Introduction
Menopause is the stage in a woman's life when her periods become infrequent and irregular, eventually ceasing altogether. It usually occurs in the late 40s to early 50s and marks the end of the child-bearing years. Although a natural process, menopause is often accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms.
No treatment is necessary unless you find the symptoms interfering with your daily functioning. Learning what you can about menopause can help to make this transition less stressful, uncomfortable and frightening.
Symptoms
Menopause is a time when a woman�s body undergoes tremendous change as a result of fluctuating hormones. With the hormonal shift, most women experience some discomfort for a year or two.
Symptoms can vary depending on the individual. Typical complaints are hot flashes that cause sudden waves of heat and sweating, and vaginal dryness, which makes intercourse uncomfortable or painful. Night sweats can interfere with sleeping. Some women also feel dizzy or experience heart palpitations. Others may experience urge incontinence, headaches or body aches and pains.
Emotional symptoms are not uncommon and range from mood swings, anxiety and depression to nervousness and irritability. There may also be difficulty with recalling things and thinking clearly. A lack of interest in sex occurs in some women as a combination of hormonal and psychological changes.
Although the symptoms of heavy bleeding and spotting between periods around the age of 50 usually signify menopause, they should always be checked by a doctor to rule out more serious problems. It's also important to know that the risk of pregnancy during menopause can remain until a full year has passed following the last cycle.
Eventually, hormones balance at lower levels and menopausal symptoms weaken or disappear altogether.
Causes/Factors to Consider
The ovaries produce hormones and release an egg during ovulation, allowing for fertility. When the ovaries stop producing these hormones, menopause begins. Prior to menopause, hormone levels often increase before declining, causing longer periods of bleeding or bleeding between periods.
Many years of poor diet with insufficient nutrients will aggravate symptoms. Fluctuating hormones can also cause nutrient deficiencies, while excessive bleeding triggers anaemia. Hot flashes tend to be influenced by heat in all forms, including spicy foods and alcohol.
As with any major change, emotional adjustment depends on personal outlook and attitude, as well as on physical and emotional well-being at the time the change occurs. Since the effects of attitude and fluctuations in hormones cannot be separated, physical and emotional aspects should be dealt with together.
Certain medical treatments can make your periods cease before the age of 40. The removal of your ovaries, radiation therapy or chemotherapy can all result in an earlier menopause.A total hysterectomy will also cause menopause. If the ovaries are left intact, hormones continue to be produced on a cyclical basis in many cases.
What You Can Do
Eat a nutritious diet high in fibre, calcium, vitamin D and plant-based fats and low in saturated and trans fats. Some studies suggest that soy may help relieve menopausal symptoms.
Engage in 30-60 minutes of physical activity daily.
Determine if there are any triggers that set off your symptoms (for example, hot or spicy foods, alcohol or caffeine, being in a hot place) and limit your exposure to them.
Dress in layers to regulate your temperature.
Use a water-based lubricant (such as K-Y Jelly) for vaginal dryness.
Don't smoke. If you do smoke, take steps to quit immediately.
Practising relaxation techniques, such as meditation, yoga, deep breathing and biofeedback, can help.
Ask your doctor whether this supplements would be beneficial for you and how to use them safely.
If you don't want to become pregnant, continue using birth control until a full year has passed without you having a period.
Certain medical treatments, including radiation therapy, chemotherapy and having your ovaries removed, can cause premature menopause. Check with your doctor if you believe this may be happening in your case.
What You Can Take
Empirical evidence shows that a diet consisting mainly of whole grains, seeds and nuts, vegetables and fruits helps to ease the symptoms of menopause. Each day, eat a large salad of leafy green vegetables dressed with two tablespoons of unrefined, cold-pressed nut and seed oil, such as flaxseed oil. This provides the essential fatty acids omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid and omega-6 linoleic acid, which help balance hormones.
Cold-pressed nut and seed oils also provide vitamin E. This vitamin is important during menopause as it enhances estrogen production and regulates estrogen levels in the body. Vitamin E works best with vitamin C and inositol. Eggs, nutritional yeast flakes or yogurt added to leafy green vegetables provide vitamin C and inositol, as does coleslaw made from raw, shredded cabbage or potato salad made without mayonnaise. (As a substitute for mayonnaise, add a homemade dressing of lemon, soy sauce and flaxseed oil instead).
Green, leafy vegetables also provide enzymes and are good dietary sources of calcium. Eating calcium-rich foods during menopause is important because calcium absorption is decreased in the early phases.
Bioflavonoids prevent estrogen from being broken down too rapidly in the body. This will curb the frequency of hot flashes. Bioflavonoids are available in garlic, onions, cherries, currant juice and the white of orange skin.
If your symptoms are very serious, you might want to try hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Consult your doctor as to whether or not HRT would be helpful for you and what risks are involved. Some doctors recommend non-hormonal treatments, such as soy, before considering HRT.
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), clonidine, and gabapentin (Neurontin) can cut down the number and severity of hot flashes. Birth control pills (estrogen and progestin) help to regulate menstrual bleeding and alleviate perimenopausal symptoms. Progestin pills or the levonorgestrel IUD releases a type of progesterone into the uterus and can alleviate heavy, irregular menstrual periods. Low-dose vaginal estrogen (cream, tablet, or ring) helps with vaginal and urethral dryness and weakening.
Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy is derived from plants. It's believed to be more like human-produced hormones than synthetic HRT.
Consult your doctor with regard to any potential side effects or health risks associated with medication.
Further Information
Contact the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada at www.sogc.org or 1-800-561-2416.
