Menopause is a natural period in a woman’s life when her reproductive and menstrual functions are fading. The time of onset of this condition in all is very individual, on average, this occurs after 45 years. Hormonal restructuring directly affects the well-being of women, delivering a lot of “surprises” in the form of various symptoms of menopause. How do these symptoms affect premarin-conjugated-estrogens.com the life and health of women?
Hot flashes is not just the first and most famous symptom of menopause, it is her calling card. Approximately 80% of menopausal women experience so-called hot flushes or, as they also call this condition, “hot flashes”. This is a sudden sensation of heat in the face, neck, chest and hands, which is accompanied by fever, sweating and a feeling of lack of air. The skin may redden or become covered with red spots. Often, dizziness, nausea and tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) can be added to this. Tides are usually short in time. Last from 30 seconds to 2-3 minutes.
By the way, there are tides in men. As a rule, they appear on the background of a sharp decrease in the level of the hormone testosterone. For example, after removal of the testicles or as a result of taking certain medications.
Strong night sweats, in principle, are considered one of the manifestations of hot flashes that occur during sleep. Again, the problem is a shortage of female sex hormones, which have a direct effect on the thermoregulation center located in the hypothalamus.
This part of the brain receives false signals that the body is overheated. As a result, mechanisms for releasing excess heat are turned on and perspiration occurs. It should be noted that hyperhidrosis during sleep can be a symptom of not only menopause, but also some diseases.
The gradual extinction of the hormonal function of the ovaries leads to the fact that menstruation becomes shorter, irregular and scarce. The interval between menstruation increases and may be from 40 to 90 days, and even more. This period is called premenopause. Over time, the monthly stop. If they do not make themselves known, at least a year, then menopause has come.
With age, our body’s metabolic processes slow down, the elasticity and moisture of tissues decrease, and the intimate areas are most sensitive to these changes. The walls of the vagina become flabby, they form cracks, there is a tendency to omission and prolapse of the pelvic organs. One of the symptoms of these changes is the sensation of a foreign body in the vagina. With age, all these troubles only increase. Up to 45 years, they know only 15-30% of women, and after 50 years – already 40%.
Symptoms of menopause for the first time can manifest a couple of months or even years before the last menstruation and be felt for several years. The main reason is a decrease in the amount of estrogen (female sex hormones) in the body.
Sleep problems during menopause are quite common. All the same female sex hormones are to blame for this. The lack of estrogen, which causes hot flashes and night sweats (which interferes with restful sleep), is also accompanied by impaired absorption and metabolism of magnesium – a mineral that is responsible for muscle relaxation.
A lack of another hormone – progesterone – leads to insomnia. After all, progesterone is a natural relaxant, it soothes, pacifies and improves sleep.
Changes in hormonal background leads to such a common symptom of menopause as a violation of the psycho-emotional state. Whining, anxiety, anxiety, irritability, even aggressiveness appear.
Mood swings can be compared to roller coaster rides. Just a minute ago, a woman was happy and cheerful, when suddenly tears came to her eyes. For many women, such emotional outbursts are characteristic during the period before the next menstruation, the so-called premenstrual syndrome. During menopause, these manifestations are more pronounced.
American scientists conducted a study at the Hospital of Massachusetts, which was attended by more than 3,000 women aged 50 to 79 years. The survey showed that almost 28% of patients in one degree or another suffered from panic attacks. Thus, scientists have confirmed that such a mental disorder as panic attacks, is considered a characteristic symptom of menopause.
According to statistics, about 80% of women aged 50 to 60 years remain sexually active. However, it should be noted that the decrease in sexual desire is one of the common symptoms of menopause. There are both physiological and psychological reasons for this. Such menopause symptom as vaginal dryness has already been mentioned.
The mucosa becomes sensitive, thinner and less elastic, therefore sexual intercourse delivers unpleasant sensations, pain, irritation. Intimacy becomes almost impossible. Another reason is chest pains caused by hormonal changes during menopause.
Like most symptoms of menopause, hair loss is caused by a hormonal imbalance in the body. This is a fairly common problem faced by 50-75% of women of menopausal age. But not only hair suffer from a lack of estrogen. In this difficult period for the female body, the nails can exfoliate, become brittle and dry.
A natural decrease in the level of the female hormone estrogen can cause cardiovascular diseases among women in menopause. The fact is that estrogen has a positive effect on the walls of blood vessels, helping to maintain flexibility and elasticity, which ensures free blood flow through the arteries.
Postmenopausal women account for about half of all patients suffering from arterial hypertension. And many of them face this problem for the first time during the period of menopause.
One of the most dangerous symptoms of menopause. After the onset of menopause, the total bone mass decreases, and the bone tissue becomes porous. This leads to the risk of fractures, especially in the wrists, hips, and spine.
During a densitometric examination in accordance with the criteria of the World Health Organization, osteoporosis is detected in more than 30% of women aged 50 years and older. As a rule, the disease proceeds unnoticed. But still, some manifestations of osteoporosis can be noted. This is aggravated during exercise and walking pain in the sacrum and lumbar region, general weakness, and increased fatigue.
Bladder dysfunction is a fairly common symptom of menopause. Deficiency of female sex hormones can lead to a weakening of the pelvic muscles responsible for controlling the bladder, which leads to such unpleasant consequences as urinary incontinence.
An increase in body weight often accompanies the approach of menopause. However, extra pounds are not always a direct symptom of menopause. Various factors play a role. For example, the wrong eating habits and the love of fatty, high-calorie foods.
Some women develop insulin resistance with age, which causes the body to store calories rather than burn them. Another important factor is that as the body ages, the muscle mass decreases and the fatty layers increase.
Very often, a symptom of menopause is a headache. It can be the result of changes in the tone of the blood vessels (vasomotor disturbances), as well as weakness due to hot flashes, insomnia, and stress. Another unpleasant symptom of menopause is muscle tension caused by a violation of calcium metabolism in the body.
Mature women often complain of memory lapses and inability to concentrate. This is a fairly common symptom of menopause, also associated with a decrease in estrogen levels. According to statistics, two thirds of women of menopausal age suffer from such “vagaries” of memory. All problems disappear as soon as hormonal fluctuations smooth out.
It has been proven that women of menopausal age are especially susceptible to the development of allergic reactions and more often than others face the aggravation of an existing allergy. The endocrine and immune systems are closely interconnected, and immunity can respond to hormonal changes by the appearance of new allergic reactions (most often, allergic rhinitis, asthma, and dermatitis).
You can learn about the onset of menopause not only by the main symptoms, but also by using the following tests:
1. Blood test for follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH). This hormone is produced by the pituitary gland and is responsible for the production of female sex hormones. With the onset of menopause, FSH continues to secrete, but the ovaries no longer respond to this by responding to the production of estrogen. So an increase in FSH indicates a climax.
2. Blood test for estradiol, which is the main estrogen in reproductive age. Accordingly, the cessation of ovarian function, which is characteristic of menopause, leads to a decrease in the level of estrogen in the blood.
3. Blood test for luteinizing hormone (LH). This hormone stimulates the final maturation of the follicle, its rupture and ovulation. During menopause, the level of luteinizing hormone in the blood is increased.
The beginning of menopause is a difficult and inevitable period in the life of every woman. And of course, the symptoms of menopause are much more than we managed to mention in a single article. And yet, the approach of menopause in no case should not scare or greatly disturb the woman. Yes, a serious restructuring will take place in the body, which will make itself known by unpleasant symptoms.
However, with timely referral to a specialist and with proper selection of hormone therapy, the manifestation of almost all the symptoms of menopause – no matter how many – can be reduced to a positive minimum. And live, as they say, a full life, without regard to age and physiology!
Is there life after menopause
Yes, unfortunately divorces, even after a long joint marriage, are far from uncommon. Many couples divorce just when children grow up and spouses no longer hold joint obligations. Lack of common interests and conflicts aggravate family relations. Men often complain about the wife’s irritability, poor appearance, weight gain, many say that intimate relationships have gone out of their lives and mutual interest in each other has died. Indeed, after 45 years, it is more difficult for a woman to remain always sexual and attractive, menopause has its unpleasant effects on the body, and this is expressed in sharp mood swings, constant fatigue, decreased libido, weight gain and other unpleasant symptoms of menopause.
“When the menopause began,” says my girlfriend, “I began to feel unwell: I started to feel hot flashes, began to notice that I was often nervous, stopped sleeping at night, after a sleepless night I was broken at my loved ones, because I was very tired. Usually I’m always so calm and restrained, but then I turned into a fury and didn’t understand what was happening to me. I began to get better, like I was no longer eating anything, but there was no trace of the former waistline. Apparently, then my relationship with my husband and began to fail, I was not at all up to him, he treated me with caresses, but I didn’t have time for sex, discomfort appeared – dryness, discomfort inside. What is there to say, probably, is to blame, pushed him away with their refusals. One morning I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that something had to be done with this: a plump, tired, bruised under the eyes – an old woman in general. And there, on the side, a young, pretty girl was spinning around him — so she didn’t keep up … ”
Yes, the problem in the marital relationship during menopause exists. Many women point out that because of the dryness in the intimate area they rarely have sex, because of which the mood and relations with a partner deteriorate and self-confidence is lost. Sleep problems do not provide an opportunity to fully relax and gain strength. Because of this, the body can experience severe stress, which often leads to impaired psycho-emotional state, and hot flashes and sweating greatly reduce the usual quality of life.
But do not perceive menopause with a sharp negative and rejection. Not everyone knows that this period has many positive moments and you can live it with pleasure – without hateful symptoms – and remain quite an attractive woman. Phytoestrogens will help in this special substances contained in medicinal plants. They are similar in their properties to natural female estrogen and at the same time do not have unpleasant side effects, which can be characteristic of synthetic hormones. Phytoestrogens help preserve youth, ease hot flashes and reduce sweating, stabilize the emotional background and help you feel good.
Menopause sexuality – myth or reality?
Many women, having entered the period of menopause, often change their habits under the influence of physiological and emotional changes occurring at this age.
Somehow, suddenly, the desire to please oneself and men disappears, the fervent mood and self-confidence disappears, anxiety appears for one’s health and future. In addition to the common symptoms of menopause (hot flashes, sweating), problems of an intimate nature begin to bother. Because of the dryness of the mucous membrane, discomfort and painful feelings arise during sex, because of this, there is a natural desire to avoid intimacy with a partner, which of course affects both relationships and mood.
But do not get upset and prematurely put on a cross and even more so to refuse intimacy at all. After all, in addition to emotional relaxation and relaxation of the feedback mechanisms, sex regulates and normalizes the level of sex hormones, thereby postponing the aging process.
So what to do to restore sexual activity, regain self-confidence and help the body survive this difficult period of life. Since ancient times, women knew the secrets of healing herbs and plants that help prolong youth and improve health, and only in the 20th century scientists gave the name to phytoestrogens that have a rejuvenating effect. Phytoestrogen molecules are structurally similar to human own estrogens. Accumulating in the body, they can play the role of female sex hormones – they increase libido, prevent women’s diseases – osteoporosis and oncology, reduce the intensity of tides and sweating, help to look good and improve mood.
Now drugs with phytoestrogens can be found in any pharmacy. When choosing such a drug should pay special attention to the composition and quality. For a comprehensive solution of all aspects of menopause, it is better that the drug includes not one, but several medicinal plants with phytoestrogens, and also contain vitamins and minerals that support the health and visual appeal of a woman.