Date Added: September 09, 2008 07:54:26 PM
In some women, this occurs suddenly and without warning signs. In others, changes in the menstrual cycle — as well as hormonal, physical and sometimes psychological symptoms, over a period of months or years — herald the impending menopause. The transition period, with its accompanying changes, is called the climacteric or perimenopause.
What meaning do women attach to menopause? In modern society, where an overwhelming majority of pre menopausal women take steps to avoid conception, one might guess that the emotional impact of ending the reproductive years would be either minimal or positive. Paradoxically, this is not the case.
Because society places such a high premium on youth, menopause is associated in many women's minds with a loss of feminity and sexuality, with physical deterioration and with death. These expectations can be self-fulfilling. The menopausal woman should instead look forward to the one-third of her life likely to be ahead.
Many experts attribute menopausal symptoms not just to hormonal changes, but to the variety of social, cultural, and psychological stresses which converge upon a menopausal woman in society: confronting age, the death of parents, children leaving home or the lack of satisfying work. In societies where age is venerated, women experience fewer troubling menopausal symptoms. Knowledge and a positive attitude can help reduce the stress and lessen the symptoms of menopause.
You can prepare for a healthy menopause. In addition to the usual recommendations to promote good health, there are specific things women can do before, during, and after menopause to avoid or minimize the problems above.
1. Learn about menopause: what to expect, what to do, what not to do. Separating mythology from fact in your own mind improves your chance for a good experience.
2. Talk with your mother: Find out what menopause was like for the women in your family and whether there is a hereditary tendency toward osteoporosis, cancer or cardiovascular disease. A word of caution: Don't be frightened by old wives' tales — menopause is not a curse.
3. Exercise routinely: at least half an hour three times a week.
4. Dietary intake should change with age: You need fewer calories, less sugar. You need more calcium, and perhaps other minerals, supplementary vitamins (in moderate doses) adequate protein. Drink plenty of water as this can help to prevent urinary problems.
5. Stop smoking and avoid excessive consumption of alcohol.
6. Satisfying work, in a career or as a volunteer, can enhance your self-image and sense of value to society.
7. Use a lubricant during intercourse to alleviate vaginal dry ness, if necessary.
8. Take care of your body: Control your weight, get plenty of rest and attend to medical problems without delay.
9. If you wish to avoid pregnancy, use a birth control method. Your best choice may change with age. Discuss this with your physician.
10. Consult your doctor for regular checkups and occasional chats to answer your questions.
Regular visits to your gynecologist are vital! Gynecologists can treat menopausal and postmenopausal problems. Replacement of dwindling natural estrogen with estrogen in a pill, injection, or vaginal cream is widely accepted treatment for vaginal thinning, pain on intercourse, hot flushes, osteoporosis and surgical menopause. This is termed estrogen replacement therapy (ERT).
Short-term use of estrogen is considered safe for most women. If treatment for more than one year is indicated, as it often is for osteoporosis, many physicians now prescribe estrogen in monthly cycle with progesterone. The latter is believed to protect against the development of uterine cancer sometimes associated with ERT.
