Menopause and You
Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born. -- Dr. Dale Turner
Menopause: A Primer
Understanding menopause is the key to understanding the natural cycles of womanhood. Menopause is a very standard part of life for women. It occurs as they age. The word menopause describes the symptoms and changes women deal with before and after she stops having a period. Menopause marks the end of a woman's fertility.
A woman's fertility is based on her ovaries' ability to store the number of eggs she was born with and to produce estrogen and progesterone, hormones that regulate the fertility cycle. When menopause occurs, the ovaries are unable to produce those hormones in the quantity that they once were, and the egg is not released each month. As a result, a woman's menstruation stops. Menopause can occur at any age, but it is considered to be a typical part of the aging process when it occurs after age forty. If a woman experiences earlier menopause, it is usually the result of medical interventions like a hysterectomy or damage to the ovaries due to something like chemotherapy. Regardless of what causes this earlier menopause, it is considered to be premature menopause.
The natural menopause process actually begins to occur several years prior to menopause. As a woman ages, her ovaries gradually produce less estrogen. As menopause approaches, this fall in estrogen levels increases dramatically, causing the onset of menopause symptoms. These may include, but are not limited too, irregularity in menstrual periods, lack of sleep, difficulties with mood regulations, bladder control problems, and difficulty with sex drive regulation. Menopause finally occurs when a woman has her final period. Menopause can be diagnosed when a woman has gone for twelve consecutive months without any bleeding. During the years after menopause, most of a woman's symptoms begin to ease, though her body can suffer some ill effects from the loss of estrogen.
You may decide you are experiencing menopause when you begin to notice the symptoms, but your doctor can help you determine your diagnosis. He can run a blood test to check your follicle stimulating hormone count. This rises dramatically as your ovaries begin to shut down. He can also do a pelvic exam to check for vaginal atrophy. Your doctor will need to help you determine if you are on the verge of menopause to decide what steps you should take to deal with the health problems that come after menopause. Osteoporosis is one of the most common health problems associated with post-menopausal women. Because the estrogen levels in your blood decrease dramatically, it is not uncommon for your bones to feel that loss. Not taking good care of your body through proper nutrition and exercise can accelerate this bone decay. Osteoporosis is a crippling disease, but if you identify your risks for it early, you and your doctor can work together to prevent it.
Menopause happens to every woman, no matter what time of life it occurs. It, like puberty, is a natural life process that must be dealt with. See your doctor for information on how to deal with your menopausal symptoms.