What Is Menopause?

Menopause is a natural part of the aging process; it marks the end of fertility in a woman’s life. Menopause may occur naturally anytime between the ages of 40 to 65, but here in the US the average age of menopause is 52 years old. There are some occasions when menopause may occur before the age of 40 years old, if this occurs, it is considered a premature or early menopause and is outside medical norms. Medical conditions, genetic disorders, surgery or medical treatments are all things that may lead to or cause early menopause.

The term menopause is sometimes used to refer to the entire process leading up to the end of fertility, but this is actually incorrect. Menopause is the exact date a woman is no longer fertile, it is the date a woman has her final day of menstruation. However due to irregular bleeding leading up to menopause, this date is not always 100% known, so menopause isn’t considered fully confirmed until one full year without bleeding has passed. This is important to note, because until this one year confirmation time has passed, it may still be possible to get pregnant, so using birth control is necessary if you don’t want to get pregnant.

Phases of Menopause

Perimenopause

This is the beginning of the menopause process; it’s a pre-menopause transitional phase. This phase usually starts about 5 -7 years before menopause, but it can last anywhere from just months or up to 10 years. The symptoms of perimenopause are the same as during menopause. It’s during perimenopause that a woman begins to experience the fluctuating hormone levels that are the main cause of the symptoms associated with menopause, these symptoms are a result of the body adjusting to these changes in hormone production.

Menopause

Menopause is an exact date, it is the last day of a woman’s last period. Once menopause is reached, a woman is no longer fertile.

Postmenopausal

This is the life long phase that a woman remains in once menopause is reached. It’s during this phase that symptoms gradually begin to diminish and eventually disappear altogether.

Menopause Symptoms

The symptoms of menopause will be unique for each woman; there is no “exact” menopause experience. Whether a woman will get symptoms or not is determined by a variety of factors including genetics, weight, diet, exercise habits, smoking habits, drinking too much alcohol or caffeine, culture and racial profile.

This is a list of symptoms associated with menopause:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Insomnia (may be due to night sweats)
• Mood swings
• Vaginal dryness – this may cause pain during intercourse
• Loss of sex drive
• Unwanted facial hair
• Irregular bleeding
• Heart palpitations
• Tinnitus (ear ringing)
• Formication (skin crawling sensation)
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Hair thinning
• Difficulty concentrating
• Memory loss
• Dry skin
• Incontinence – this is usually urine leakage during a cough or while laughing
• Headaches
• Muscle and joint aches
• Osteoporosis

Menopause Treatment

Menopause itself requires no treatment; it’s a normal part of the aging process, however sometimes the symptoms of menopause can get bad enough to require treatment. Some of the symptoms that may require treatment include: insomnia, hot flashes, night sweats, depression and anxiety. However when it comes to menopause symptoms, the severity of the symptoms has to be carefully weighed against the possible side effects and health risks associated with treatment.

Hot flashes

Treatments for hot flashes include hormone replacement therapy (HRT), but due to the side effects of long term usage, this is usually only used for short time frames. Some other treatments that are not FDA improved specifically for the treatment of hot flashes, but have shown some positive results include antidepressants from the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI’s) class, the blood pressure medication Clonidine, and the anti-seizure medication Gabapentin.

Depression and Anxiety

There are several medications available for treating both depression and anxiety, such as Paxil, Prozac, and Wellbutrin for depression and Xanax, Klonopin and Valium for anxiety.

Insomnia

This can be treated with over the counter sleep aids such as Unisom and Sominex, but these are only recommended for short time periods. If insomnia is chronic then prescription strength medications such as Lunesta or Sonata may be an option.

Vaginal dryness

The most common treatment for vaginal dryness is over the counter lubrications such as K-Y Jelly.

Long Term Heath Risks after Menopause

Heart Disease

After estrogen levels go down, the risk of heart disease increases, it is the leading cause of death in both men and women.

Reduce Your Risk

• Eat a hearth healthy diet rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy grains and lean protein and lower your intake of unhealthy fats, salt, junk food and processed foods.
• Exercise. A regular exercise routine burns calories and helps with maintaining a healthy weight. Plus, weight bearing exercise also has the added benefit of decreasing the risk of osteoporosis.
• Maintain a healthy weight. Unfortunately, it becomes harder to maintain a healthy weight and lose weight as we age, but it’s absolutely necessary to maintain a healthy weight as those extra pounds increase the risk of developing diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure, all of which increase the risk of developing heart disease.
• Get regular health screenings. It’s important as we get older to get regular health screening; these “wellness” exams can catch medical conditions in their early stages allowing for early intervention and better long term outcomes.

Osteoporosis

This is a loss of bone density that may lead to brittle weak bones resulting in an increase in bone fractures. The most common breaks associated with osteoporosis are broken wrists and broken hips. Due to slower healing times, broken hips are a serious health problem in older people and may result in a hospital stay and decreased mobility.

Reduce Your Risk

• Make sure you are getting the recommended amount of calcium and vitamin D.
• Do weight bearing exercise to promote bone strength.
• Quit smoking (smokers face an increased risk of osteoporosis).

Incontinence

It’s common among older women to experience sudden urine leakage, especially when laughing or coughing.

Reduce Your Risk

• Do Kegel exercises to increase your pelvic muscles.

Learn how to prevent urine leakage with Kegel exercises by clicking here

Weight gain

Unfortunately it becomes harder to keep and maintain the body we may want. It’s not impossible to stay fit and healthy, but changes are inevitable and it takes more effort as we age. You may have to reduce caloric intake and exercise more just to maintain a healthy weight that was once maintained effortlessly.

Reduce Your Risk

• Start a regular exercise program.
• Educate yourself. Not everyone knows how to eat healthy or what constitutes a healthy portion size, so it may be a good idea to educate you on nutrition.
• Join a weight loss program. Weight watchers is one of the most successful long term weight loss programs out there and one that comes highly recommended, but any program that puts an emphasis of education, portion control and nutrition will work as long as you’re committed to sticking with it.