Menopause is a normal condition that occurs at the end of the reproductive period of your life, when your ovaries no longer produce an egg every month and menstruation stops. "Menopause" is also used to describe the changes you may experience either just before or after you stop menstruating. Perimenopause refers to the period beginning several years before menopause, when the ovaries gradually produce less and less estrogen. As the decline of estrogen accelerates, most women start to experience menopausal symptoms.
Premature menopause (menopause which occurs before the age of 40) can result from environmental factors, genetics, autoimmune disorders, hysterectomy or chemotherapy treatment for cancer. 
In the time leading up to menopause, a woman's monthly periods tend to become less frequent before they completely stop. However, for some women, the bleeding becomes more frequent and heavier. Seventy-five percent of women experience hot flashes and sweating lasting from 30 seconds to five minutes, sometimes followed by chills. There are other symptoms, not all of which are experienced by all women. Severity varies from person to person:
- Cold hands and feet
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Memory loss or difficulty concentrating
- Difficulty sleeping
- Emotional or psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, nervousness or irritability which may be related to changing of hormones or to stress
- Fatigue
- Headache
- Intermittent dizziness, prickly sensations on the skin or rapidly beating heart
- Weight gain
- An urgent and more frequent need to urinate
- Vaginal dryness, pain during sexual intercourse, loss of interest in sex
If necessary, two simple tests can be used for diagnosis:
- A blood test for follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). FSH levels will rise dramatically as the ovaries begin to shut down.
- Physician's examination for vaginal atrophy, the thinning and drying out of vaginal walls which occurs with a decrease in estrogen.
Although menopause is a normal condition, the loss of estrogen accompanying menopause is associated with a number of health problems, including:
- Osteoporosis
- Heart disease
- Memory loss
- Decrease in muscle tone
- Bladder and bowel problems
- Vision problems, including cataracts and macular degeneration
- Cedars-Sinai Women's Heart Center
- Center for Women's Continence and Pelvic Health
- Women's Health Services
