What happens during menopause? well, most women at the milestone of 40 may be thinking about it. Menopause is a natural event that every woman goes through this. Some may have smooth menopause but some may have a stormy course. The end of your menstrual cycle happens during menopause.
Menopause is a state of transition where the ovaries in a woman stop producing eggs resulting in a falling estrogen level. Women might experience symptoms or notice changes to their menstrual periods at menopause. About 8 out of 10 women may have some menopausal symptoms. These symptoms are mainly because of the low estrogen level. Let’s get into a detailed study of menopause.
COMMON MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS:
You will notice any or all of the symptoms listed below when you are approaching menopause:
Hot flashes:
This is a very common menopausal symptom happening in 3 out of 4 women. Woman has flushing of the face, neck, and chest with profuse sweating. She also feels chest tightness and weakness during the episode. This starts sometime before menopause and persists for several years.
Profuse sweating:
This commonly occurs at bedtime disturbing sleep.
You may have other symptoms like
*Frequent headache
*Irritability
*Insomnia(difficulty in sleeping)
*Anxiety and Depression
*Palpitation
*Joint pain and general body ache
*Loss of sexual drive(libido)
*Urinary incontinence
TYPES OF MENOPAUSE:
Signs and symptoms help many women to detect whether they are in the menopause transition stage or not. Menopause can be categorized into two types
Natural menopause:
This happens as part of natural aging when the woman is in her 45 to 55 age.
Surgical menopause:
This happens when ovaries are surgically removed for various indications before her age of natural menopause.
MANAGEMENT:
Diet and Lifestyle advice helps in the improvement of general well-being. These includes
*Weight loss. Reduce your weight with a healthy diet to have proper menopause.
* Cessation of smoking. Smoking may result in early menopause and increased hot flashes.
*Increased exercise. Regular exercise can help you sleep better and battle diseases like osteoporosis and heart disease.
*Reduce intake of alcohol.
The vasomotor symptoms need to be managed according to the severity and background risk of the individual. HRT(Hormone Replacement Therapy) is a boon for these women to improve their symptoms and has to be taken only under medical supervision.
DO I NEED TSETS TO CONFIRM MENOPAUSE:
Menopause can be naturally confirmed with the typical symptoms when the woman is above 45 years of age. Hormone measurements can be useful in special situations but are not done routinely to confirm menopause
Thus to summarise, when you have completed 12 months without a menstruation cycle, then you are in menopause. Menopause is a normal and natural phase of aging. During menopause, some symptoms are common. Don’t get panic just share with your doctor everything you know about your symptoms, and how they affect your daily life. Hence to manage your symptoms and improve your comfort, they can advise you on some medications and treatments.
