With menopause you will have both good and bad days but get a humorous picture, there are plenty around, and stick it to your fridge door.
I have been through it and believe me humour really helps..here’s one I had stuck on my fridge door.
Menopause generally refers to the permanent end of your menstrual cycle. Your menopause will have commenced once 12 months pass and you no longer get your periods.
This is usually accompanied by hormonal changes in the body and that has a number of symptoms or side effects. Here you will know about all these symptoms, and all other menopause related issues…
First let’s start with…
What is menopause?
Speaking in layman’s terms, it refers to the period when you run out of eggs. As you probably already know every woman is born with a certain amount of eggs – it’s about 2 million.
Your body uses these eggs throughout your life till you naturally run out of eggs. So you are no longer able to bear children because you cannot get pregnant.
This means that your ovary stops functioning, and you stop ovulating.
A womens body itself continues to get the ovaries to ovulate by releasing more of the hormone FSH.
Hormone changes
As such this hormone is naturally produced during your cycle, but after your periods stop, more of this hormone is released. This is just one of the hormonal changes in the body.
Another change is that your body’s estrogen production gets reduced but your body is able to produce a form of estrogen, called oestrone, from the adrenal gland to make sure your body has enough estrogen.
The body also produces estrogen from the fat-cells in the body.
As you can see, on the biological side a lot of things are happening inside your body so it’s natural that you will experience different symptoms because of those changes and processes.
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At what age does menopause set in?
There is no specific age at which it sets in. In fact, it varies from women to women; some experience it in their late 30s, for some it comes as late as their 50s.
Sometimes, it sets in early, then it’s called premature menopause.
What causes premature menopause?
Aside from the natural causes of menopause, there are other reasons why a woman can experience sudden menopause.
Say you have an operation or undergo radiation treatment, or suffer from some autoimmune disease, it could bring about menopause.
In these cases you’re said to suffer from premature menopause. So let’s take a look at these:
Hysterectomy:
If you undergo a partial hysterectomy, where your uterus has been removed but not your ovaries, menopause doesn’t start immediately.
You no longer have periods, but your ovaries still produce eggs. But if you have total hysterectomy, where both your uterus and ovaries are removed, menopause is immediate.
Also, you experience most of the symptoms including hot flashes.
Radiation therapy:
Cancer therapies can also bring about menopause. You will possibly experience the symptoms of menopause during the treatment itself. It could even surface immediately after the treatment.
Primary ovarian insufficiency:
There is the possibility you may suffer from premature menopause before you reach 40 due to a condition called Primary ovarian insufficiency.
This happens when your ovaries fail to release the normal levels of reproductive hormones. It could result from genetic problems, or any autoimmune disease.
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And now to look at the symptoms:
These symptoms manifest during the perimenopause, . Let’s take a look at the symptoms:
- Irregular periods
- Hot flashes
- Excessive sweating at night
- Sleep issues
- Slow metabolism and weight gain
- Loss of fullness of breast
- Thinning hair and dry flaky skin
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood irregularities
- Depression
It’s quite unusual to have your periods regularly right up to the onset of menopause. In fact, even if you do have your monthly cycles, they are bound to be a little off.
That is the sign of a healthy menopausal period. And as such, these symptoms vary from person to person; some might experience a lot of unease. Others might not feel a thing. Additionally, there are also chances of…
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Complications?
These complications usually take place after you’ve hit your menopause. Issues you can face include:
Cardiovascular issues: this is due to decreasing estrogen levels. It’s important to follow a healthy diet and exercise regularly. Your doctor can help you with additional information.
Osteoporosis: following menopause, your bone density might become low, this increases your risk of osteoporosis. It can also lead to fractures.
Urinary incontinence: this happens because your vagina and urethra muscles lose elasticity. This leads to embarrassing leaks and drippage. You could even suffer from urinary tract infections more frequently.
Vaginal dryness: this leads to pain and discomfort while having penetrative sex. Again, your doctor will be the better person to explain this to you.
As you can see, there’s a lot to know about menopause and its related issues.
Here you got just the layman’s explanation; to know more, make an appointment with your doctor. In fact, if you understand that you are experiencing perimenopause, you should start getting regular check-ups.
These along with the correct solutions help you to overcome and sail through most of the menopause symptoms.
It also ensures that you’re better equipped to tackle any complications that may arise.