Most people think of menopause as hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. But the quieter symptoms can be just as disruptive, especially when a woman is trying to work, sleep, exercise, or simply get through an ordinary day without feeling that her body has changed overnight.
In a recent interview, Dr. José Manuel Martínez, from the Gynecology Service and Benign Pathology Unit at Bellvitge University Hospital, said palpitations can appear during menopause because of a lack of hormone production.
His main warning was simple and practical. “If tachycardia is persistent, you should get it looked into.”
Menopause is not just hot flashes
Menopause is still shrouded in silence for many women. The specialist says patients often arrive with doubts, misinformation, and symptoms they never connected to hormonal change.
That matters because the list can be longer than many people expect. The National Institute on Aging says the menopausal transition can bring hot flashes, night sweats, sleep trouble, joint and muscle aches, mood changes, and vaginal or urinary symptoms.
The Office on Women’s Health says as many as three out of four women experience hot flashes, which helps explain why that symptom dominates the conversation.
Why the body feels off
The fatigue many women describe is not usually caused by one thing. Poor sleep, repeated nighttime awakenings, hot flashes, and the body’s hormonal readjustment can all pile up.
So the answer is not always a vitamin bottle on the kitchen counter. In practical terms, the focus often needs to be on improving sleep, reducing hot flashes, easing insomnia, and helping mood become more stable.
Brain fog is real
One of the most surprising symptoms is brain fog. Patients may forget names, lose track of medications, or struggle to focus on routine tasks they once handled easily.
Is it aging, stress, or menopause? Sometimes it is a mix, but hormone shifts can be part of the explanation. The specialist also recommends checking for problems such as low iron, low vitamin D, or anemia, because those can make memory and concentration feel worse.
Palpitations need context
Palpitations can feel scary. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists notes that hot flashes may come with heart palpitations, which can feel like fluttering or a fast-beating heart.
The interview links many of these episodes to vasomotor symptoms, the body’s heat and blood vessel response during menopause. If they appear briefly with hot flashes, they may fit the pattern, but a sustained fast heartbeat, major drops in heart rate, or constant cardiovascular discomfort should be checked.
That check can be basic, such as an electrocardiogram, a Holter monitor, or a more specific heart evaluation. The American Heart Association also says cardiovascular risk rises around menopause as estrogen drops and the body’s risk factors change.
Skin, hair, and tingling
Some symptoms show up in places women may not expect. During menopause, the skin can become thinner, drier, more fragile, and less elastic, which can lead to itching, tightness, and everyday irritation.
Hair changes can be just as unsettling. Shedding may be linked to hormones, stress, nutrition, or changes in the hair cycle, and in some cases a dermatologist should evaluate it.
Tingling is less studied and less common, but some patients do report it. The specialist says it may be linked to estrogen loss, vascular changes, fluid retention, or hot flashes, and it is usually occasional rather than constant.
It can also cause bloating
Digestive complaints often get blamed on dinner, stress, or just “getting older.” During menopause, hormone changes may affect digestion and how the body senses abdominal swelling.
Still, the interview urges women to be careful with the label. Bloating may be digestive, but it may also reflect weight gain or a shift in body fat, the kind that makes jeans feel different even when the scale barely moves.
If bloating gets worse through the day or becomes persistent, a digestive evaluation may be needed. Not everything is menopause, even when menopause is the moment that makes the problem visible.
When to ask for help
Keep an eye on what’s been happening and take sensible action. Women should consult a specialist when symptoms stop being occasional and begin to affect quality of life, rest, relationships, or daily routines.
That message is especially important in an era of social media advice. General habits still matter, including a healthy weight, steady follow-up, and basic medical checks, but women should not be left to guess when symptoms start changing how they live.
The key is not to treat every new symptom as an emergency, but to stop assuming symptoms are just part and parcel of middle-age.
The main interview has been published in La Vanguardia.
