What is Menopause?
Menopause – a stage every woman has to face in her life. What is menopause and what you can expect from life after menopause? Every woman has the reproductive period where the body produces eggs every month and when these eggs are fertilized it leads to pregnancy.
But this golden time of reproduction has to end one day. Eventually, there comes a time where the body stops producing eggs and the hormones start to decline. Menopause does not happen overnight. Rather, initially the periods will become irregular and then it completely stops.
When the woman doesn’t get a period for over a year, this stage is called menopause and the journey of postmenopausal begins.
Know the stages of menopause
Pre-Menopause – A very first stage where the hormones start to fluctuate and the menstrual cycles become irregular. Other symptoms may also start to appear like excessive night sweating, heart palpitations, mood swings and many more. Vaginal dryness is also common.
Menopause – If the periods are absent for more than 12 months, then the woman has reached the stage of menopause. There is a drastic decline in the hormone level and the body is no longer producing enough of it.
Post-Menopause – Now the menstrual cycles have completely ended and there is no scope of reproduction and giving birth to the end. The estrogen hormone drops at the level where women undergo several problems for the time period.
What are the symptoms of Menopause?
Every female gets an array of symptoms that may differ from one another. Symptoms depend upon several factors like age, weight, any medical condition and many more. Here is the list of most common symptoms:
- Hot Flashes – Hot flashes are accompanied with sudden flare of heat accompanied with excessive sweating. It may start at the perimenopause stage and can last for a lifetime. However, with the right treatment options it is easily manageable.
- Vaginal Dryness – Low level of estrogen hormone leads to vaginal dryness. It is the painful condition where the natural lubrication of the vagina starts to decline. This condition leads to pain during sex, peeing, or while sitting.
- Changes in Sex Drive – Hormones level regulates the sex drive in females. But the sex drive declines dramatically during the pre menopause stage. This is again because of the inadequate hormone production.
- Insomnia – It is yet another symptom where the sleep patterns are disturbed. The sleep pattern keeps changing throughout life and apart from the hot flashes and hormonal imbalances there could be mental health issues that interfere with the sound sleep.
- Depression – Mood swings and depression could also be due to fluctuations in hormones. A woman undergoes mood swings during different phases of monthly cycles and this is because the hormone level keeps on frequently changing. But after a certain change, there is a constant decline in reproductive hormones leading to increased depression during that phase.
- Weight Changes – Generally, women start gaining weight once they enter the menopause phase. But with a healthy lifestyle and daily workout routine, one can manage the weight issues.
- Urinary Incontinence – Low level of estrogen leads to bladder control issues and urine leaks. There may also be other causes to it but women under menopause feel the urge to urinate right away.
Possibility of pregnancy during menopause
Many women think that they can get pregnant by taking the treatment after the postmenopause stage. But the truth is that perimenopause indicates that the ovary reserve is empty now and no more eggs are there to get fertilized.
Every woman is born with a sample of eggs and each month they release the egg which when not fertilized are moved out of the body through periods. Once the reproductive age is over, that is, there are no more eggs in the ovary; the chances of getting pregnant declines, or say ends.
What health issues women can face after menopause?
Women’s bodies do not get well along with the low levels of hormones in the body. It is ot just the heavy sweating and vaginal dryness that keep bothering for the period, but other major health issues that can impact the quality of life, in case not taken care of.
Osteoporosis
Females need to worry about bone health postmenopausal. They start losing bone dentistry and strength when the estrogen level starts to decline. By the age of 60, many women lose 25% of the bone making them vulnerable to fractures especially in the hip and spine area.
But with the proper lifestyle and diet, one can manage and escape from the brittle bones. Needless to mention, the very first step involves taking the appointment with the doctor, but still there are other ways out:
- Taking the calcium supplement in daily routine.
- Taking the adequate amount of Vitamin D in diet.
- Regular physical workout that strengthens the bones and muscles.
Heart Diseases
Heart diseases are yet another major issue making people suffer. It does not directly impact the heart health, but drops in hormone levels can make people lazy and make people follow a sedentary lifestyle.
As a result, LDL and triglycerides start to elevate and many women are prone to heart disease after 10 years of menopause.
Conclusion
Menopause is an unavoidable phase of women’s lives. Generally, women enter into this phase at around the age of 45. For many, life after menopause is not easy and many women get the symptoms for a while. Either ways it is advisable to consult the gynecologist who can assist with the techniques and medicines to minimize the unusual symptoms.
