The menopause glossary
Perimenopause and menopause come with their own vocabulary, some of it clinical, some of it the words women actually use. This glossary defines both, in plain language, so you recognize a term on a form, in an article or in your own body. It is information, not medical advice.
The stages
Perimenopause, menopause and the years around them, defined plainly.
Perimenopause
Also called the menopause transition, premenopause
Perimenopause is the transition into menopause, when hormone levels start to swing and periods become irregular. It often begins in the 40s and can last several years. Hot flashes, broken sleep, mood changes and heavier or lighter periods are common while the ovaries wind down.
Read moreMenopause
Also called the change, change of life
Menopause is the point when periods have stopped for twelve months in a row, marking the end of the reproductive years. In the US the average age is around 51. It is a single day, defined only in hindsight; the years of symptoms before it are perimenopause.
Read morePostmenopause
Also called after menopause
Postmenopause is all the years after menopause, once you have gone twelve full months without a period. Hormone levels settle at a lower baseline. Hot flashes may ease over time, but lower estrogen raises longer-term risks to bone and heart health, so this stage is about protection too.
Read morePrimary ovarian insufficiency
Also called premature menopause, POI, premature ovarian failure
Primary ovarian insufficiency, sometimes called premature menopause, is when the ovaries stop working normally before age 40. It can cause irregular or absent periods, menopausal symptoms and reduced fertility. It usually needs medical review, because losing estrogen early affects long-term bone and heart health.
Early menopause
Early menopause is menopause that happens between ages 40 and 45, sooner than usual but not as early as primary ovarian insufficiency. It can occur on its own or follow surgery, chemotherapy or radiation. Because estrogen falls sooner, doctors often discuss hormone therapy to protect bone and heart health.
Surgical menopause
Surgical menopause is menopause triggered suddenly by an operation to remove both ovaries. Because hormone levels drop in one step rather than over years, symptoms like hot flashes can be more intense and start within days. Removing the uterus alone, a hysterectomy, does not cause it if the ovaries stay.
Symptoms with a clinical name
The medical terms behind the changes, so you recognize them on a form.
Vasomotor symptoms (VMS)
Also called hot flashes, hot flushes, night sweats
Vasomotor symptoms, or VMS, is the medical name for hot flashes and night sweats. They are sudden waves of heat, flushing and sweating caused by changes in the brain's temperature control as estrogen falls. VMS is the most common reason women seek help in perimenopause and can last for years.
Read moreHot flashes
Also called hot flushes
A hot flash is a sudden feeling of heat that spreads through the face, neck and chest, often with flushing, sweating and a racing heart, then a chill. Each lasts a few minutes. They happen when falling estrogen narrows the range of temperature the brain treats as comfortable.
Night sweats
Night sweats are hot flashes that happen during sleep, heavy enough to soak nightwear or bedding and wake you. They are a core menopausal symptom and a common reason for the broken sleep and next-day fatigue of perimenopause. They share the same cause as daytime hot flashes.
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause (GSM)
Also called vaginal atrophy, atrophic vaginitis, vaginal dryness
Genitourinary syndrome of menopause, or GSM, covers the vaginal and urinary changes caused by lower estrogen: dryness, irritation, pain during sex, and more frequent or urgent urination and urinary infections. Unlike hot flashes, it tends to persist or worsen over time, and it responds well to local vaginal estrogen.
Read moreDyspareunia
Also called painful sex
Dyspareunia is the medical term for painful sex. Around menopause it is usually caused by vaginal dryness and thinning tissue from lower estrogen, part of genitourinary syndrome of menopause. It is common, treatable and not something to accept as permanent; vaginal moisturizers and local estrogen often help.
What women actually call it
The everyday words for real symptoms, and what is going on underneath.
Menopause belly
Also called meno belly, menopause weight gain, meno pot
Menopause belly, or meno belly, is the common weight gain and shift of fat to the abdomen during perimenopause and menopause. Lower estrogen changes where the body stores fat, moving it from the hips to the middle, even when your overall weight barely changes. Muscle loss and poor sleep add to it.
Read moreCortisol belly
Also called stress belly
Cortisol belly is a popular, non-medical term for abdominal fat blamed on high levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Chronic stress and poor sleep can raise cortisol and encourage fat storage around the middle. In midlife it overlaps with menopause-related belly fat, though cortisol is rarely the only cause.
Read moreMenopause brain fog
Also called mentalpause, menopause memory loss, perimenopause brain fog
Menopause brain fog is the forgetfulness, trouble concentrating and word-finding lapses many women notice in perimenopause, sometimes called mentalpause. It is linked to fluctuating estrogen along with broken sleep and hot flashes. It is common and usually eases after menopause; it is not early dementia, though it can feel alarming.
Read moreMenopause rage
Also called perimenopause rage, menopause irritability, menopause mood swings
Menopause rage is a lay term for the sudden, intense irritability and anger some women feel in perimenopause. Swinging estrogen and progesterone affect serotonin and the brain's mood and stress systems, and poor sleep shortens the fuse further. It is real and common, and treatable, not a character flaw.
Read moreFrozen shoulder
Also called adhesive capsulitis, menopause shoulder
Frozen shoulder is stiffness and pain that gradually limit shoulder movement as the capsule around the joint thickens and tightens. It is far more common in women in the perimenopausal years, and falling estrogen is thought to play a part, which is why it is sometimes linked to menopause.
Read moreFormication
Also called crawling skin, skin crawling, pins and needles
Formication is the sensation of insects crawling on or under the skin when nothing is there. It is a recognized, if lesser-known, menopausal symptom, thought to relate to how falling estrogen affects the skin and nerves. It often comes with itching and usually eases, but persistent cases deserve a check.
Menopausal joint pain
Also called menopausal arthralgia, menopause aches
Menopausal joint pain, or menopausal arthralgia, is aching and stiffness in the joints, often the hands, knees and hips, that appears or worsens around menopause. Estrogen helps keep joints and their lining healthy, so lower levels can leave them more painful. It is common and often improves with movement.
Hormones and tests
The hormones that shift, and the blood tests you may be offered.
Estrogen
Also called oestrogen, estradiol
Estrogen is the main group of female sex hormones, made mostly by the ovaries. Its strongest form, estradiol, drives the menstrual cycle and supports bone, heart, brain, skin and vaginal tissue. When estrogen falls in perimenopause and menopause, those wide-ranging effects explain why symptoms appear all over the body.
Progesterone
Progesterone is a hormone made by the ovaries after ovulation that prepares the womb lining for pregnancy and balances estrogen. In perimenopause it is often the first hormone to fall, which can bring heavier or erratic periods, poorer sleep and anxiety. In hormone therapy it protects the womb lining.
Testosterone (in women)
Also called testosterone for women
Testosterone is not only a male hormone; women make it too, in smaller amounts, and it contributes to sex drive, energy and mood. Levels decline gradually with age. In menopause care it is sometimes prescribed, mainly for low sexual desire that is causing distress, usually alongside estrogen.
FSH and the FSH test
Also called follicle stimulating hormone, fsh blood test
Follicle-stimulating hormone, or FSH, is made by the pituitary gland to prompt the ovaries each cycle. As the ovaries wind down, FSH rises, so a blood test can show it is high. But levels swing in perimenopause, so a single FSH test rarely confirms the stage, especially over 45.
Read moreAnti-Mullerian hormone (AMH)
Also called ovarian reserve test
Anti-Mullerian hormone, or AMH, reflects the number of eggs remaining in the ovaries, so it is used mainly as a marker of fertility and ovarian reserve. A low level suggests menopause may be closer, but AMH does not reliably predict its exact timing and is not used to diagnose menopause.
Treatments and options
The main ways menopausal symptoms are treated, in plain terms.
Hormone therapy (HRT / MHT)
Also called HRT, MHT, menopausal hormone therapy, hormone replacement therapy
Hormone therapy, called HRT or increasingly MHT, replaces the estrogen the ovaries stop making, usually with progesterone if you still have a womb. It is the most effective treatment for hot flashes, night sweats and genitourinary symptoms, and it protects bone. Routes include patches, gels, sprays and tablets.
Read moreVaginal estrogen
Also called local estrogen, topical estrogen
Vaginal estrogen is a low-dose estrogen given as a cream, tablet, gel or ring that acts locally on vaginal and urinary tissue. It treats dryness, pain during sex and recurrent urinary symptoms with very little absorbed into the bloodstream, so it can often be used when systemic hormone therapy cannot.
Body-identical and bioidentical hormones
Also called bioidentical hormones, body identical HRT
Body-identical hormones are regulated, licensed HRT with a molecular structure identical to your own hormones, made from plants. Compounded bioidentical hormones are custom-mixed to individual prescriptions and are not tested or regulated to the same standard. The two are often confused; standard modern HRT already uses body-identical estradiol.
Fezolinetant (Veozah)
Also called Veozah, NK3 receptor antagonist, non-hormonal hot flash treatment
Fezolinetant, sold as Veozah, is a non-hormonal prescription medicine for moderate to severe hot flashes and night sweats. It works on a brain pathway that controls temperature, rather than replacing estrogen, so it is an option for women who cannot or prefer not to take hormones.
Take this further
Understanding the words is a start. Yellow helps you go from there: compare your options side by side, or find a clinician who works in this area.
These definitions are for general information only and are not medical advice. Menopause care depends on your individual health history. Please talk to a qualified clinician about what is right for you.