Archive for November, 2009
Symptoms of Menopause
Symptoms of Menopause
Menopause is said to be a disorder in women occurring after the age of 50 years where the ovaries ability to produce the hormone named estrogen decreases significantly and gradually stops. As a result treatment has to be started immediately by the doctor in the form of medications, hormone replacement therapy or surgically removing the uterus. Let us delve further into the symptoms of menopause. The most common symptoms of menopause are vaginal dryness, irregular periods and pain in vagina during intercourse and psychological problems like depression, insomnia and mood swings. The symptoms of menopause can be divided into early symptoms and later stage symptoms. The early symptoms of menopause are: 1) Irregular Vaginal Bleeding – This is one of the most common symptoms of menopause. Some women have excess vaginal bleeding while some women might have minimal vaginal bleeding. The period cycle either gets delayed or gets shortened in the case of menopause. There is no fixed length of time when the woman completes her menopausal transition. Also women who develop irregular menses should get themselves immediately evaluated by their doctor. 2) Hot Flashes and Sweat – Hot flashes may occur at night along with breaking in sweat. As a result sleep is not completed. It is observed that women with hot flashes sweat more at lower temperatures than women who suffer from hot flashes. There is currently no method to predict when the next attack of hot flash will occur. Hot flashes tend to decrease over a period of time. 3) Mood Symptoms – Women suffering from menopause suffer from mood symptoms like depression and sleep disorders. Women are not able to sleep at night due to hot flashes and extreme sweating. As a result women get tired easily. Researchers are trying to bring the symptoms of mood disorders under control. Advanced stage symptoms: 1) Vaginal Symptoms – Vaginal symptoms tend to start after some years of the cessation of menses. Postmenopausal women might experience vaginal dryness, irritation in vagina, pain during intercourse. 2) Osteoporosis – Osteoporosis is said to occur when the bones and the joints become weaker and weaker. Menopause, along with age and hormonal changes leads to osteoporosis. Many times osteoporosis is only detected at the advanced stages of its development and hence is said to be a silent disease disorder till it develops fully. In addition to the above mentioned symptoms of menopause the other symptoms that people suffering from menopause can experience are thinning of hair, increased risk of allergies, excessive weight, irregular body odor and itchiness of skin.
Surgical Menopause
Surgical Menopause
Menopause is a disorder when the ovaries of a woman stop producing an important hormone by the name of estrogen. Pre menopause is a phase in a woman in her mid thirties or early forties when the body’s capacity to produce estrogen goes on declining. As a result the symptoms experienced by women range from irregular menstrual cycles, irritation in the vagina, hot flashes at night and sleeplessness, psychological problems like depression and mood swings. The sugar levels in the body also increase and so does the blood pressure. Doctors often recommend hormone replacement therapy to replace the hormones in the body and bring to a certain level. However if the menopause has reached a later stage then there is no other way but to go for surgery. Surgical menopause involves the removal of ovaries prior top natural menopause. Surgical menopause causes a permanent drop in the ovarian hormones, oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Surgical menopause may also include the removal of the uterus and this type of surgery is called hysterectomy. After the surgery the symptoms of post surgery may start immediately. Hence treatment should be given immediately to the patient after the surgery. There are about 10-20% women who have a hysterectomy but still retain their ovaries and may experience menopause slightly earlier than the average period of menopause. Before going for menopause surgery the doctor will tell the patient to have certain medications few days before the surgery. The surgery lasts normally for half hour and the patient has to rest at the hospital for a day. The next day the patient may go home. The doctor will give a lost of medications to betaken for a few days after the surgery. These medications help to reduce the symptoms that women may face after surgery. Women who have undergone menopause surgery should be well supported emotionally by her family members and specially her spouse. This is because she has gone through a painful and an uncomfortable period in the last few months and hence the support of the family members is extremely essential. Post menopause surgery the patient should take rest for a few days and the slowly return to her normal schedule. She has to take the medications prescribed to her regularly and on time. The patient will have no further symptoms of menopause after the menopause surgery and she can now relax.