Menopausal
women will kill for this
Symptoms of Menopause
Menopause is that transition in a woman's life wherein she ceases to
be reproductive. Literally, the term menopause means cessation of
menstruation. This period usually occurs among women at around the age
of 50. Menopause is a natural phase of a woman's physiological and
reproductive process and is to be anticipated in the middle years. The
woman's fertility is brought to a standstill at around these ages unless
there is loss of ovaries due to illness or injury in the years prior to
menopause. Most women consider symptoms of menopause to be
disturbing and even distressing, not only the physical manifestations,
but more so the emotional symptoms.
When the symptoms of menopause beset a woman before the age of
40, it is termed as premature menopause and happens to 1% of the female
population. When we say menopause, it actually means the period or phase
leading to actual menopause. The technical term perimenopause refers to
the months or years leading to menopause. When a woman says I'm going
through menopause and experiences symptoms of menopause, that is
perimenopause. As there are individual differences among women,
menopause symptoms vary from woman to woman, too. There are those
fortunate enough not to experience harrowing symptoms of menopause other
than irregular menstrual periods for several months before actual
menopause.
For others, physical symptoms of menopause may include
hot flashes and/or
night sweats and vaginal dryness. Others
may have problems in bladder control and other discomforting indications
such as headache, fatigue, heart palpitation and muscle and joint pain.
A majority of women may have trouble sleeping and may experience
emotional menopause symptoms such as mood swings, depression and
irritability. Menopause symptoms can also influence a womans sexuality.
Others may have decreased libido and may have difficulty getting
sexually excited and become less sensitive. Sex may even be painful due
to vaginal dryness or the thinning of the vaginal tissue. Still there is
a proportion of women who consider menopause a blessing as sex becomes
more enjoyable as there are no pregnancy concerns anymore.
The symptoms of menopause are instigated by decreased levels of the
female hormone estrogen. Each woman is born with a certain number of egg
cells and once the egg cells in the ovary become gradually depleted,
estrogen and other ovarian hormones likewise diminish. There are several
options for a woman to consider in alleviating bothersome menopause
symptoms. Although there may be remedies for minor physical menopause
symptoms, it may be sensible to seek professional attention to find
means to allay unpleasant menopause symptoms. Hormone replacement
therapy (HRT) has been an option to a majority of women in the past
years to relieve and combat menopause symptoms.
There are women, however, who find alternative modalities other than HRT
as there are concerns about its long term health risks. Therapy may
likewise be a measure to address the emotional symptoms of menopause.
Lifestyle and dietary modifications also facilitate in the management of
menopause symptoms. Natural remedies such as the black herb cohosh may
be helpful for night sweats and hot flashes as well as vitamins and
other plant components. By Dr. Rose Windale