Archive for December, 2009
First Symptoms of Menopause
First Symptoms of Menopause
Perimenopause or menopause is a disorder that begins in women between the ages of 35-45 years. Perimenopause refers to a stage where the capacity to produce estrogen by the women’s ovaries is on a decline. Menopause maybe also defined as cessation of the menses or the end of the normal menstrual cycles for a period of 12 months or more. Menopause is now regarded as a natural ageing process rather than a disorder. So what is the major cause of menopause? Many people have given their views that one of the major causes of menopause is stress. This is because today’s women have become career oriented performing the dual role of fulfilling their job responsibilities as well as looking after her husband and children at home. All this hectic activity and ageing takes its tool on her body and her health and well being is severely affected. The first symptoms of menopause are irregular periods. Either the time difference between two menstrual periods shortens or lengthens from the normal average of 28-30 days. There is extreme irritation in the vagina and sometimes the vagina may bleed excessively. Hot flashes at night and excessive sweat due to hot flashes also feature on the first symptoms of menopause list. Women who suffer from menopause may also suffer from obesity and obesity related issues because of high sugar levels in their bodies. They may also suffer from osteoporosis as their bones and joints become weaker. The other first common symptoms of menopause are a feeling of tenderness in the breasts as well as fibroid tumors. Sleeplessness at night may also lead to psychological problems like depression, tension and mood swings. Feelings of low confidence and doom are common first symptoms of menopause. Women may also suffer from anxiety and memory lapses like forgetting where they have put things, etc. The women’s bodies can no longer handle stress and as a result women get tired easily. there are fewer than normal ovulations which leads to hormone imbalance resulting in many early menopause symptoms. The body’s ability to produce important hormones like estrogen and progesterone receives a serious blow. There is low sex drive and also bloating and headaches during the menstrual period. So how can a woman be able to tell that the symptoms experienced by her suggest early sings of menopause? A woman can take a test with an institute (the test may last for several minutes) to find out whether the symptoms are caused by menopause or not. As a result effective treatment can be started immediately if menopause is detected.
Menopause Relief
Menopause Relief
Menopause is a condition faced by women in their late 40s as the production of the vital hormone estrogen in the ovaries starts to decline at first and then stops completely. As a result a woman is not able to conceive again and treatment is provided in the form of medications and surgically removing the uterus. Let us talk further what can be done for menopause relief. The first and the foremost thing that you as a woman can do is consulting the doctor. The doctor will carry out some tests to find out till what stage menopause has reached and then will decide the future course of action. Menopause relief can be brought in a number of ways and the method of treatment differs from person to person. Hormone replacement therapy is one of the best solutions for menopause relief. The basic idea is to induce the lost estrogen in the body. Research shows that women can take hormone replacement therapy for several years without any worries of getting ovarian, breast or uterine cancer. However long term therapy of hormone replacement may increase the risks of breast cancer besides the side effects. There are also non estrogen medicines like Megace and Clonidine that can be taken by women safely. Megace is used to control hot flashes and Clonidine is used to control blood pressure. Symptoms of menopause can be reduced if the daily food diet is rich in soybean and soybean related products. 40 grams of soybean per day according to research has proved to bring about considerable results in the case of menopause. Exercise is also one of the best solutions for menopause relief. Research shows that aerobic exercises like walking, cycling and even running can bring about positive results for menopause relief. Regular exercise also helps one to stay fit and healthy and it also helps to keep obesity and obesity related disorders like diabetes and high blood pressure under check. The next solution for menopause relief is stress reduction by adopting different methods like stress reduction techniques that improve the overall general health and well being of the patient. There is growing evidence to prove that herbs are beneficial for menopause relief. Herbs like Black Cohosh are used to keep fatigue in check while herbs like Valerian take care of sleep disturbances. However all the herbs do come with their own set of side effects and hence it is advisable to consult a doctor before taking the herbs on a regular basis.
Menopause Treatments
Menopause Treatments
Menopause is a disorder which starts in women between 35-45 years of age where the estrogen producing capability of the body goes on declining. Estrogen is a very important hormone required by the body to make the body immune against a variety of diseases up to a certain extent. There are a lot of menopause treatments available and you should consider a menopause treatment that suits you the best. Let us discuss the different types of menopause treatments. 1) Hormone Replacement Therapy – This is a therapy advised by doctors to replenish hormone levels in the body that have decreased due to menopause. The most common hormones replenished in HRT are estrogen and progesterone. Short term therapy of HRT consists of treatment for 5 years while long term treatment extends to more than 5 years. Long term therapy is provided for alleviating symptoms of menopause and also decreases the risks of developing diseases like osteoporosis and cancer. HRT does not increase the breast cancer or any other related diseases. 2) Diet – Symptoms of menopause maybe decreased with the help of a diet low in fat and high in soy. Soy products contain natural estrogen in the form of phytoestrogens. A diet high in soy proves to 40% to 50% more effective than hormone replacement therapy. Meat substitutes, cereals and seeds are also very good substitutes for reducing menopause symptoms. 3) Exercises – Studies show that aerobic exercises like walking, running and jogging for at least 20 minutes everyday may help reduce some of the menopause symptoms. Regular exercise benefits the body in other ways also by reducing high blood pressure, burning excess fat and making the body fitter and healthier. 4) Stress Reduction – Meditation, yoga and other types of stress reduction exercise go a long way in alleviating the symptoms of menopause. Also general health and well being can also be improved with the help of stress reduction techniques. 5) Herbal Supplements – Herbal Supplements like Black Cohosh are used to treat certain symptoms of like hot flashes while St. John’s Wart is used to treat disorders related to depression. Valerian is sued for sleep disturbances and sleep disorders. It is necessary to discuss the preferred mode of treatment with your doctor. Your doctor will check your condition and stage of the menopause and then suggest the best solution of menopause treatment for you. In the end always be positive and take menopause as a natural ageing process instead of a disorder.