Menopause

Alternative Names

Menopause

What is Menopause

Menopause is a natural biological condition characterizing by the end of menstruation and fertility. It usually occurs 12 months after your last menstrual period. Some symptoms of menopause can disrupt your sleep, sap your energy and make you sad and lost.

Signs and symptoms

Women typically reach menopause when they do not have a menstrual period for 1 year. But symptoms can begin several years earlier. They are:

• A change in periods - shorter or longer, lighter or heavier, with more or less time in between
• Hot flashes and/or night sweats
• Trouble sleeping
• Vaginal dryness
• Mood swings
• Trouble focusing
• Less hair on head, more on face

Possible complications

In some cases, you have a great risk of developing medical conditions after menopause such as:

• Cardiovascular disease caused by reduced levels of estrogen
• Osteoporosis that makes bones to become brittle and weak, leading to fractures.
• Urinary incontinence due to reduced elasticity of the tissues in your vagina and urethra
• Weight gain. Many women gain weight during the menopausal period. You should eat less and exercise more to maintain your current weight.

What causes

Your body has its own time line for when menopause will begin and how long it will last. But certain changes in your life and medical treatments can cause an earlier menopause:

• Smoking. Women who smoke reach menopause 1½ years earlier than non-smoking do.
• Radiation therapy to or removal of the pituitary gland
• Chemotherapy
• Radiation therapy or other treatment to the abdomen or pelvis that damages the ovaries so that they no longer function
• Genetic and autoimmune diseases
• Removal of both ovaries (oophorectomy) which causes sudden menopause
• Living at high altitudes
• A vegetarian diet
• Low body fat (body mass index of 25 or less)

Prevention

You cannot prevent menopause, but you can manage the symptoms. You should eat a healthy food to reduce risk of some symptoms of menopause. Calcium and Vitamin D is vital to prevent additional bone loss and reduce risk of bone-related fractures and breaks. A diet full of fruits, vegetables, natural forms of soy like tofu, tempeh and edamame and whole grains is recommended. Regular exercising is also necessary. You should avoid smoking, because it will help to decrease the occurrence of hot flashes and some of the other symptoms associated with menopause.

You may practice yoga or meditation to preventing the anxiety, stress and mood swings that may come with this period of life.

Treatment

There is no necessity to treat menopause, because it occurs naturally. You can treat some of the painful symptoms.

Menopause treatment can be multifaceted approach that contains element of both Western and Complementary Medicines. The most common treatment approach is Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) which balances levels of estrogen and progesterone into the body by using synthetic hormones. HRT may also prevent bone loss and reduce risk of colon cancer. But HRT can increase risk for endometrial cancer and heart disease. Deciding whether to use HRT or not is a personal decision. You should discuss the safeness of the treatment with your doctor.