Dealing with Early Menopause Symptoms

Welcome to my ultimate health information site where I write about many general health issues that are important to all of us or a person we love at sometime in our lives.
You can check down the left hand column for the different health articles. Each link opens onto a separate group of articles foccused on that health issue. My latest articles on this page are about the symptoms of menopause.

Menopause as the term suggests means the permanent stop of menstrual cycles. The word “menopause” is derived from the Greek words “meno” meaning month and “pausis” meaning pause. Menopause is actually an indication of the end of the fertile period in a woman’s life as a result of closing down of the ovaries.

Menopause physically is the shutting down of the ovaries but can have several emotional and psychological symptoms as well due to the decrease in the levels of the hormone estrogen and progesterone.

The normal course of events involves the ovaries releasing an egg or ovum every month. The stopping or end of this function is what is referred to as menopause. The stop does not come all of a sudden. Over a period of time an erratic functioning of the ovaries is observed and then slowly it comes to a halt altogether. The menstrual cycle comes to an end after a short period of irregular menstruation.

The average age of menopause is seen to be 51 years, however, it may vary from one woman to another. The generally observed phenomenon is that women in the age group of 45 to 55 years of age are the ones who go through menopause.

First Symptoms of Menopause

The decrease in the levels of the hormone estrogen and progesterone can cause the early signs of menopause such as hot flashes, dryness of vagina, insomnia, osteoporosis, joints pain, back pain, mood changes, fatigue, decreased libido and problems getting an orgasm. The symptoms may be quite severe in some women and can even cause depression or such other conditions.

Treating Menopause

• Hormone therapy is the most significant line of treatment used for treating symptoms like depression, osteoporosis and the like. The hormones like estrogen and progesterone as well as other hormones are supplemented to make up the level of the hormones in your body. Hormone replacement therapy must be carried out under the supervision of an experienced doctor as it may actually have some serious side effects if not administered properly.

• Other than hormone therapy, the use of anti-depressants, counseling sessions and help from support groups are also seen to have a positive effect in handling symptoms like depression and insomnia related to menopause.

• Each symptom that happens in the menopause can be addressed independently by medical practitioners, for instance the symptoms such as vaginal dryness can be treated with vaginal moisturizers and lubricants.

The symptoms and their intensity vary from one woman to another. This has caused the difference in the treatment for menopause as well.

A good balanced diet and regular exercise would be able to cure you of several symptoms associated with menopause. Menopause if handled positively with a positive attitude can actually not be an issue at all. Menopause need not affect adversely your normal course of life. It is only a phase of life like puberty which needs to be handled with care and a lot of support and you would be swinging even during menopause.

Don’t forget about health reference books when looking for information about your specific problem. Your local library is stuffed full of these types of books. Support groups in your community are also great sources of information.
One reference book I keep at home is the Peoples Chemist . I bought it last year and have found it invaluable for checking out symptoms and treatments of every day health problems.

More Menopause Articles:

Dealing with Hot Flashes Menopause
Protection Against Menopause Heart Disease
Menopause Stages
Mood Changes in Menopause
Sexuality During Menopause
Perimenopause Symptoms

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This information is not presented by a medical practitioner and is for educational and informational purposes only