By Karen Hartmann
If you are women, whether you are twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, or older, there is a good chance that you may be concerned with menopause. Menopause is often referred to as a transition period in a woman's life. It is the time when a woman's ovaries no longer continue to produce eggs. Essentially, a woman's menstrual period will also stop. Although you may be excited with the fact that you may not longer have to deal with your menstrual cycle, menopause, for many women, can be quite uncomfortable and difficult to deal with.
Menopause most commonly occurs in women between the ages of forty-five and fifty-five. Despite the fact that most women begin to undergo menopause at this time, there are others who will start menopause earlier or later on in life. Honestly, no two women are the same. Although you may experience menopause earlier or later than the norm, you are still urged to be on the lookout for the most common menopause symptoms around the average age of a diagnosis. This may help to make treating the symptoms associated with menopause possible; thus making it easier for to you deal with the transition.
One of the most common menopause symptoms is that of hot flashes. In addition to hot flash, it is not uncommon for women to experience insomnia, night sweats, mood swings, irregular menstrual cycles, decreased sex drive, as well as urinary tract infections. While these symptoms are common in women who start menopause, they are not always present. That is why it is advised that your regularly visit your doctor and speak to them about menopause, especially once you turn forty-five.
Although menopause is most commonly known for being uncomfortable, namely due to the symptoms of it, such as mood swings, hot flashes, or insomnia, there are other things that you may need to worry about it. Menopause has been connected to bone loss, as well as heart disease. That is why it is extremely important that you schedule an appointment with your primary care physician or your OBYN as soon as you notice symptoms or believe that you may be undergoing menopause. Depending on your age, as well as your symptoms, your physician may perform a number of tests to determine whether or not you are undergoing menopause.
In addition to the ending of egg production, menopause is also likely to cause a decrease in hormones. Since, when undergoing menopause, the body often produces less progesterone and estrogen, it is not uncommon for a woman's hormone levels to be tested. This testing will help make a diagnosis relatively easy. Should you be diagnosed as undergoing menopause, it is likely that your physician, whether that professional is a primary care physician or an OBGYN, will work with you to decide the next course of action. The course of action taken will likely depend on your menopause symptoms, as well as your level of discomfort, if there is one.
As previously mentioned, when it comes to menopause treatment, your physician will likely offer you their suggestions or recommendations. One of those recommendations is likely to include hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Although hormone replacement therapy may help you deal with menopause, there are a number of risk factors associated with this popular treatment option. The risk factors, associated with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), include breast cancer, blood clots, and heart problems. You and your healthcare professional should fully examine and discuss these risk factors before you make a decision.
In addition to hormone replacement therapy (HRT), there are a number of other treatment options available to you. What is nice about these treatment options is that you can do them right at home, often with little or no effort. Just a few of the ways that you can relieve or eliminate the symptoms of menopause is by avoiding caffeine and alcohol, wearing lightweight clothing, and by remaining sexually active. Although it is advised that you seek medical attention, if and when you believe that you are starting to undergo menopause, the above mentioned treatment options do not require the assistance of a medical professional, which is one of the reasons why they are so popular and widely used.
About the Author: Karen Hartmann is an expert on menopause, and is also a contributor to http://www.Healthline.com.
|
