When a woman enters the stage of menopause before the age of 40 then it is called early menopause. Early menopause may occur due to various reasons. The early menopause symptoms in women are similar to the symptoms of normal menopause in most of the cases. Menopause may affect a woman physically as well as emotionally. Thus the symptoms of early menopause sometimes may surface in the form of physical problems whereas in some other cases the symptoms may take the form of psychological and emotional discomforts. In fact menopause can have great affect on a woman’s emotional state of mind and subsequently her behavior.

Early menopause symptoms may vary from woman to woman as the changes in the hormone level in the body takes place. One of the most common early menopause symptoms is hot flushes and it is estimated that around 80% of women in Western countries experience hot flushes when they have their menopause. However this symptom is considerably much lower among Asian women.

The most common early menopause symptoms that a woman may experience include:

• Itching under the skin
• Night sweat along with hot flushes
• Irregular and skipped periods
• Vaginal dryness
• Aches and pains in joins and muscles
• Reduced sexual desire
• Difficulty in sleeping or insomnia
• Tiredness and constant fatigue
• Frequent Urination
• Palpitations
• Breast tenderness
• Hair loss or thinning
• Dry mouth and other related symptoms
• Gastrointestinal problems
• Nausea
• Dizziness
• Bloating
• Increase in facial hair
• Weight gain around the waistline and abdomen
• Changes in skin
• Bladder irritability and even loss of bladder control

These are some of the most frequent physical symptoms that a woman undergoing early menopause may experience. Generally a woman may not experience all of these symptoms together and may suffer from only some of these symptoms.

Apart from the physical symptoms early menopause can also affect a woman psychologically. As a result of this she may feel some behavioral changes occurring to her.

The psychological symptoms associated with early menopause may include:

• Forgetfulness
• Feeling of emotional loneliness
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Frequent mood swing
• Lack of attention
• Depression