Menopause Fatigue FAQ's

Working 60 hours per week, trying to maintain a personal life, caring for elderly parents or raising children, women are busy. Menopause brings an unexpected and often aggravating pause to a routine life. During this transitional time, women find increasing difficulty concentrating. With disrupted sleep cycles, night sweats, hot flashes, anxiety and irregular periods, menopause can be downright, unmanageable. Without a minimum of six to eight hours of uninterrupted sleep, work, personal life, and family responsibilities can be overwhelming.



Even with sufficient sleep, the onset of menopause brings fatigue. Deep irritability, lack of energy, restlessness, and poor concentration are all signs of menopause related fatigue. As a common symptom of this transitional period, fatigue can be abated, energy restored and concentration enhanced.

FAQ: What is menopause-related fatigue?

A: After a good nap, a restful weekend, or a mini-vacation, women may feel rested and energized. For other women, however, rest, vacation, or sleep, do not reduce the persistent lack energy. The difference between fatigue and lack of sufficient sleep is that women describe feeling as though they could sleep forever with no relief from fatigue.

FAQ: Is it normal to feel fatigue during menopause?

A: Many women, approximately 80 percent, experience symptoms of fatigue during menopause. Hormone imbalances create a variety of symptoms including fatigue. Women report that one of the most debilitating symptoms of the reproductive transition period, however, is fatigue. Night sweats, melatonin imbalances that disrupt the sleep cycle can cause debilitating fatigue, a commonly reported symptom.

FAQ: What are some menopause-related fatigue symptoms ?

A: Remember, even with sufficient sleep, women feel fatigue. This deep and debilitating lack of energy can appear, suddenly Some women experience drowsiness, fatigue after a meal, joint, muscle fatigue, combined with a lack of physical and emotional energy. Any combination of these characteristics could indicate that women are suffering with menopause-related fatigue. Other women, however, do not recognize physical symptoms. Apathy, irritability, forgetfulness, and memory lapses may manifest in women with fatigue. For yet other women, difficulty concentrating, poor attention span and fatigue that keep the brain active with worry or anxiety at bedtime.

FAQ: What are the causes of fatigue during menopause?

A: Hormones in the pituitary and endocrine glands, estrogen, and progesterone assist women in pregnancy. During menopause, estrogen, responsible for activating the shedding of the uterine lining, decreases. Progesterone responsible for regulating the flow and intensity of menstrual blood also decreases. Hormones control body functions from head to the toes, including sleep cycles, body temperature, emotional fluctuations, and skin elasticity at energy levels. Fatigue results from these decreasing changes in estrogen and progesterone.

FAQ: What other medical conditions can cause fatigue?

A: Based on when women begin their menstrual history, menopause can begin from the ages of 44 to 55. If women experience fatigue prior to following menopause, they should consult their medical health professional. Some other conditions that cause fatigue include thyroid disorders, sleep dysfunctions, depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, and other endocrine disorders. Remember fatigue in these examples precludes sleepiness. Women lack energy, focus and concentration, not sleep.

FAQ: What kinds of treatments are available for women suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome?

A: At one time, women had no recourse for chronic fatigue. Today, women suffering from chronic fatigue during menopause find herbal supplements the most viable option for treating their hormonal imbalance at its source. Consult a medical health professional if lifestyle changes and alternative medicines are not effective. In some severe cases, women may require additional diagnostic testing and prescription medication for symptom relief.

FAQ: How can women manage menopause-related fatigue?

A: Frustrating and debilitating fatigue may respond to adjustments in lifestyle. Stress, poor diet, lack of exercise, and irregular sleep patterns can increase the apathy, irritation that plague women with fatigue. Increasing the amount of vegetables and fruit in the diet will boost the immune system. Reducing intake of caffeinated beverages and alcohol, supplemented with increased water intake, increases energy levels while stabilizing stress hormones. Mineral supplements such as magnesium and iron will also increase energy levels. Foods that reduce fatigue include figs, dates, almonds, and parsley.

FAQ: What should women do if they are unable to manage their fatigue?

A: Women experiencing debilitating dizziness, blurred vision, recent and unexplained weight gain or weight loss should consult their physician. Some women experience headaches, depression, constipation, severe intolerance to cold, difficult, or decreased urine output, swelling or edema, increased weakness or new, unexplained skin conditions unrelated to menopause. Hormonal changes occur throughout the body and can disrupt the functions of other organs and glands.