Everything You Should Know About Menopause

 

Menopause starts at the time when women's menstrual cycles end. Menopause is not a health condition, disease, or disorder. The menstrual period for women roughly begins from the age of 12 and ends in their 40s or 50s. Menopause happens when a woman has had no menstrual period for over 12 months. The average age for menopause to begin will be 52. It occurs in every woman's lifetime, a natural biological process. Some women may develop menopause during certain surgeries.

 

Causes for menopause

Women are naturally born with eggs in their ovaries. Their ovaries make the hormones like estrogen and progesterone that directly controls their menstruation and the eggs' ovulations. When the functioning of the eggs stops, women undergo menopause. Women have around 400,000 eggs by their first menstruation and about 10,000 eggs during their menopause begin. Most eggs die off by a natural process called atresia.

 

Follicle-stimulating hormone, a.k.a FSH, is a substance responsible for ovarian development during the first half of a woman's menstrual cycle. During menopause, the balance eggs will be more resistant to FSH, and ovaries will reduce estrogen production, which controls the eggs' ovulation. Menopause also decreases testosterone production. The loss of estrogen is said to be multiple symptoms during menopause. Doctors usually diagnose menopause only when there is a 12 months skip of menstruation. Also, there are few possibilities to attain menopause earlier than usual, and the causes might be:

·   Family history of early menopause

·   Smoking

·   Underwent hysterectomy (removal of the uterus) or oophorectomy (removal of the ovaries)

·   Underwent cancer treatments 

Symptoms of menopause

Missing periods during menopause are typical and expected. During menopause, menstrual periods will have long breaks, even skips a month. Cutting a period is also a sign of pregnancy. Menopause's symptoms may vary from woman to woman, but the most standard characteristics are:

·   Irregular periods

·   Chills

·   Sweats during the night

·   Change in sleep schedule

·   Gaining weight

·   Dry skin

·   Mood swings

·   Hot flashes

·   Vaginal dryness

·   Hair loss or thinning

·   Loss in breast fullness or sagging breast

Memory decline

People are unaware of memory decline due to menopause. Menopause changes women's brain structure, connectivity, and energy consumption. Menopause is associated with the shrinkage of gray matter in the brain, where we can find nerve cells, and white matter, where we can find the connected nerve cells and fibers. It also decreases sugar levels in the areas associated with perception and memory. A study connected by Cohort aimed to determine whether menopause is related to verbal memory decline. The study was 14 years of a longitudinal, people-based Cohort study. Four hundred three women in this research underwent behavioral, yearly endocrine, and cognitive assessments from their pre–post-menopause. Women in the premenopausal stage did well on their repeated tests of processing speed, verbal memory, and working memory. As they were going through perimenopause, their test average declined gradually.

Preventative measures & treatments

Preventative measures

Menopause is unavoidable since it is a natural part of being a woman. But they can prevent some common symptoms and other possible complications. Every woman must make a healthy lifestyle change while nearing menopause—a nutritious diet, regular exercise, proper sleep, maintaining bone strength, and normal blood pressure. 

Treatments

Mainly, menopause requires no treatments. But, there are specific treatments to focus on relieving symptoms and signs or even managing some chronic conditions that might occur during aging; those treatments are:

·   Hormone or estrogen therapy is one of the most effective treatments for relieving hot flashes during menopause. Doctors recommend this treatment depending on the family's medical history.

·   Vaginal estrogen will relieve vaginal dryness. Vaginal tissue absorbs a small amount of estrogen during this treatment and helps to reduce vaginal dryness, distress with intercourse, and a few urinary symptoms.

·   Low-dose of antidepressants helps to manage hot flashes or mood swings for those who cannot undergo estrogen therapy for health reasons.

·   Gabapentin is a drug that helps treat seizures and night-time hot flashes.

·   Clonidine is a patch or a pill that helps treat high blood pressure and might provide some relief with hot flashes.

·   Osteoporosis medications help to reduce the risk of bone loss or fractures. 

We care for women's wellness!

At Optimists, we care for women's wellness. Our free online doctor consultation allows every woman in need to consult a doctor regarding their medical conditions. We also provide various self-blood tests that women can rely on to keep track of their health in privacy. With Optimists, taking care of women's health and wellbeing wouldn't be easier.  

References

·   Menopause basics

·   Estrogen

·   Hysterectomy

·   Oophorectomy

·   Menopause Effects on Verbal Memory: Findings From a Longitudinal Community Cohort

·   Cohort study

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