active, and maintaining a healthy diet are necessary.
Signs and symptoms of menopause
The body uses estrogen for various functions. When estrogen levels decrease, it often causes mild symptoms, and lifestyle changes like carrying a portable fan and avoiding caffeine can help manage. However, some women don’t suffer any symptoms, while others have severe symptoms. The severity of these menopause symptoms varies widely and is determined by factors like ethnicity, race, and lifestyle factors. Common signs include:
Hot flashes
Many women’s hot flashes can last for years after menopause. These may be related to the changing estrogen levels. A hot flash is defined as a sudden feeling of heat in your body’s upper part or your whole body. A sudden feeling of heat in your body’s upper part or Hot flashes can flush your face and neck.
You may also get red blotches on your arms, chest, and back. This is often followed by heavy sweating and cold shivering. Some people’s hot flashes can be mild, while others can be severe enough to wake them from sleep. When hot flashes wake you from sleep, they’re often referred to as night sweats.
Usually, hot flashes last between 30 seconds to 10 minutes. Depending on the individual, these can occur many times in an hour, a few times a day, or just once or twice a week.
Vaginal Health and Sexuality
After undergoing menopause, many women also experience vaginal dryness, which can make it difficult to have sex. It’s also common for women at this point to change their attitude towards sex as they lose interest or feel more liberated now that they won’t get pregnant.
Even though one may feel liberated and enjoy sex more, this doesn’t prevent them from getting STDs and other infections that could come from unprotected sex. It’s, therefore, safer to stick to safe sexual practices to avoid such illnesses.
Change in menstrual periods
Irregular periods can be the first sign that you’re about to hit menopause. They can either be shorter or last longer, which means you may bleed more or less than before. These are regular changes, but you should talk to your doctor to ensure it. Having irregular periods can also be a symptom of other illnesses.
Trouble sleeping
When most women hit midlife, they start having trouble sleeping. One could have difficulty falling or staying asleep and waking way too early. Night sweats can interrupt sleep. When you wake up at night, it can be challenging to fall back asleep, causing a lot of trouble for you.
Bladder control
When one has lost bladder control, it’s known as incontinence. You can have a strong sudden urge to urinate or accidentally urinate when laughing, sneezing, or exercising. The best way to deal with a bladder control issue is by seeing a doctor.
Changes in mood
Menopause can cause one to feel more moody or easily irritable. Researchers are still determining why this occurs. However, factors like stress, family, and changes in one’s life can cause heightened irritability levels. Talk to your doctor or therapist for further help if you feel this way.
Changes in the body
Menopause also comes with physical changes. Since your body uses energy differently, most people tend to gain weight and have a larger waist. You may also lose fat and muscle, making your skin thinner.
Other changes may include memory issues and stiff and achy muscles and joints. Some of these issues are due to old age, and research on whether hormones affect these is ongoing.
How do menopausal test kits help women?
Women use a Menopause Test Kit to know if their symptoms are due to menopause. Even though many women don’t have trouble going through menopause, others experience moderate to severe discomfort and may need treatment to help alleviate these symptoms.
The test will help you know where you stand pertaining to menopause then, and you can consult with your doctor on the way forward, especially if you need treatment to help deal with the symptoms.
The test accurately detects FSH levels, which can change from one month to the next if you’re perimenopausal. The test doesn’t, however, tell you if you’re menopause or perimenopause. FSH levels rise and fall as you age and during your menstrual cycle.
Final thoughts
Menopause for many women comes without any problems, while it can cause mild to severe symptoms for others. If you think the symptoms you’re suffering from may be due to menopause, it’s wise to get yourself one of our Menopausal Test Kits. This test will help you monitor your hormone levels so you know what’s going on in your body and get better help from your doctor.
