All women should know that the signs of early menopause and pregnancy are quite similar and so it might be difficult to distinguish them.
However there are some aspects that will lead you in the right direction to know which situation you are facing.
Time frame and the early menopause and pregnancy signs
Although the chances for a woman to get pregnant decrease with time, it is still possible for a woman in her 40s or 50s to get pregnant. In the majority of the cases women have their menopause in the 40s or 50s but the perimenopause symptoms can appear 10 years earlier.
When it comes to the symptoms of early menopause and pregnancy you should know that the signs of menopause can be experienced during the 30s as well or only in the 50s. All this means that there is a wide overlapping time frame when women can experience both menopause and a new pregnancy.
Signs of early menopause and pregnancy
In both cases women notice missed periods, have very light periods or only experience spotting. Some other common symptoms include fatigue, irritability, mood swings, bloating, weight gain, dizziness, lightheadedness, headaches and breast pain. Naturally not all women have all the symptoms.
Pregnancy
In case you are thinking about the early menopause and pregnancy symptoms you should know that in case of pregnancy there are some symptoms that can’t be caused by menopause. These include vomiting, nausea, frequent urination, backaches, darkening of the nipples and food cravings.
Menopause
On the other hand there are also some symptoms that menopausal women have but pregnant women don’t experience, at least not during the early stages. These include hot and cold flashes, problems with sleeping, night sweats, decreased libido, vaginal dryness, allergy sensitivity and hair loss.
Some other symptoms that only menopause has involve increase of body and facial hair, more brittle or softer fingernails, confusion, disorientation, problems with concentration, loss of memory, gum sensitivity, depression, heart palpitations, panic attacks, anxiety, problems with digesting, muscle soreness or tension, experiencing itchiness, aching joints and incontinence.
While there are some similarities among the signs of early menopause and pregnancy, you can see that there are also major differences as well. Before you jump to any conclusion you should take into consideration all the symptoms that you have. You should also see your doctor.
