Menopause
Menopause is the time in a woman's life when her period stops. It is a normal change in a woman's body. Menopause usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55 years with the mean age being 51 years. During the years leading up to menopause, a woman’s body makes less and less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
Symptoms
As a woman nears menopause, she may have symptoms from the changes her body is making. Common signs and symptoms of menopause include:
- Change in menstrual periods
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats (sometimes followed by a chill)
- Trouble sleeping through the night (with or without night sweats)
- Vaginal dryness
- Mood swings, feeling crabby, crying spells (probably because of lack of sleep)
- Trouble focusing, feeling confused
- Hair loss or thinning on your head
- Hair growth on your face
Treatment
Eating a healthy diet and exercising at menopause and beyond are important. Most women do not need any special treatment for menopause, but some women have menopause symptoms that interfere with their life and thus require treatment. There is no one treatment that is good for all women. Menopause symptoms go away over time without treatment, but there’s no way how long that will take.
Menopause treatments may include prescription hormone therapy (HT), but prescription medications are not for every woman. If used properly, HT (once called hormone replacement therapy or HRT) is one way to deal with the more difficult symptoms of menopause. It's the only therapy that is approved by the government (FDA) for treating hot flashes and vaginal dryness. Hormone therapy should NOT be used solely to prevent heart or bone disease, stroke, memory loss, or Alzheimer's disease.
There are many kinds of hormone therapies. Your doctor can provide guidance in what type you should try. As with all treatments, HT has both possible benefits and possible risks; it is important to talk about these issues with your doctor. If you decide to use HT, use the lowest dose that helps and for the shortest time needed. Check with your doctor every 6 months to see if you still need HT.
Herbal remedies for menopause include soy foods and other natural supplements. It is important for a woman to notify her doctor is she is taking any type of herbal treatment for menopausal symptoms as many of these can interact with prescription medications.
Menopause and Bone Loss
When a woman is young, estrogen helps to keep bone strong. When estrogen levels fall at menopause, bones gradually weaken. When bones weaken significantly, the condition is called osteoporosis. Osteoporosis increases the chances of a woman developing a fracture (break) in one of her bones. Hormone therapy is one of the many treatment options for osteoporosis. Bisphosphonates are the most common type of drug used for treatment. Weight bearing exercise and getting adequate calcium and Vitamin D can help prevent osteoporosis.