Making The Most Out Of Menopause

During what the medical community refers to as "mid-life", both men and women undergo significant physiological changes. Women between the ages of 45 and 65 pass through a period called the climacteric. Menopause, the end of ovulation and menstruation, occurs during that period.

The changes that a woman undergoes during menopause do not affect every woman to the same extent. A survey done by the North American Menopause Society has found that 10 to 15% of the women who experience the changes associated with menopause have viewed those changes as part of a positive progression in the entire life cycle.

Many women have viewed menopause as a time of increased opportunities. As many as 60% of the women who were surveyed saw menopause as a time when they felt freer to try new things. That same percentage of women refused to associate menopause with any suggestion that they had become less "attractive".

Menopause does put a woman in position from which she must act, if she wants to avoid future heart and circulatory problems. The absence of ovulation brings with it a loss of estrogen in the woman's bloodstream. That loss can have serious health consequences.

The loss of estrogen means that the arteries of a menopausal woman suddenly lack access to the chemical that had allowed them to remain pliant. The loss of estrogen puts the woman at an increased risk for clots. It also reduces the level of high density lipoproteins and raises the level of low density lipoproteins.

Following the arrival of menopause, the process of bone loss, a process that started more than 10 years earlier, suddenly occurs at a very rapid rate. In the first five years after menopause, the rate at which a woman experiences bone loss increases annually by 2 to 5%. Women then must act to prevent developing osteoporosis.

The prevention of both heart problems and osteoporosis relies on the behavior of the woman who has gone through menopause. Such a woman benefits from engaging in regular exercise. That will strengthen both her heart and her bones. A low fat diet should help her to avoid serious heart problems. A high calcium diet should help her to maintain the strength in her bones.

Other problems associated with menopause might not respond to exercise and diet changes. Some women struggle with repeated hot flashes during menopause. Some women have trouble sleeping. Other women complain about feeling unexpected discomfort during intercourse.

The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help a woman to deal with the above problems. Use of HRT might also be recommended for a woman who has urinary tract problems following menopause. Some women even feel that use of HRT has helped them to retain a good deal of their memory.

Not all women seek out the relief afforded by HRT. A growing body of evidence suggests that the combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone can increase a woman's chances for developing breast cancer. Some women have sought relief from selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERM).

Treatment of symptoms in menopause

As well as in most all other cases of diseases or illnesses or just as a simple fact, a balanced diet and a good physical workout regime really helps with the passing through menopause.

Symptoms and complications might this way be grately reduced. Still, some recommendations are there for the women to fallow to further increase the chance of not developing complications. Smoking is actually the first thing you should quit doing because the side effects are really nasty. The risk of osteoporosis and hip fractures increases drastically in the case of women smokers. Even worse is the risks of having a heart attack or a stroke. Hot flashes can also be aggravated but this time by caffeine. Really high dosages can even lead to osteoporosis. Clothe should be kept layered to help with the cooling of and heating after the hot flashes. It is the same thing in bed with the blankets.

As said before exercising is a very important fact when dealing with menopause. By just exercising a few minutes a day blood pressure can be lowered, thus reducing the heart attack risk, hot flashes may be relieved this way and even osteoporosis can be prevented. Again this exercises may vary from person to person; while some would just have to walk a few miles a day other should take up aerobics or working out at the local jim.

The simplest of facts can actually greatly reduce the risk of complications and severe symptoms. A few minutes a day in the suns seriously increases the way vitamin D can be absorbed by he body.

Dryness in the vaginal are may sometimes appear. This complication can be dealt with by using lubricants. A hormonal cream could also be prescribed by doctors. Calcium is very important in the cases of menopausal women because it prevents the appearance of osteoporosis a very serious disease for women. Vegetables and usual greens are very helpful with the intake of calcium. Fish or most of the dairy products also help a lot.

Because human are so different one from another, medication treatment should always be discussed with the doctor so that the best treatment can be chosen. The drugs will be prescribed according with the symptoms the woman is having and the level in witch they are manifesting. The most common of the treatments is actually estrogen pills or estrogen patches. Applying this in small dosages can greatly improve the well care of the patients and even prevent other complications like uterine cancer. Side effects are vary rare and are mild in action.