MENOPAUSE
☐Menoease™
☐Seditol® Plus
☐Body Shapers*
☐Body Shapers Plus*
*yes, both are needed for this time of life
☐Thyro-Mend™
☐Cal-Mag Advantage
☐Stress Release
Menopause simply means the end of menstruation. As a woman ages, there is a gradual decline in the function of her ovaries and the production of estrogen. Around the time a woman turns 40, this process speeds up. This menopause transition is known as perimenopause.
Women typically menstruate for the last time at about 50 years of age. A few stop menstruating as young as 40, and a very small percentage as late as 60. Women who smoke tend to go through menopause a few years earlier than nonsmokers. Most women notice some menstrual changes -- such as a shortening of cycle length (periods occurring closer together), skipped menstrual periods, and occasional heavy periods -- up to a few years before menstruation ceases.
There is great variation in experience of menopause among women. About 75% of women have hot flashes. Nighttime hot flashes are more common and may result in chronic sleep deprivation. Mood changes aren't as well understood, but some women report an obvious change in mood. In addition, women may experience vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, and urinary symptoms. These symptoms are often temporary and pass as your body adjusts. Hormone replacement therapy can help relieve the symptoms in the meantime.
However, menopause does increase your risk of osteoporosis (thinning of the bones) and heart disease. Talk with your doctor about how you can decrease these risks.
Symptoms of Menopause
For many women who enter menopause, their menstrual cycle becomes irregular and then stops, and they don't have any other symptoms. But, for others, the decreasing levels of estrogen associated with menopause may cause more distressing symptoms that include:
- Mood swings
- Decreased sex drive
- Hot flashes
- Sweating
- Racing heart (palpitations)
- Headaches
- Vaginal dryness and soreness
- Trouble sleeping
- Bone thinning (osteoporosis)
These symptoms can last from a few months to up to 10 years.
Stages of Menopause
Menopause is a gradual process. The events preceding and following menopause amount to a huge change for women both physically and socially. Physically, this process has four stages:
Premenopause. Some experts feel that this term should include the entire reproductive period up to the final menstrual cycle whereas others consider it to refer to women on the cusp of menopause. Their periods have just started to get irregular, but they do not yet experience any classic menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes or vaginal dryness. A woman in premenopause is usually in her mid-to-late 40s. If your doctor tells you that you're premenopausal, you might want to ask him or her how he or she is using this term.
Perimenopause. This term refers to women who are in the thick of menopause. Their cycles may be erratic, and they may begin to experience hot flashes and vaginal dryness. On average, women are about 47 when they hit the perimenopause stage.
Menopause. This refers to your final menstrual period. You will not be able to pinpoint your final period until you've been completely free from periods for one year. Then, you count back to the last period you charted, and that date is the date of your menopause. Note: After more than one year of no menstrual periods due to menopause, any vaginal bleeding is now considered abnormal.
Postmenopausal. This term refers to the last third of most women's lives, ranging from women who have been free of menstrual periods for at least one year to women celebrating their 100th birthday and beyond. In other words, once you're past menopause, you'll be referred to as postmenopausal for the rest of your life.