Natural Remedies for Menopause

Yes, some women have an easier time with menopause than others but does anyone get away scot-free?  My mom and I have had several conversations on the topic – mostly me asking questions to avoid being ill-prepared, ill-informed or worse, misinformed!  She did, however tell me that my grandmother was one of the lucky ones.  She lost her period and that was that.  No flashes, no night sweats, no weight gain, no mood swings, no anxiety, no hair loss, no fatigue, no itchy skin, no burning tongue, NO NOTHING!  Well! This information came as a huge surprise to me and catapulted me into an extensive fact finding (more like fact proving) mission that occupied many hours of my days and now has become my lifelong work.   Here’s what I know now:

Menopausal symptoms effects roughly 85% of women and to set the record straight, in all, there are 34 reported symptoms of menopause.  Clearly the number of symptoms and the severity will be different among individual women, and also among women in different cultures and in different parts of the world.  But women who have joined the sisterhood of menopause are not alone – For the next 20 years, an estimated 40 million North American female baby boomers will experience menopause, and women today are past the point of being told to “just suffer through it”.

Take control of it, before IT takes control of you.

So how does one begin to take control?  Well for starters, get educated.  Take the time to read and understand the changes that your body is (or will be) going through.  Generally people deal better with things that don’t come as a surprise.  Don’t ignore “intuitive” treatments.  Dress in layers, buy a small inexpensive hand held fan and turn down the furnace.  Also avoid food s that are known to trigger a flash – like spicy foods, caffeine and alcohol.   Add foods that contain “phytoestrogens” — like soy, flax, certain beans, peas and lentils – natural remedies for menopause may also help to reduce menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.  It goes without saying that good nutrition and regular physical exercise is a critical component to improved overall health.

Having a positive mind-set has a lot to do with how well a woman adjusts to menopause. If it is viewed as a catastrophic end to youth, fertility and sexuality, it can cause major disruptions in one’s life, and force the temptation to “solve” the problem with treatment options that falsely promise eternal youth.  There are many natural remedies for menopause available.  Look for menopause supplements that are a comprehensive blend of ingredients which includes Black Cohosh and Dong Quai, both which have been shown to tremendously help provide menopause relief.  The risks and rewards of hormone replacement therapy should be carefully considered before undertaking this protocol.  Many women do very well using natural remedies for menopause treatment.  If menopause is seen as the natural transition to the next phase of life, it can not only be readily accepted and more easily handled, but also a liberating rite of passage.

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Now this is going to sound weird to some people but… I’ve tapered off my swearing over the past several years. I left the advertising world – FYI if you’ve working in advertising you’ll know that swearing is commonplace (actually its mandatory) – then I had a baby – FYI you’re not supposed to swear in front of your child.

Anyhoo, I’ve noticed all these health problems since then and I’ve realized that I no longer have my most favorite release… the “F” world.

To me there is nothing more satisfying than the immediate and emphatic release of a good swear word. But alas, I no longer have the appropriate place or audience to provide me with this release.

I can’t do it at home because my daughter is there and my nanny would probably grab her purse and quit in fear.

I can’t do it at work because I work in a children’s hospital and, although I’ve never actually read it in the employee handbook, I’m guessing swearing is frowned upon.

So when I get frustrated I end up clenching my jaw and getting a headache. Normally spewing out a sentence with about 2 or 3 swear words in it would release the bad energy and I could move on very quickly. Now… well… I just get hives and a headache. Did I mention my face is breaking out lately and I’m about this close to wanting to smoke.

I’m really not sure why society has chosen a few words and decided that we shouldn’t say them. Clearly we want to say them. We do say them. And it feels so good to say them. Society let’s us do many other things that are far worse. So I say LET ME SWEAR. I NEED IT. IT MAKES ME A MORE FUNCTIONAL PERSON.

Seriously. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I don’t even eat red meat for God’s sake AND I recycle. At least let say #@*@ just as often and emphatically as Tony Soprano. I don’t ask for much.

I’m not at all a violent person, so a punching bag won’t do it for me. And don’t tell me to meditate because I’ll snap. Perimenopause is a hard enough time to get through. You can take away my coffee, my alcohol and my waistline, but you’re not taking the “F” word from me. No, that’s where I draw the line.

Who’s with me?

Sara has spoken.

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Sometimes I’m so cheap. Can I blame that on hormones too?

I used to think I was frugal. Now it’s just plain cheapness.

Know how I know? I cut my own hair. Yup I do. I also do my own nails – I just don’t understand paying to have someone paint my nails – but I digress…

I started cutting my hair in highschool. I’m actually pretty good, if I do say so myself. I’ve even cut the hair of a few brave friends -OK, mostly guys who didn’t care how it turned out.

But now I have a pretty nifty blunt, bob do and it’s tricky to cut while backwards with two mirrors.

Anyhoo, today I realized that I need a haircut. I contemplated getting the mirrors out and then I stopped myself. I broke down and made an appointment at the salon.

Have I become so complacent, so comfy, so tired, that I don’t even care if my hair looks like I cut it backasswards in the mirror?

I once told a girlfriend of mine to kill me if I ever got that way. (Hello J.C. I’m talking to you).

Well that was me as of this morning. But as of this afternoon things will change.

Time for me to pull it together. Bring back the Me who cared a little more.

Hmm, I may even colour it too…

Until next time.

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Hit the 40s? Watch out for peri menopause symptoms

From The Sunday Times, Sri Lanka, Sunday October 18, 2009

By Dr. Melanie Amarasooriya

It is the time in life when mothers are at their busiest. With the enormous responsibilities they hold in raising a family, working and running a home, often their health is not given enough attention. The slightly changing physiological processes are often passed off as ‘normal at 40’.

Unfortunately, this is the time that a number of physiological changes occur in women in relation to their reproductive systems. If you are around 40, you should be watchful for this is the time to detect those growing abnormalities early. Normally menopause, for many women will occur around the age of 50 years. Yet, significant individual variations will occur, meaning that it may occur at 48 years or even 53. If your mother or sisters had early menopause, the chances are that you may also experience the same.

Even though menopause usually occurs around the age of 50, the ovaries prepare for the impending ‘shut down’ a few years earlier. So from a few years before, you will start feeling the symptoms of declining oestrogen levels in your body. This transition period is called peri menopause and will last for one year from your last period.

How do you know if you are in peri-menopause?

The common symptoms are:

* Menstrual irregularities

* Irritability, mood swings and fatigue

* Sleeplessness

* Vaginal dryness

* Reduced sexual drive

* Hot flushes and night sweats- a sudden feeling of intense heat which encompasses your entire body and may be followed by day or night sweats

* Headaches

* Palpitations

* Lumpy or tender breasts

* Unexplained weight gain

* Urinary incontinence

* Vaginal dryness

Menstrual irregularities at this time could be that the menstrual flow could be heavier or lighter, the time between periods lengthen or shorten, or even become irregular. This could be due to reducing levels of oestrogen and progesterone hormone levels in your body. Some women will experience heavier flow lasting for several days with passing of blood clots.

Pic courtesy passions and soapboxes.com

If you need to change fully soaked sanitary towels every hour for a few consecutive hours, if you pass large clots, if your clothes are wet by the time you wake up or you have to change sanitary protection at night, if your daily routine is disturbed because of the menstrual periods, or if there is a recent change in the pattern you may need to seek medical advice. Menstrual flow lasting more than 7 days is also considered abnormal.

The common reasons are physiological changes that occur during peri menopause, fibroids, non cancerous polyps, and other medical causes like impaired thyroid gland function or hypothyroidism. Rarely malignant changes in the inner lining of the womb/ uterus which is called the endometrium can give rise to abnormal bleeding.

Clinically the doctor will diagnose what the more likely cause is- whether it is a gynaecological problem – that is something wrong in the reproductive system or a medical problem – a problem related to other organ systems like thyroid gland.

Fibroids or non cancerous growths in the uterus/ womb are present in one in every three women above 30. They are harmless and may be asymptomatic, or can cause heavy periods, painful periods, bleeding or spotting in between two menstrual periods. Uterine polyps, again harmless mucosal growths can also cause spotting or bleeding between two menstrual periods or after intercourse.

However one sinister cause for bleeding after intercourse is cancer of the cervix.

Therefore all women after forty who have bleeding after intercourse should take it seriously and seek medical advice, though it could be due to dryness of the vaginal wall.

If you are over 40, have a pap smear test every three years to exclude cervical cancer or predisposing conditions to cervical cancer. Cervical cancer is a common gynaecological cancer and can be cured if detected early.

Thyroid problems can also affect the menstrual cycle, though they occur with certain other symptoms not solely menstrual.

Whatever the cause, in abnormal heavy bleeding, or shorter menstrual cycles, it is wise to check the blood for haemoglobin level, as the blood loss could make you anaemic. At your first consultation with the doctor you need to tell him/her about the other medical conditions you have or other drugs you are taking as they may have a role in your current problem as well.

Then you need to be seen by a gynaecologist, if other medical problems are unlikely causes. An ultrasound scan will help in identifying uterine fibroids. If there are no fibroids or any other obvious pathology, abnormal uterine bleeding after the age of 40, needs endometrial tissue sampling. That is to collect cells from the endometrium to be examined under microscope so that the abnormalities at the cellular and tissue level can be identified.

This may be done by hysteroscopy, but in our country, the commonly performed procedure is ‘dilatation and curettage’ or ‘D and C’. This is now done as a day procedure, and usually patients can get admitted with six- hours fasting and go home a few hours after the procedure.

Depending on the histology report, the treatment will vary.

If there are abnormalities in the report, in the first instance the doctor may offer you medication. But if the changes are significant or pre-cancerous, he would discuss with you the possibility of a hysterectomy or surgical removal of the uterus. If there are multiple fibroids and you do not expect to preserve fertility after 40, hysterectomy is the common answer. However, unless you are close to menopause, ovaries can be conserved to produce oestrogen, a hormone that has many beneficial effects. In patients who are close to menopause, hysterectomy will accompany removal of ovaries as those will anyway give up their function shortly at menopause.

The other important point about peri menopause is that even during this time you can get pregnant, though your fertility is reducing. Therefore, if you are not expecting a baby you need to use a contraceptive method.

Menopause before the age of forty is called premature ovarian failure and is associated with a number of disease conditions like osteoporosis, as the beneficial effects of oestrogen are no longer there. So if you experience early menopause or there are signs that you are approaching menopause, seek medical advice.

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