WHY BE AFRAID OF MENOPAUSE?

Menopause is a fact of life that all women will eventually have to face. It, however, does not necessarily have to be something to be feared. A number of resources and options for combating the symptoms of this natural life transition are now available.

What is menopause?
Menopause is simply the permanent ending of a woman's menstrual period. This signals the end of a woman's ability to conceive children, thus marking the end of her reproductive years.

Menopause can be natural or induced. Natural menopause usually occurs in women between the ages of 42 to 58 years, with the average age being 51 years. However, it can occur to women as young as in their 30s and a few as old as in their 60s.

What causes induced menopause?
Several types of surgeries can induce menopause, including:
- Surgical removal of both ovaries, with or without hysterectomy

- Hysterectomy (or the surgical removal of the uterus or the female
reproductive organ)

- Destruction of the ovarian function by chemotherapy or pelvic radiation
therapy. Chemotherapy, a drug treatment to destroy cancer cells, can
alter a woman's hormone levels and therefore cause the onset of
menopause. Depending on the type of chemotherapy, this induced
menopause can either be temporary or permanent. In contrast, pelvic
radiation therapy, which uses high energy radiation waves to kill cancer
cells in the pelvic area, is more likely to bring on permanent menopause.

- Abdominoperineal resection (the removal of the anus, rectum, and parts
of the colon)

- Total pelvic extenteration (the removal of the uterus, cervix, ovaries,
vagina, fallopian tubes, bladder, and rectum), performed when a woman
has a recurring cervical cancer

Induced menopause may increase a woman's chances of experiencing more severe, frequent, and longer lasting symptoms of menopause.

What is perimenopause?
Perimenopause is defined as the phase before and immediately after a woman's last period. Perimenopause can last for approximately 4 years, during which a woman can have prolonged or irregular periods. During this phase, the ovaries will reduce their production of female sex hormones.

What are the symptoms of menopause?
During menopause, a woman's hormone levels rise and fall irregularly, affecting a woman's metabolism, growth, and reproductive systems. These changes manifest themselves in the following symptoms of menopause:

Hot Flashes
Hot flashes are the result of changes in a woman's estrogen hormone levels. As the levels of estrogen drop in a woman's body, her glands secrete higher amounts of other hormones. These other hormones cause the woman's body temperature to fluctuate.

Vaginal Dryness and Other Changes in the Vagina
The walls of the vagina becomes thinner, drier, and more vulnerable to infections. For some, intercourse and sexual stimulations may become increasingly uncomfortable or even painful.

Changes in the Urinary Tract
Changes in a woman's urinary tract may lead to incontinence or leakage of urine. Some forms of incontinence can be treated with medications or may require wearing an undergarment (adult diaper). For some women, an exercise to strengthen the pelvic muscle may also help (see Kegel Exercise Article).

Psychological Changes
Because of their fluctuating hormone levels, some women experience depression, fear and anxiety, mood swings, irritability, nervousness, and insomnia or sleeplessness.

Decrease in Sex Drive or Libido
Some women experience lower sex drive or libido during menopause. This may be caused directly by the changes in the woman's hormone levels and the decreased blood flow to the vagina. Furthermore, changes in the vaginal tissue and the lowered levels of the natural lubrication can make sex uncomfortable for menopausal women.

Increase in Sex Drive or Libido
On the other hand, some women actually experience increased sex drive or libido. These women should be careful to make sure that they are indeed truly cannot get pregnant before giving up their birth control precautions. It is important to keep in mind that during the transition to menopause a woman's period can become irregular. Therefore, the stopping of menstruation for a short period of time may not be a good indicator of a woman's ability (or here, inabiliWhat is the medical treatment for menopause?
Women with severe symptoms of menopause can go on hormone replacement therapy, where female sex hormones of estrogen and progrestin are given in a pill form. A recent study, however, suggested that hormone replacement therapy may not reduce the risk of heart attack - a benefit previously thought to be brought on by the therapy. Instead, the study found a higher risk of heart disease and breast cancer in women taking the hormone pills.

What are some natural treatments for menopause?
The following are somethings you can do to help make this natural midlife transition a smoother one:

Diet and exercise
Certain lifestyle changes can be made to help relieve the symptoms of menopause. For example, it may be helpful to eat vegetables that are high in phytoestrogens, such as soy beans or other soy products. Phytoestrogens may help reduce the intensity of hot flashes. Women should also avoid foods and beverages that may increase the severity of hot flashes, such as alcohol, caffeinated beverages, and spicy foods.

Regular exercise is recommended to help a woman maintain her general health as well as to improve her circulation. Exercises that relieve stress, such as yoga, are believed to be very beneficial in reducing the severity of the symptoms of menopause.

Vitamins
The use of various vitamins can help relieve some of the symptoms of menopause. Vitamin E, for example, is believed to help with vaginal dryness and may offer minor relief from hot flashes.

Herbal supplements
There are a variety of different herbs that are believed to be beneficial in treating certain discomforts associated with menopause. These herbs include:

Black cohosh (Cimicifuga racemosa)
Also known as squaw root, black snake root, and rattle weed, Black cohosh is a plant found throughout North America. It has been used by Native American women to ease the pain of menstrual cramping and other gynecological ailments. Recent studies have shown that Black cohosh may have the ability to help improve various symptoms associated with menopause, such as hot flashes, insomnia, irritability, nervousness, depression, and vaginal dryness.

There are no known side effects associated with the normal use of Black cohosh, although consuming overly large doses may cause dizziness, headaches, nausea, and stomach pain.

Dong Qui (Angelica sinensis)
Also known as Danggui, Chinese Angelica, and Umbellifrae. Dong Qui is a member of the celery family and is a plant native to China and Japan. It has been used for many decades in traditional Chinese medicine to treat female gynecological ailments such as uterine bleeding, abnormal menstrual cycles and bleeding, as well as cramping. It has also been used to help relieve hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause.

Dong Qui may have some rare side effects such as incresaed sensitivity to sunlight.