Female Care

Every woman experiences the period called menopause or climax. It is the specific period in women life when estrogen development by ovaries terminates. Usually it comes at 50 years of age. Objectively it is revealed by estrogen level decrease in blood and menstrual periods termination. Generally the process is individual. Every woman experiences it in a different way. At the average the physiological process starts in women of 45-50 years of age and depends on various factors. Heredity plays a big role. Menopause may start earlier or later.

Menopause is characterized by full termination of female sexual hormones development in the female organism, menstrual cycle disorders (change in discharge amount), change in mucous of vagina (dryness), and uterus reduction. A word ‘menopause’ literally translated from Latin means ‘end of menstrual bleeding.’

Symptoms of menopause may appear about 51 years of age, but may be experienced earlier. The early beginning of menopause does not mean anything, just your organism feature. But women should be prepared for this process physically and morally. For this purpose it is better know some symptoms to reveal the beginning of menopause. Continue reading »

In history, menopause and aging have not always been viewed negatively.  Women often greeted the absence of their period gladly; welcoming a time when they would be free of the burden of childbearing, their time and energy liberated for new things.  Many cultures have revered wise old women. They were sought out for healing or guidance. Not so in our times.  Now it is a put down to call something an old wives tale! It’s a way of saying that something is false, frivolous, or foolish.

First of all, are you really in menopause?  Menopause is defined as the end of your period.  For several years before that happens you will likely experience symptoms of perimenopause, which is the time when your hormones start wildly fluctuating, and your period becomes irregular.  Kind of like being a teenager again, only with wrinkles.

In modern culture menopause is viewed as a medical condition which can be treated.  Current treatments often include hormone replacement therapy, or HRT.   HRT can ease symptoms of menopause such as irritability, anxiety, memory loss, or skin or hair changes.  HRT has also been connected with reduced risk of heart disease and osteoporosis; and can help if you experience vaginal dryness or loss of sexual desire.  But there are risks that have been associated with HRT too.  Some studies have shown a connection to breast cancer, blood clots, high blood pressure and gall bladder disease.  The trend these days is to use HRT for a short focused period of treatment, rather than a long term one, to address the most bothersome and persistent symptoms of menopause, the ones you really cannot live with.

There are many alternative and natural therapies to try if you feel you need help calming the beast.  The first time you feel like Krakatoa getting ready to blow; that you feel puffy, flushed faced and damp, and everyone else looks slender and cool as a cuke; or that you’re jotting your name down and you have to pause for a moment,  to think what it is; you may decide it’s time to explore your options.  It’s actually a great time to think of the wisdom passed on by our ancestors. Our great grandmothers learned about beneficial plants at grandmother’s knee.  Today we can go to the bookstore, health food store, or the internet to find healthy products that are good for menopausal symptoms.

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You’re not crazy! You’re not dying! You’re a woman! Menopause is one of those evil words women pretend not to hear. While menopause is a natural process for the female body, it typically gets a bad rap. The good news is that no one is alone. Menopause happens to every woman on the face of the earth. It simply signals the end of fertility, not the end of energy or vibrance. In order to come to terms with menopause, it is important to understand what the big fuss is all about.

Physical Changes

Menopause usually comes with a set of physical symptoms. While it would be nice to just merrily skip through the change of life without a hitch, it simply isn’t realistic. With menopause comes some unwelcome physical changes. Among those include night sweats and hot flashes, vaginal dryness, sleep irregularity, thinning hair, weight gain, diminishing bone density, decreased sexual appetite, and drying skin. It sounds pleasant right? Fortunately, it’s not all gloom and doom. Some women find it quite liberating to be able to have intercourse without the use of birth control.

Emotional Changes

Emotional changes also take place during menopause. Things such as mood swings, anxiety, and a feeling of loss may be directly related to hormone shifts. These changes, however, may also be directly related to the physical changes associated with menopause. For instance, anxiety may be caused by a lack of sleep. There aren’t many people who could get through a sleepless night without a mood shift.

Perimenopause

Women can experience menopause symptoms as much as 8 years before the end of fertility. It is just the body’s ways of making the transition into menopause. This is called perimenopause. During this time menstrual cycles tend to be irregular. Some women even experience hot flashes. Isn’t it great to be a woman!

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By Brandy Stoner

Most women are apprehensive about the pre-menopause period, and rightly so. There are a lot of changes that take place in the body during that time and most of them are highly unpleasant. A few changes in your daily schedule and food choices can do wonders in combating most of these dreaded symptoms.

There is plenty that can be done to prevent and circumvent most of the unpleasant effects. Here are some simple ways to ease the transition.

Introduce exercise in your daily routine.

Exercise is a must for anybody – young or old. However, for pre-menopausal women, regular exercise is even more important because it eases their mood swings, increases restful and restorative sleep, fights depression, and improves digestion. This is a good time to practice yoga and other such exercises that combine meditation (mental relaxation) along with body fitness for overall health and a sense of wellbeing.

Avoid coffee and caffeine.

This is a time when coffee, carbonated drinks, tea and other such drinks should be avoided as these promote hot flashes. Avoid consumption of alcohol for the same reasons. Carbonated drinks decrease the ability to absorb calcium and may leave you more vulnerable to osteoporosis and tooth loss. Have plenty of fruit juice, vegetable juice, and water. You need plenty of hydration to counter the dryness of the mucus membranes of the body, and juice will replenish some of the vitamins and minerals your body so greatly needs right now.

Consider HRT.

Hormone replacement therapy involves literally putting hormone levels back in balance and sustaining that balance. Though some studies show that this therapy sometimes increases the risk of breast cancer, this method is still the fastest way to get relief from many of the pre-menopausal and menopausal physical symptoms.

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