The symptoms of menopause can vary as much as the women they affect. The University of Maryland Medical Center notes menopausal women may have infrequent night sweats and mild mood swings. Others might experience significant depression, debilitating hot flashes and an irregular heartbeat. Fortunately, effective treatments exist--some as natural as including regular activity in your daily routine and using breathing exercises to manage hot flashes.
Identification
During menopause, the ovaries stop producing eggs and your estrogen and progesterone levels drop. This transition typically occurs naturally between the ages of 45 and 55. During this time, menstruation generally becomes sporadic or irregular before stopping altogether. The decrease in hormones causes vaginal tissue to thin and lose elasticity. The vagina actually shortens with menopause, according to UMMC, and changes in vaginal lubrication can cause discomfort during sexual intercourse. Urine leakage and vaginal infections can also occur with menopause. Other symptoms include insomnia, forgetfulness and joint aches and pains.
Types of Therapy
Low doses of antidepressants, such as Paxil or Prozac, can help with mood swings, hot flashes and other symptoms of menopause. Clonidine, normally used for high blood pressure, might relieve hot flashes, as well. The University of Rochester Medical Center reports that gabapentin, or Neurontin, typically used for seizures, might control hot flashes as effectively as estrogen replacement.
To control menopausal symptoms with lifestyle, UMMC recommends you avoid caffeine and spicy foods. They note that Kegel exercises, often used after pregnancy, help to strengthen muscles in your vagina and pelvis. Slow, deep breathing might decrease the intensity of hot flashes. Try for about six breaths per minute when you feel one coming on. Relaxation techniques used in yoga or tai chi, plenty of exercise and adequate calcium and vitamin D in foods or supplements might also be effective.
Considerations
Hormone replacement therapy, once a mainstay in treating menopausal symptoms, increases the risk of breast cancer, heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots. As of February 2010, the National Institutes of Health states that data indicate a woman’s risk of heart disease more than doubles within the first two years of taking combination hormone therapy, or estrogen and progestin. Researchers plan clinical trials regarding the effects of estrogen therapy alone. The NIH recommends you speak with your doctor and carefully consider the risks versus benefits of taking combination hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms.
Other Effects of Menopause
Generally, symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause gradually fade over time. However, decreased estrogen levels in postmenopausal women increase the risk of developing osteoporosis, elevated cholesterol and heart disease. Your health-care provider might want to do blood tests and other diagnostic studies to determine your current cholesterol levels or bone density, and recommend treatment based on those findings. Otherwise, UMMC suggests you eat a low-fat diet and consider making resistance exercises part of your routine, since they can strengthen bones.
Expert Insight
Most of today's women will live 25 to 30 years after menopause, according to Womenshealth.gov. Investigating how your body will change during menopause and discussing therapy options with your health-care provider may mean a smoother transition into this new phase of life. Specific treatment based upon your symptoms, overall health, family history and lifestyle will help to safeguard your health in the decades to come.
