There’s another important time in women’s lives, that when periods stop forever. It’s known as the menopause. It’s got lots of nicknames too, the change of life, The Change, the Big M, second spring.
The process of periods stopping is called perimenopause. At this time periods start to change, flow maybe heavier and longer, and people feel very emotional, or suffer mood swings. Perimenopause can be one year or up to ten years long. It starts on average at 47 years old, though it could vary from 35 to 59 years old.
When talking about menopause, we can use a adjective, I’m menopausal, or I’m going through (peri)menopause. In daily life we use menopause and perimenopause interchangeably, when we are talking about the symptoms that a women experiences when going through this time.
Some symptoms of perimenopause and how to talk about them:
- Hot flushes/ flashes (feeling very hot all over, for a short time)I’m having a hot flush. I feel hot. I’m sweating.
- Night sweats (the same but at night). I have night sweats.
- Weight gain. I’m gaining weight, I’m putting on weight, I’m getting fat.
- Bad or disturbed sleep. I have insomnia, I can’t sleep very well, I wake up a lot at night.
- Forgetfulness, confusion, brain fog. I am always forgetting things, I have brain fog, I can’t deal with lots of things at the same time.
- Feeling emotional, irritable, uncomfortable. I feel emotional, I feel irritable, I’m always grumpy. I’m always cross.
- Mood swings. I have mood swings. I feel moody. I feel like a moody teenager.
- Heavier periods. My periods are heavier than before. My periods are heavy. I have heavy bleeding.
- Headaches. I have a headache. I’m getting a headache.
- Dry skin and hair loss. My skin is dry, My skin is flaky, I’m shedding hair, I’m loosing hair, My hair is thinning.
There’s lots more to talk about this subject, what other nicknames or terms do you know?
Learn English with Abigail 