Menopause

Menopause...

Menopause is a natural event in a woman’s life and occurs because a woman’s ovaries start to run out of eggs. A woman has reached menopause when she has not had a menstrual period for 12 months. For most women in Australia, menopause happens between the ages of 45 and 55 with the average age being 52 yrs.

Menopause symptoms are different for all women. Most women will experience symptoms before their menstrual periods permanently stop and this occurs because of a drop in the female hormone oestrogen.

Common symptoms include: hot flush, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, crawling or itchy skin, lowered libido, insomnia and weight gain.

For every 10 women: 2 of these women will not have any symptoms, 6 will have some symptoms and 2 will have very bad symptoms which could interfere with daily activities.

Please discuss treatment options to manage menopause symptoms with our doctor at the Rouse hill Women’s Health Clinic.

What is Menopause?

Menopause is the final menstrual period. Usually you only know you have had your final menstrual period if you have had no period, bleeding, spotting or staining for 12 months, as periods can be irregular, infrequent and light before they finish permanently.

There are three stages of menopause:

Peri menopause – The lead-up to the menopause (running out of eggs)
The menopause – The final menstrual period (no more eggs)
Post menopause – Starts when you have had no periods for 12 months

What happens at Menopause?

Women are born with about a million eggs in each ovary. At puberty about 300,000 eggs remain; by the menopause there are no active eggs left. An average woman in Australia has 400-500 periods in her lifetime.

From about 35 to 40 years, the number of eggs left in your ovaries decreases more quickly and you ovulate (release an egg from the ovary) less regularly until your periods stop.

When does Menopause occur?

Most women reach menopause between 45 and 55 years of age – the average age of menopause for women in Australia is 51-52 years.

Menopause sometimes occurs earlier than expected as a result of cancer treatment, surgery or unknown causes.

Symptoms of Menopause

Symptoms of menopause occur due to a natural, gradual reduction in hormone levels as the ovaries become inactive. these generally include:

• hot flushes, night sweats or feeling hot

• vaginal changes such as dryness and painful intercourse

• mood swings, which may include low mood, anxiety or irritability

• joint or muscle aches and pains

• crawling or itchy skin

• headaches

• lowered libido

• tiredness

• sIeep disturbance, including insomnia

• forgetfulness

• weight gain, especially in the tummy region.

No two women will experience menopause in the same way. Culture, health, previous experience of mood problems, lifestyle and whether you have had a natural, surgical or chemotherapy-induced menopause will all affect the experience of menopausal symptoms.

What can you do to help Menopause?

Seek information. Increase your understanding of what changes are happening and how you can help yourself

Be aware of practical strategies to stay cooler, such as carrying a hand fan or water facial spray and wearing layers of clothing to peel off when you are hot

A healthy lifestyle can help to reduce symptoms of menopause:

- a nutritious diet helps with fatigue and moodiness
- being physically active helps with stress and mood
- reduce alcohol and caffeine intake, as they are known to make hot flushes worse
- weight loss can help reduce hot flushes

Talk to your doctor about menopausal hormone therapy, or MHT (formerly called hormone replacement therapy, or HRT), used to ease menopausal symptoms in healthy women;risks and benefits should be considered when deciding with your doctor whether to use MHT

Seek advice on complementary therapies that may help

Look after your emotional health along with your physical health

Depending on your symptoms, you may like to see a general practitioner, a gynaecologist, endocrinologist (hormone specialist), registered naturopath, psychologist or dietitian.

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