Menopause – Tips to Relieve Some of the Symptoms

Menopause is a period of hormonal change where her ovaries stop producing eggs, as this occurs her body produce less estrogen and progesterone that eventually lead to permanent end to menstruation where a woman can no longer bear child. This usually occurs for women between the ages of 40s and 50s, but this can also occur to women in the thirties or late sixties.

Many symptoms arise because a woman’s body produces less estrogen and progesterone over a period of time and this varies among women. Some of the most common symptoms experience by some women may include hot flashes, night sweats, heart palpitations, and insomnia.

Other symptoms may also include severe headaches, short-term memory loss, depression, increase anxiety, irregular periods, mood swings, sensitive to touch, decrease sex drive and diminish pleasure from sexual stimulation, vaginal infections and vaginal dryness.

Some women may experience many of the symptoms and some may experience only a few. However, for most women they are relief that they no longer have to worry about pregnancy, contraception, and menstruation.

Blood test can be used to confirm whether or not a woman is going through this phase. Some of the test involved determining the level of FSH or Estradiol present in a woman’s body. Woman that are going through menopause have FSH level that is greater than 30 IU/L and her Estradiol level is usually less than 110 pmol/L.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) For Menopause

Hormone replacement therapy involves the use of supplemental hormones taken by women who experience the symptoms. Supplemental hormone such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are available in pill form is taken to compensate for the decline in natural hormone production.

The benefits associated with HRT include reducing depression, sleep disturbances and anxiety. HRT increases a woman’s protection against osteoporosis as well as protection from cardiovascular disease for some women. HRT also reduces a woman’s chance of having Alzheimer’s disease, estrogen used in HRT also helps maintain vaginal and urethral tissues and restore pH levels of the vagina.

The side effects associated with HRT include an increase in endometrial cancer associated with extensive use of estrogen. Research also indicates that women who use estrogen for ten years or more have a higher risk of dying from ovarian cancer.

An alternative to HRT is frequent sexual activity that helps maintain vaginal lubrication during sexual arousal. Research discovered that aging women who are more sexually active through intercourse and masturbation experience less vaginal changes than women who are sexually inactive.

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