Menopause Symptoms
One of the many naturally occurring conditions women will go through in their lives is menopause. This can sometimes be worrying to some women as obvious changes start taking place. Here you can find out some information that will set your mind at ease as you go through these difficult times. The clinical definition of menopause is when the ovaries stop producing the hormones oestrogen and progesterone and stop releasing an egg thus stopping your menstruation cycle. This can happen naturally or if the ovaries are damaged via some kind of radiation or chemotherapy, or by the removal of the ovaries or uterus with surgery. This can sometimes be called ‘induced’ menopause. Menopause will normally occur to women around the age of 40 with symptoms like hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes or anxiety, loss of libido and period changes- it could become lighter, heavier or more or less frequent, up until the final stage where you have no more periods. This is a natural process that women will go through. You mustn’t worry yourself too much about when or how this will happen as this could cause added stress to your mind and body.
The premenopausal stage is when your hormones are fluctuating and you experience most of the symptoms, leading up to the final stage which is when your periods eventually stop and you stop releasing an egg. The final stage of the menopause is marked after a year of not having a period with some longer lasting symptoms like losing some skin protein (collagen), weakening in the bones tissue meaning your bones become fragile to fractures or breaks as your body productions of oestrogen reduces, and the genital area may become more dry, thin and itchy.
There are few different ways to check if you are indeed going through menopause were a doctor’s visit is not possible. Some home test kits have been found to be particularly useful when you don’t have much time on your hands. Very easy to use SureSign home kits could be found on this website.
Some things you can do to relive symptoms includes having a balanced diet, making sure you include all food groups, for example having plenty fibres such as lentils, beans, chickpeas, oats and wholegrain cereals, your 5 portions a day of fruits and vegetables, having oily fish twice a week like fresh tuna or salmon and reducing your salt, saturated fats, and dairy intakes (or replacing the later with reduced fat dairies). Making sure you get enough exercise in your day is important to keep your heart and body healthy. It is possible to start putting on weight when reaching the menopausal stage so make sure that you are getting 150 minutes of exercise a week to keep you fit and healthy. Always remember to have some personal time or pamper time to relax and rest to prevent feeling down and under during difficult times. There is a Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) treatment that women find useful where their symptoms last between 2-5 years, this eases off some premenopausal symptoms by replacing the lost oestrogen in your body. You can get this by visiting your GP.