Menopause and Menopause symptoms

Posted by admin on February 19th, 2008 at 07:15am

Menopause is considered reached when a woman does not have twelve periods in a row and usually is somewhere past 45 years old. Some people call it the “change of life”. It is a time in a womens life when she can no longer conceive children, as she doesn’t ovulate and produce eggs any more. Menopause is caused or rather started through a hormone change in the female body. The body produces fewer amounts of the hormones progesterone and estrogen.

A womens body undergoes several changes and most women are confused about the symptoms they are experiencing during the lead up to menopause. Symptoms of menopause can be many and varied and affect every woman differently. Some women only experience the stopping of their periods while others experience additional problems. Several common symptoms of menopause include: change of period frequency, hot flashes/ flushes, night sweats, trouble sleeping through the night, vaginal dryness, trouble focusing, being confused, mood swings and sometimes even hair loss or more hair growth in the facial area.

Menopause does directly cause bone loss, but is related to bone loss. Due to changing hormone levels, the bone mass density in the female body decreases and bones are getting weaker. Weak bones can break easier and therefore more women can get osteoporosis after their menopause.

There are many options available to manage and assist with menopause and its symptoms, exercising and a healthy diet are one essential factor to make you feel more comfortable and fit. As a matter of fact, many women do not need any treatment or medical options during menopause. If you do think you need treatment for your menopause symptoms, talk with your doctor or pharmacist about your symptoms and possible medical treatments or herbal remedies that are available.

There is hormone therapy, which is one way of treating and dealing with the more severe menopause symptoms. This therapy was also known as hormone replacement therapy. This is the only FDA approved treatment for such symptoms as hot flashes and dryness in the vaginal area when dealing with severe cases. But before jumping right to the hormone treatment bandwagon discuss this issue throughly with your doctor. There are different hormonal treatments for the different symptom associated with menopause and it is not easy to determine which one might work for you.

Also, hormonal treatment has benefits and risks attached to it, much more than any other regular medication. Should you decide to receive hormonal treatment, use the smallest and shortest amount possible and check with your doctor every few months to determine whether you still need hormones or whether you can stop them.

There are also a few natural treatments that are recommended with menopause. Two of the most common herbal and plant-based treatments are soy and sources of phytoestrogens. Soy contains these chemicals that are estrogens like, but there is no proof that these herbal treatments actually help improve hot flashes or any other symptoms.

Just as with any other medication taking herbal remedies needs to be controlled and should not be combined with medications without consulting your physician.

One of the most important things to know for women is that these symptoms will go away after a certain period of time, so if you find the symptoms too uncomfortable or irritating then consult your doctor or pharmacist for menopause symptom relief.

Under Female Menopause