28-05-2025
13 Menopause Symptoms You May Not Have Heard About
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links."Certain symptoms of menopause get more attention than others. Most people are aware that hot flashes and night sweats can come with the territory, but there are other side effects to have on your radar, including ones related to your skin and even your taste buds.
Let's back up a moment: Perimenopause, which is the phase leading up to menopause, and menopause, which is when you naturally stop having periods, cause hormonal changes like a drop in estrogen production. That plummet in estrogen is largely responsible for the symptoms of menopause, explains Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob/gyn and women's health expert at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA.
Unfortunately, many of these symptoms aren't discussed. That can lead women to feel uneasy when they experience 'weird' menopause symptoms that are actually quite common.
Meet the experts: Sherry Ross, M.D., is an ob/gyn and women's health expert at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, CA. Lauren Streicher, M.D., is a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and host of the podcast Come Again. Ife J. Rodney, M.D., is the founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics.
If you're dealing with symptoms that are interfering with your day-to-day or you're just uncomfortable, it's important to talk to your healthcare provider. Whether or not they're related to menopause, there may be treatment options available to help, and it's ideal to get personalized advice.
But it's also key to understand what's happening in your body during this life phase, and why. With that in mind, these are some of the menopause symptoms you might experience—remember, every woman's experience can be unique—along with what you can do to help deal with them.
That drop in estrogen can impact your skin's ability to retain moisture and produce collagen and elastin, which help give skin a youthful appearance, explains Ife J. Rodney, M.D., founding director of Eternal Dermatology + Aesthetics. 'Your skin also produces less sebum (or oil), which can lead to dryness,' she says.
Washing with a mild cleanser, applying moisturizer with hyaluronic acid or glycerin after you take a bath or shower and throughout the day can be helpful, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).$13.52 at
A decline in the hormone progesterone in menopause, as well as hot flashes, can disrupt sleep, says Lauren Streicher, M.D., a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and host of the podcast Come Again.
One of the most effective ways to combat this is hormone therapy, which helps to raise the levels of estrogen or estrogen and progesterone in your body, Dr. Ross says. Following a set bedtime routine, keeping your bedroom at a comfortable temperature, and getting regular exercise may help, too, according to the National Institute on Aging (NIA).
A note on hormone therapy: While it can be helpful for many of these menopausal symptoms, there are a range of factors to consider, including how long ago you started menopause and your age. So, talk to your doctor to see whether you're a good candidate, and which type of hormone therapy may be best for you.
Because estrogen helps support joint and muscle health, and can tamp down on inflammation, muscle and joint discomfort could arise when estrogen declines, Dr. Streicher explains. 'Keep in mind that people in mid-life are at risk for joint and muscle pain anyway,' Dr. Streicher says.
While Dr. Streicher says that hormone therapy can help, she also suggests doing your best to maintain a healthy weight. 'Weight training and resistance training may help, too,' she says.
There are estrogen receptors in your breast tissue, which means a drop in estrogen can lead to breast changes, Dr. Streicher says. 'Some people get increased breast tenderness and fullness during perimenopause,' she says. While there's not much you can do about this symptom, hormone therapy may counteract some of it.
Many women may have a drop in saliva flow in menopause. 'Dry mouth is an under-appreciated symptom,' Dr. Streicher says. She recently did research on women and menopause, and discovered that 75% didn't realize that dry mouth was a symptom of the life stage. What's behind this? The mouth and salivary glands contain estrogen receptors, and those can be impacted by the drop in estrogen that naturally comes with menopause, Dr. Streicher says. Doing your best to stay well hydrated may help, she says.
Fluctuating hormone levels can mess with your taste buds, and so can dry mouth, Dr. Streicher says. One small study even found that a 'significantly higher' percentage of women who had been through menopause couldn't identify the taste of the artificial sweetener sucralose as well as some bitter tastes compared to women who hadn't been through menopause. This is another symptom that hormone therapy may be able to mitigate.
If you notice a change in the way you smell, it could be due to menopause. 'We have estrogen receptors in the skin, including in sweat glands,' Dr. Streicher says. That means your natural scent may change as your levels of estrogen drop. 'You also have people who are sweating more due to hot flashes—and that can lead to body odor,' Dr. Streicher says. Outside of hormone therapy, wearing layers that can be removed when you're hot may help, although that's not a perfect solution.
Dropping estrogen levels can impact the production of keratin and collagen, proteins responsible for nail strength, Dr. Rodney says. Thyroid issues are also common in menopause, and those can impact the strength of your nails, Dr. Streicher says. Internal and external hydration (e.g. lathering up with a good hand lotion) can help with dry, brittle nails. Dr. Rodney adds that you may also want to make sure you have all of your nutritional bases covered, since some deficiencies could be at play. Talk to your doctor for personalized advice on this.
Dizziness can be a sign of a lot of different health issues, making it important not to dismiss this as 'just' being due to menopause, Dr. Streicher says. But it can also be a symptom of the life phase thanks to changes in estrogen levels and insomnia, she says. 'If you have severe dizziness, I would make sure that nothing else is going on,' Dr. Streicher underscores. In other words, call or visit your doctor.
Also known as paresthesia, hormonal changes in menopause like the drop in estrogen can lead to a numb, tingling feeling in some areas of the skin, Dr. Streicher says. Why? Estrogen supports healthy nerve function and, when levels drop, you can become vulnerable to nerve issues. Like dizziness, this symptom is also one of many that could be attributed to other causes and is best discussed with your doctor if it persists.
Your vagina is full of hormone receptors and they're under-stimulated when you go through menopause, Dr. Streicher says. As a result, she says that 'the vaginal tissue becomes dry.' That can lead to symptoms like pain during sex, and burning or irritation. In addition to hormone therapy, using hormonal and non-hormonal vulvar and vaginal creams may help, she says. Just keep this in mind, per Dr. Streicher: 'A lot of women do require a prescription product.' So, talk to your doctor if this one is an issue for you.
This is more common in perimenopause and early menopause, Dr. Streicher says. 'You have estrogen receptors throughout the brain,' she says. Going through the hormonal changes linked with perimenopause and menopause can impact your ability to think clearly as a result, she says. 'This can be treated with hormone therapy, and is a huge reason why many women take hormone therapy,' Dr. Streicher says.
There are a few reasons why you may notice a change in your bowel habits. 'There are estrogen receptors throughout the gut,' Dr. Streicher says. As a result, changes in estrogen levels in your body may impact your bowel habits. But there also may be changes to your gut microbiome over time, she says. The best way to try to combat this is to focus on eating a healthy, varied diet that's high in fiber, Dr. Streicher says.
While there are individual things you can do for each symptom, doctors stress that hormone therapy, also known as hormone replacement therapy, can help with many of them. 'Hormone replacement therapy is most effective in treating disruptive hot flashes, insomnia, or any menopausal symptoms negatively affecting a woman's quality of life,' Dr. Ross says.
Dr. Streicher agrees. There are different forms of hormone therapy, including oral and topical formulas, Dr. Streicher points out. If you're interested in trying hormone therapy, it's best to talk to your doctor about next steps.
Menopause can come with symptoms beyond hot flashes. If you're experiencing unusual symptoms, whether or not you suspect they're due to menopause, talk to your healthcare provider. They should be able to help guide you on next steps.
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