For some of us, menopause can be a very sensitive subject to talk about but I hope with some additional information, you will not only get more comfortable with the topic but also be able to educate other women about it. In this article we will discuss how hormones and menopause are related and the ways in which we can “balance” ourselves out.
Menopause
Not all women know exactly what menopause is so I am just going to give you a simple definition of it. Menopause is the period in a woman’s life when her period stops coming. You may have heard some women talk about “the change” because this is what it is sometimes referred as. When a woman goes through this change her body produces less of the hormone estrogen and progesterone. Most women go through their change between the ages of forty five and fifty five years old. What most women do not realize is that in order to be considered in menopause, you have to not have had a period for a total of twelve months in a row.
Hormonal Therapy
In order to help with some of the menopause systems such as hot flashes, some women choose to have HRT or Hormone Replacement Therapy. Of course this method does have certain risks associated with it. Consult with your doctor to see if hormone therapy is something that they think would benefit you. Although they may allow to use this option, they may still advise that you use very low doses and only use it short term. Hormone therapy is FDA approved and it can bring a lot of relief to woman going through menopause especially if she has a lot of symptoms.
Risk Factors
The known associated risks of using hormone therapy for a woman in menopause include strokes, heart attacks, breast cancer, gall bladder disease and cancer. These are some very serious risk factors so you and your doctor alone should make the decision as to whether or not hormones are the best way to go in your case. There are many different kinds of hormones that can be used for menopause but they all pretty much work the same regardless of the form they come in. Studies are still be conducted on whether or not there are more “natural” approaches to treat menopause such as herbs.
Avoiding Hormones
If you are a woman who does not wish to use hormone therapy then that is quite all right because there are many other women who feel the same as you. If you would like to avoid using hormones altogether you might have to go through a lifestyle change. You should become a more active individual by walking, jogging, bike riding; any exercise will be good for your body. If you are a smoker, now is the time to stop. You should work with a nutritionist to create a diet that will work for you and help control your weight. As a woman it is extremely important for us to maintain a good weight as we get up in the years because it gets harder to lose after awhile. Be sure to have regularly scheduled visits with your doctor even when you do not seem to be in any apparent pain. Take care.
Are you going through menopause and want to stay active, healthy, and feeling like yourself? Don't wait another minute to relieve menopause symptoms and start a diet plan that works for your life!
