Menopause

What Menopause Means

Menopause is the point at which women stop ovulating. It happens when the ovaries stop releasing ovum  - usually a gradual process. Sometimes it happens all at once. The menopausal period affects each woman differently. Some start early, some start and stop, but most experience the change around the age of fifty. It usually lasts up to five years. Although estrogen levels drop during the post menopausal period, the hormones do not disappear., The symptoms of hot flashes, dizziness, headache, difficult breathing, shortness of breath, heart palpitaions and depression may be caused by an estrogen deficiency. If one is hypoglycemic, the symptoms are often mor pronounced. Stress puts a burden on the adrenal glands, causing them to overwork. Therefore, the adrenals produce smaller amounts of the hormones that are needed to help reduce the side effects of menopause. Hot flashes can be the result of widespread blood vessl dilation.

Perimenopause is the period of gradual changes that lead into menopause. It affects a woman's hormones, body, and feelings. It can be a stop-start process that may take months or years. "Climacteric" is another word for the time when a woman passes from the reproductive to the non-reproductive years of her life.

The ovaries' production of estrogen slows down during perimenopause. Hormone levels fluctuate, causing changes just as they did during adolescence. The changes leading to menopause may seem much more intense than those during puberty. The intensity may be affected by a woman's feelings about aging, including her reactions to social judgments about aging.

Induced menopause occurs if the ovaries are removed or damaged as in hysterectomy or chemotherapy. In this case, menopause begins immediately, with no perimenopause.

The time after menopause is called post-menopause.

There’s a growing interest in the natural approach to minimizing the effects of menopause. Many women are concerned about the side effects of conventional medicine and are finding herbal solutions meet their needs remarkably well. This is something Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioners have known for thousands of years.

It has been shown that the loss of the body’s ability to produce enough estrogen as it ages is related to a wide variety of illnesses affecting women. Herbal formulations are designed to increase the body’s ability to produce its own estrogen and revitalize body functions. Additionaly we have found some books that have become effective in assisting women through this difficult time.

How Menopause Happens
 
During a woman's reproductive years, the monthly release of eggs from the ovaries provides a continual flow of progesterone and estrogen, hormones necessary to prepare the body for a successful pregnancy.
 
With age, a woman's body no longer releases the stimulating signals that induce ovulation of eggs from the ovaries. The result is a measurable decrease in the associated hormones and accompanying physical signs of normal menstruation. Unfortunately, this decrease in hormones affects the body's ability to maintain calcium levels and an increased loss of minerals from the bones results. The net loss of calcium from the skeleton is a combination of changes in calcium excretion and calcium absorption

Symptoms of Menopause

As most women approach menopause, their menstrual periods become irregular - they happen closer together and/or further apart. Other common symptoms include

• achy joints

• hot flashes

• temporary and minor decrease

• changes in sexual desire in the ability to concentrate or recall

• extreme sweating

• headaches

• frequent urination

• early wakening

• vaginal dryness

• mood changes

• insomnia

• night sweats

• conditions commonly associated with PMS

A woman may have one, some, or none of these symptoms. Symptoms can be very unpredictable and disturbing if a woman doesn't know they are related to menopause.

A woman's experiences during menopause may also be influenced by other life changes

• children leaving homeo changes in domestic, social, and personal relationships

• changes in identity and body image

• divorce or widowhood

• retirement

• increased anxiety about illness, aging, and death

• loss of friends, loved ones, and financial security

• increased responsibility for aging parents

• anxiety about loss of independence, disability, or loneliness

Increasing numbers of perimenopausal women also have young children to care for.

Whatever the cause or circumstance, the conditions women experience before and after menopause are very real and sometimes need medical attention. While 10-15 percent of American women experience no symptoms of menopause, another 10-15 percent become physically or emotionally disabled for various periods of time by some of these symptoms of life changes. And all women face increased risk of heart disease and osteoporosis after menopause.

Benefits

• reduces drying and thinning of vaginal tissue

• prevents osteoporosis

• eliminates hot flashes in some women

• improves energy, mood, and sense of well-being

• improves levels of "good" cholesterol

• may restore sexual desire

• may reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease

• may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer

• may improve concentration and memory

Risks

• may cause symptoms like PMS

• may increase risk for breast cancer

• may have other undesirable side effects,

• decreases insomnia including - vaginal bleeding, bloating, nausea, loss of hair, headaches, itching, increased cervical mucus, and corneal changes that prevent the use of contact lenses

• may increase the risk of heart disease in certain women

Healing options