HOW TO COPE WITH PREMATURE MENOPAUSE
What Is Menopause?
Premature Menopause Natural Treatment. Menopause is a normal condition that all women experience as they age. The term “menopause” can describe any of the changes a woman goes through either just before or after she stops menstruating, marking the end of her reproductive period.
What Causes Menopause?
A woman is born with a finite number of eggs, which are stored in the ovaries. The ovaries also make the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which control menstruation and ovulation. Menopause happens when the ovaries no longer release an egg every month and menstruation stops.
Menopause is considered a normal part of aging when it happens after the age of 40. But some women can go through menopause early, either as a result of surgery, such as hysterectomy, or damage to the ovaries, such as from chemotherapy. Menopause that happens before 40, regardless of the cause, is called premature menopause. Premature Menopause Natural Treatment in Ghana.
How Does Natural Menopause Happen?
Natural menopause is not brought on by any type of medical or surgical treatment. The process is gradual and has three stages:
- Perimenopause . This typically begins several years before menopause, when the ovaries gradually make less estrogen. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last 1 to 2 years of perimenopause, the drop in estrogen quickens. At this stage, many women have menopause symptoms.
- Menopause. This is the point when it’s been a year since a woman last had her last menstrual period. At this stage, the ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and making most of their estrogen.
- Postmenopause. These are the years after menopause. During this stage, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes ease for most women. But health risks related to the loss of estrogen rise as the woman ages.
What Conditions Cause Premature Menopause?
Premature menopause can be the result of genetics, autoimmune disorders, or medical procedures. Other conditions that may cause early menopause include:
- Premature ovarian failure. Normally, the ovaries make both estrogen and progesterone. Changes in the levels of these two hormones happen when the ovaries, for unknown reasons, prematurely stop releasing eggs. When this happens before the age of 40, it’s called premature ovarian failure. Unlike premature menopause, premature ovarian failure is not always permanent.
- Induced menopause. “Induced” menopause happens when the ovaries are surgically removed for medical reasons, such as uterine cancer or endometriosis. It can also result from damage to the ovaries caused by radiation or chemotherapy.
Symptoms of menopause Women going through menopause may experience problems with focusing and learning.
Experts say that technically, menopause is confirmed when a woman has not had a menstrual period for 1 year. However, the symptoms and signs of menopause generally appear well before that 1-year period is over. They may include:
Irregular periods
This is usually the first symptom; menstrual pattern changes. Some women may experience a period every 2-3 weeks, while others will not have one for months at a time.
Lower fertility
During the perimenopausal stage of a woman’s life, her estrogen levels will drop significantly, lowering her chances of becoming pregnant.
Vaginal dryness
This may be accompanied by itching and/or discomfort. It tends to happen during the perimenopause. Some women may experience dyspareunia (pain during sex). The term “vaginal atrophy” refers to an inflammation of the vagina as a result of the thinning and shrinking of the tissues, as well as decreased lubrication, caused by a lack of estrogen.
Hot flashes
A sudden feeling of heat in the upper body. It may start in the face, neck, or chest, it then spreads upwards or downwards (depending on where it started). The skin may redden and become patchy, and the woman typically starts to sweat. The heart rate may suddenly increase (tachycardia), or it might become irregular or stronger than usual (palpitations). Hot flashes generally occur during the first year after a woman’s final period.
Night sweats
If the hot flashes happen in bed, they are called night sweats. Most women say their hot flashes do not last more than a few minutes.
Disturbed sleep
Sleeping problems are generally caused by night sweats, but not always. Sleep disturbance may be caused by insomnia or anxiety. Difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep increase as women go through menopause.
Urinary problems
Women tend to be more susceptible to urinary tract infections, such as cystitis. Urinary frequency may increase as well.
Moodiness
Moodiness often goes hand-in-hand with sleep disturbance. Experts say that most mood changes are triggered by poor sleep.
Problems focusing and learning
Some women may also have short-term memory problems, as well as finding it hard to concentrate on something for long.
Other symptoms of menopause can include:
- More fat building up in the abdomen
- Hair loss (thinning hair)
- Loss of breast size
If left untreated, all of the symptoms mentioned will usually taper off gradually over a period of 2-5 years. However, symptoms can persist for much longer. In some cases, vaginal dryness, itching, and discomfort can become chronic, and eventually get worse if left untreated.
Causes of menopause | Premature Menopause Natural Treatment
Estrogen regulates menstruation, while progesterone is more involved with preparing the body for pregnancy.
When the ovaries start producing less of these two hormones, perimenopause will begin. In fact, by the time a woman is in her late 30s the ovaries start producing less progesterone and estrogen. A woman’s fertility starts to decline a long time before she may notice any menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms.
As time passes and the ovaries produce less estrogen and progesterone, the ovaries eventually shut down completely, and the woman no longer has any more menstrual periods. The vast majority of females experience a gradual change in menstrual activity, while some go on normally until they stop suddenly. Premature Menopause Natural Treatment .
Some women may experience premature menopause – their ovaries fail earlier than they suppose to (before the age of 45). Although rare, ovarian failure can occur at any age. Premature menopause may be caused by a number of factors, including:
- Enzyme deficiencies
- Down’s syndrome
- Turner’s syndrome
- Addison’s disease
- Hypothyroidism
- Removal of the ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy surgery)
- Radiotherapy to the pelvic area
- Chemotherapy
- Hysterectomy surgery (the uterus – womb – is surgically removes.
Not all women get all of these symptoms.
How Do I Know When I’m Going Through Menopause?
Either you’ll suspect the approach of menopause on your own, or your doctor will, based on symptoms you’ve told her about. To help figure it out, your doctor can do a certain blood test.
It also helps if you keep track of your periods and chart them as they become irregular. Your menstrual pattern will be an added clue to your doctor about whether you’re premenopausal.
What Long-Term Health Problems Tied to Menopause?
The loss of estrogen linked with menopause, tied to a number of health problems that become more common as women age.
After menopause, women are more likely to have:
- Osteoporosis
- Heart disease
- A poorly working bladder and bowel
- Greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease
- Poor skin elasticity (increased wrinkling)
- Poor muscle power and tone
- Some weakening in vision, such as from cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye) and macular degeneration (breakdown of the tiny spot in the center of the retina that is the center of vision)
Stress can worsen hormonal imbalances
For a menopause treatment to be truly effective, the are other aspects to consider. The ideal balance between estrogen and progesterone is important to a optimal-functioning body. One of the symptoms of menopause or even perimenopause are low progesterone levels which of course can be elevated with some natural products as mentioned above.
There is another aspect of your health that can affect your progesterone levels and that is stress, especially chronic stress. You can really do your hormones a big favor if you try to control certain aspects of life to keep your stress under control. You may even consider some massage therapy to calm down your nervous system.
A number of treatments can help lower risks linked with these conditions. It is important to note that each woman could have either all these symptoms or just a few. Experiences are different. The key to suppressing these symptoms, and dealing with menopause head on, is supplementing your body with the right amount of nutrients (vitamins, proteins, minerals etc). These nutrients, although present in our diet, usual depleted by stress and common medications such as birth control and hormone replacement therapies. Another valuable tip, is cutting out coffee, cola beverages and alcohol, as well as stress. Forever Living Products has several high quality products which when consumed, provides your body with all the required nutrients.