Menopause Facts and Information

19 Apr, 2011

Menopause is the term used to identify the stage in a woman’s life when she stops having her periods permanently. Menopause may occur naturally after the woman crosses a certain age (average menopause age is 51 years) or it may occur due to abnormal circumstances such as surgeries, radiation exposure or chemotherapy.

Women Menopause Symptoms

In the simplest of terms, menopause can be described as the stage when a woman’s ovaries stop producing estrogen and thus stop producing and releasing eggs that can be fertilized by the sperm to result in pregnancies. When discussing women and menopause, one must understand that menopause is not just a physical change associated with numerous physical problems, but also that menopause affects the woman’s psychological and mental health as well as her sexual libido. Here are some menopause related facts:

• Due to the lack of estrogen in post menopausal women, the risks of conditions such as osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, UTI (Urinary Tract Infections), genital prolapsed and cardiovascular disease increase.
• Almost 70% of women who have a natural menopause experience general menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and dryness of the vagina; but an alarming 100% of women who experience surgically induced menopause experience them.
• While women do not experience most menopausal discomforts beyond 5 years after the beginning of the symptoms, discomforts associated with the thinned vagina lining and bladder continue to haunt them throughout the rest of their lives.
• Menopause increases the chances of problems with certain estrogen sensitive organs in the body, namely the brain, bones, skin, heart and genitals.
• Most women have a deteriorating sexual libido post their menopause because of vaginal dryness. The decreased blood flow into the vagina and vulva may make sex uncomfortable for women though staying sexually active throughout the menopause can reduce these problems.
• Post menopause and sometimes even during menopause, women may notice that their urinary urges may begin to increases and the rate of urinary stress may be high. This is because the lining of the urethra thins during menopause and the ability to hold back urine lessens. There is also a higher risk of urinary tract infections.
• Menopausal women often experience sleep disturbances due to night sweats and hot flushes. There may also be cases of insomnia amongst such women.
• Most menopausal women will notice in themselves frequent mood swings and sometimes even depression. Menopausal women are often easily irritated and highly nervous.
• Menopausal women may experience concentration problems and notice frequent memory lapses.
• Skin changes such as the appearance of wrinkles and other ageing signs are also possible during menopause.
• Menopausal women notice changes in their breast and experience problems such as breast pain and tenderness. They may even notice breast lumps, nipple color and skin changes and sometimes even nipple discharge.
• Frequent migraines are problem during menopause. Frequent fractures, cardiovascular problems and other such risks also increase after and during menopause.
• Menopausal women may also experience abdominal fat deposits and weight gain. There are noticeable changes in body hair as well.
• Psychological complications may also arise if the menopausal women also experiences things like the loss of a partner, children leaving home and body image issues due to weight gain.

Women may improve their menopausal experience by doing the following regularly:

• Regular exercise
• Healthy diet
• Good, sound sleep
• Weight maintenance
• Stress reducing activities such as meditation and yoga
• Quit alcohol, caffeine and smoking

All women experience menopause after a certain age has passed. Menopause is nothing to dread or fear if you have all the menopause related information and facts.

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