Menopause is something that happens to every woman. It is a natural part of life. The average for women who enter menopause is 52. Menopause can occur between the ages of 30 into the 60s. Menopause is different for each woman. It can occur quietly or it can be quite dramatic. Mostly, menopause is changes in a woman's reproductive system. As the supply of eggs ages, the body begins to ovulate less thus causing hormone changes. After awhile the estrogen and progesterone levels drop low enough to stop menstrual periods. Sometimes surgery can trigger menopause. Removing the ovaries, radiation therapy to the pelvis area and chemotherapy can trigger early menopause.
There is a time right before menopause that is called perimenopause. It happens two to five years before menopause. But it has been known for women to have perimenopause symptoms 10-15 years before menopause. You can have irregular periods, breast tenderness and worse premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and also low libido.
During the time leading up to menopause menstrual periods can be irregular and very heavy at times. Other symptoms include hot flashes. Hot flashes could be mild to severe. Women could experience cloudy thinking, headaches, mood swings, depression, anxiety, heart palpitations and irritability. These symptoms can happen well before menopause and keep going well after it. It is different for every woman. The hormone estrogen steadily drops for many months before and after menopause so it is possible for symptoms to get worse. After a while the hormone will level off and the symptoms usually get better, however some women have the symptoms beyond menopause, called post menopause.
Most of the time you do not need a hormone test to check for menopause. Usually between you and your doctor you can figure out if you are perimenopause or in menopause. The doctor will take a history of your period and your physical and emotional health. If you had a lot of irregular and heavy bleeding your doctor may do a few tests to rule out any infection, disease, or a complication of pregnancy. Generally, if you haven't had a period in over a year then you are in menopause.
Since menopause is a natural part of life usually no treatment is needed. If the symptoms interfere with your life then making some lifestyle changes may be in order. Try to make an effort to eat well, avoid a lot of caffeine, alcohol and stress. When you get hot flashes you can try a controlled breathing method to reduce them and emotional symptoms. If you think you need more relief after making lifestyle changes then you can try other treatment for relieving the menopause symptoms. You could try Hormone Replacement Therapy with a low dose of birth control pills before menopause begins or a low dose of hormone replacement therapy after menopause begins. There is certain blood pressure medication or anti-depressants that may be prescribed to help relieve symptoms. If you want to go the alternative route then you can try to include soy into your diet or black cohosh.
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Menopause | |
