Menopause and Beyond

Aug 27

Menopause is a fact of life that affects every woman around the world. Menopause is an important time in a woman’s life, during which she experiences physical and mental changes as a result of hormonal retuning. Menopause is a period of hormonal change which can occur for most women around their 40s, or for some as late as their latter 50s, but on average , the age is 51.

Menopause is associated with reduced functioning of the ovaries due to aging, resulting in lower levels of estrogen and other hormones. Menopause, whether natural or induced, is called premature when women reach it at age 40 or younger. While the thought of reaching menopause is not comforting to most women, spare a thought for those who have gone through early menopause, sometimes affecting women in their 20’s.

Some of the emotional changes experienced by women undergoing perimenopause or menopause can include: Irritability, feelings of sadness, lack of motivation, anxiety, aggressiveness, difficulty concentrating, fatigue, mood changes, and tension. If you are feeling irritable and sad, there is a good chance it could be related to menopause, but the above symptoms are not linked only to menopause, and can indicate other underlying conditions.

Menopause marks the end of the fertility era for women, and how a woman deals with its onset is an individual thing. Women have to make important decisions about managing the symptoms of menopause, including the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Only a third of menopausal women in the United States try HRT and of those who do, eventually half of them drop the therapy. Not all women need estrogen and some women cannot take it due to adverse side effects.

Some women also report success in using natural remedies to treat the unpleasant symptoms. Many find that yoga can ease menopausal symptoms as it focuses on helping them unite the mind, body, and spirit to create balance.

Women experiencing premature menopause (age 40 or younger) which has not been medically induced, may have the same symptoms, including hot flashes, sleep disturbances and vaginal dryness as women who begin menopause at a typical age. However, compared to women who reach menopause at the typical age, women who experience premature menopause—whether natural or induced— spend more years without the benefits of estrogen, which put them at greater risk for some health problems later in life, such as osteoporosis and heart disease.

Premenopausal women who experience induced menopause (hysterectomy) at an early age, are faced with menopause and its effects without the gradual adjustment time of perimenopause , and many of them also report symptoms of tearfulness, mood swings, and feeling blue or discouraged.

Not everyone will have a problem with menopause symptoms. Approximately one third of all women get no noticeable symptoms other than their periods becoming erratic and then stopping. Another one third of women have moderate symptoms. The remaining one third of women have very strong symptoms which tend to have a longer duration.

The good news is no one needs to suffer with the symptoms of menopause, since in the 21^st century, there are many ways to treat its symptoms. Menopause can be a creative time, and may also be the beginning of a wonderful new phase, which if managed properly, can be a fantastic time in a woman’s life. Post-menopause is all the years beyond menopause, and considering that our life expectancy has been greatly extended, there is a lot of time to put the distress of menopause behind and continue on with renewed energy.