Symptoms of menopause or perimenopause include:

• Hot flashes - a feeling described as suddenly being hot, flushed and uncomfortable.
• Vaginal drying - Secretions from the vagina decrease as estrogen levels fall.
• Sleep disorders - Sleep often is disturbed by nighttime hot flashes.
• Depression - The physical changes of menopause do not appear to increase the risk of depression.
• Irritability - Some women report irritability or other emotional changes.
• Weight gain or increase in body fat around your waist.
• Hair thinning or loss.

Most women think of menopause as the time of life when their menstrual periods end. This is true, but menopause broadly includes hormonal and physical changes that take place in the three to five years during middle age before the last menstrual period. For this reason, menopause sometimes is called the "change of life."

While most women in the United States go through menopause around the age of 51, a small number will experience menopause as early as age 40, or as late as their late 50s. On rare occasions, menopause does not occur until the early 60s. When menopause is diagnosed prior to age 40, it is considered to be abnormal or premature.

The symptoms that are commonly associated with the menopause are due to what in Chinese Medicine is referred to as Yin Deficiency. Yin is moist, cooling, it has a downward movement and conveys as sense of calm and rest. So Yin Deficiency means, we see a predominance of Yang-type symptoms, because Yin is weak and cannot anchor the upward-striving Yang.