Menopause Treatment and Female Health Information Forum

Sarah · Site Admin Joined: 16 Aug 2007 Posts: 7

All About Menopause

All You wanted to know about Menopause - here.

Find out What are peri-menopause and menopause?

Peri-menopause is the transitional time period before menopause occurs,
when a woman still gets her period, but starts to experience changes in her menstrual cycle and some symptoms of menopause. Peri-menopause usually begins about 10 years before menopause. During peri-menopause, the amount of estrogen and progesterone, two essential hormones for women, gradually decreases.
Menopause is a natural part of aging that occurs when a woman’s menstrual cycles have stopped for at least 1 year. Menopause occurs because the ovaries stop producing estrogen and progesterone, or because the ovaries are removed during hysterectomy. The average woman is 51 years old when this occurs.

What are the Symptoms of Menopause

A woman in menopause may have none or several of these symptoms,
including:
• Mood swings or depression
• Vaginal dryness or burning
• Hot flushes or flashes (a sudden experience of intense heat and possible sweating in the upper body or face)
• Pain or discomfort with sexual intercourse
• Joint discomfort
• Problems sleeping
• Urinating more often or feeling that you must urinate as soon as possible
• Difficulty controlling when you urinate (you may feel that you need to
wear a pad to catch any unexpected flow of urine)
• Problems with memory

Menopause: Possible Risks

• Difficulty breathing during sleep
• Urinary tract infections
• Obesity
• Diabetes
• Osteopenia or osteoporosis (thinning of the bones that can increase risk
for bone fracture)
• Osteoarthritis (a decrease in the amount of protective cartilage between
bones that may cause crackling sounds and pain in the joints)
• Cardiovascular risk, including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke
and blood clots
• High LDL or “bad” cholesterol (a substance that carries fat in the blood
vessels that may cause hardening of the arteries and can increase the risk for
several diseases, including heart attack and stroke)
• Memory loss
• Increased risk for cancer, including breast, ovarian, uterine and colorectal

How can you stay healthy during menopause?

• Regular sexual activity and/or masturbation; Kegel exercises, which are
vaginal tightening exercises to prevent urine from leaking; and a lubricant for sexual intercourse
• Regular gynecological and medical checkups
• Annual blood work (to screen for diseases such as diabetes, cardiovas-
cular disease, cancer and thyroid problems.)
• Annual mammogram,Pap smear,screening for vaginal infections and STDs
• Bone density test to assess bone density every 1-3 years.
• Consider a sleep study if your partner notices you snore at night or hears you having difficulty breathing in your sleep.
• Report to your healthcare provider any vaginal bleeding that occurs after
your menstrual cycles have stopped for 1 year.
• Add Natural Menopause Treatment Supplements which help women overcome the symptoms of menopause to your diet.

Therapies to decrease risks and discomforts of menopause

Hormone therapy can help decrease the risk of fractures from osteoporosis, as well as reduce hot flushes, vaginal dryness and discomfort, urinary discomfort, and the risk of colorectal cancer.
However, because hormone therapy can increase the risk of heart attack,
strokes, blood clots, breast cancer and Alzheimer’s disease in women who
have not had a hysterectomy, you need to discuss your own use of hormone therapy with your healthcare provider.
Other therapies that should be discussed with your healthcare provider
include:

• Decreased intake of caffeine, alcohol, concentrated sweets, fats, high-
cholesterol foods and red meat
• Vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B, C, D, E, zinc, magnesium
and calcium
• Diet that includes a variety of green and yellow vegetables, fish, lean
meats, whole grains, dairy products, soy products and plenty of fluids
• A combination of aerobic, weight strengthening and flexibility exercises
• Smoking cessation
• Weight management
• Medications that increase bone density and reduce the risk of fractures
• Herbal menopause remedies
• Psychotherapy for depression
• Communication with your partner about your feelings and sexuality

mickeejon · Joined: 27 Mar 2008 Posts: 5

Menopause is a completely normal phase of life for women, and when it happens in healthy women it is accompanied by certain physical changes which could be distressing, unless the women experiencing them understand why they are occurring. Many myths and untruths have arisen around the subject of menopause, however, including the one that during menopause the ovaries will shrivel and eventually disappear.
http://www.mymenopausecommunity.com/articles/general-menopause-information/perimenopause.html

anne123 · Joined: 07 Oct 2009 Posts: 18 Location: nil

hello,
Very good and very important article you have post.Thank you for that.