The menopause occurs in all women. It is a natural process, and a positive attitude combined with expert advice can be very useful in helping you get through it.
Here is some brief information about the menopause. More information is available from your doctor and pharmacist or click on our link sites
What is the menopause?
The female hormone oestrogen is produced by the ovaries which in turn are stimulated by the eggs in the ovaries. When a person has no more eggs in the ovaries or loses the ovaries (eg by surgery) the level of oestrogen in the body starts to drop. This is the start of the menopause.
The level of oestrogens in the body diminishes with time and the rate differs between individuals. The symptoms of the menopause usually happen gradually. Periods may become irregular or stop suddenly and the amount of blood loss may change. The average age for the onset of the menopause is 51 years. Women who smoke tend to experience the menopause earlier than non-smokers. Surgical removal of the ovaries or their destruction through radiotherapy will result in an immediate menopause.
Very occasionally the menopause can happen before the age of 40. This is considered to be a premature menopause and requires medical advice.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
It is encouraging to know that some women have no symptoms other than the ending of their periods. However most women do experience some of the following:
- hot flushes, night sweats, headaches and palpitations
- mood changes such as irritability, depression or anxiety (of course these can be caused by other events in life)
- difficulty sleeping
- skin changes, eg thinner, drier skin and hair, and brittle nails
- muscular aches and joint pains
- loss of interest in sex (libido)
- weight gain
- vaginal changes, eg dryness, pain during sexual intercourse and increased risk of vaginal infections
- urinary changes, eg inability to control urination (incontinence) and increased risk of urinary infections
The reduced levels of hormones can also increase the risk of various health problems in the long term such as osteoporosis (causing the bones to become brittle and break more easily), heart disease and stroke.
What can be done to relieve the symptoms of the menopause?
There are a number of lifestyle measures that you can follow to help cope with the menopause. Regular physical exercise can help improve some symptoms including hot flushes and night sweats, difficulty sleeping and mood changes. It can also help slow down the loss of bone density that occurs with osteoporosis, and reduce the risk factors of heart disease and stroke.
A healthy diet is important, not least because weight gain is associated with the menopause. Your diet should include adequate calcium and vitamin D to help keep the bones strong. At least 700mg of calcium per day is recommended and you can easily get this from milk, other dairy products, tinned fish with bones such as sardines, and leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin D is produced by the skin when it is exposed to sunlight. In the diet, vitamin D is found in oily fish, eggs and some fortified breakfast cereals.
Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis and is consequently not advisable.
Other activities that may promote a sense of wellbeing such as yoga, massage, relaxation exercises, aromatherapy and acupuncture can be helpful for some women.
The key medication for the menopause is hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As the name suggests, this replaces some of the hormones that are reduced during and after the menopause. It usually includes a combination of oestrogen and progesterone. Oestrogen on its own may increase the risk of cancer in the lining of the womb and tends to be used if you have had an operation to remove your womb (a hysterectomy).
HRT can help relieve many of the symptoms of the menopause such as the hot sweats and vaginal dryness. It also reduces the risk of osteoporosis.
HRT can also have side-effects. These include tenderness of the breasts, heavier periods, water retention, weight gain, and depression. Changing the type and dose of HRT may reduce the side-effects, so always discuss the effects of your treatment with your doctor.
Taking HRT for a long time may slightly increase the risk of developing certain conditions, including some cancers, deep vein thrombosis, gallstones, stroke and possibly heart disease
If the menopause is causing you problems you should talk to your doctor about the relative benefits and risks of taking HRT, and other options such as non-HRT treatments.
Finally, you may come across many therapeutic claims made for a variety of ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ products. There is little objective scientific evidence to support most of these claims but if something is relatively safe and you find it helps, then good luck to you.
