A natural process of aging – is menopause. Menopause is a change that every woman goes through in her life in different ways. The hormone levels fluctuate gradually in women witnessing menopause. Menopause arrives at different times in different women.
Women experience menopause between the age group of 45 to 55 years. Some are luckier to get through this transition in life smoothly and some might find it quite disturbing in their day to day lives. The estrogen and progesterone levels dip down thereby called as menopause. With this it indicates that the productive years in a woman’s life are getting over. The menstrual cycle comes to a halt and a woman no more can become pregnant.
Has my menopause started?
The onset of menopause is normally with irregular periods. The lining of the vagina and urethra become thinner and dryer followed by burning and itching which increases the chances of vaginal infection. There’s a frequent urge to urinate and sexual intercourse might become painful and uncomfortable.
Hot flash, the most common symptom of menopause, occurs due to the dropping of estrogen levels causing blood vessels to expand faster and increase in the temperature of the skin. Women with this condition have a flushed appearance and sweat. Hot flashes can occur at any time during the day.
Women also get disturbed due to night sweats and tend to wake up suddenly from deep sleep. There’s also some weight gain which is usually around the waist and the abdomen in most women during this period.
The common menopause symptoms are:
- Periods getting irregular
- Dryness in vagina
- Decrease in fertility
- Mood swings and sleep disturbances
- Loss of breast fullness
- Hair gets thin
- Night sweats and hot flashes
- Irritation, depression, and anxiety
- Insomnia
- Spotting of blood between periods
Stages of menopause
Menopause is a transition divided into two stages:
Perimenopause
It is a period in which women start experiencing symptoms while experiencing ovulation and menstrual periods. Periods start becoming irregular accompanied by hot flashes. There is an uneven rise and fall in the levels of reproductive hormones. Periods may be longer. You might become more irritable during this phase of life.
Postmenopause
It is a period when twelve months pass by without any periods. The ovaries no longer release eggs and the production of estrogen and progesterone stops.
Let us understand that menopause is a natural process which every woman has to go through, in her life and naturally, cannot be stopped. Surely the symptoms appearing due to menopause could be taken care of and prevent from getting complicated.
Bones become weak after a woman experiences menopause. Hence during this period, women should take enough of vitamins, calcium, and magnesium to ensure that the bones are in shape and ailments related to bones can be minimized after this period.
Symptoms can also be reduced by:
Avoiding alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods, eating soy foods, slow and deep breathing on the onset of hot flash and going for some relaxing techniques like yoga and meditation, exercising regularly and eating diet with low fat content
