MENOPAUSE

Menopause is a period in a woman’s life that starts after her reproductive life has finished and it is characterized by the absence of menstrual cycles i.e. their discontinuation. This usually happens between the age of 45 and 55. However, should there be such as a case as the surgical removal of the ovaries from the woman’s body, menopause can start earlier than that. The ovaries are the true treasure of the female body both for the production of egg cells and the production of the female hormones progesterone and estrogen, which also affect the health of the heart and the circulatory system and protect from osteoporosis as well. Menopause includes both the pre-menopause – the period before a woman has had her last period and the post-menopause- after the last menstrual cycle of a woman. This transitional period is connected not only with the loss of female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) but also the male hormones (testosterone and DHEAS). The symptoms a woman feels in the menopause period are due to the adjustment to the lack of estrogen – the menstrual cycles will become irregular and with sparse or more heavy flow. The other symptoms are:

• Night sweating and heat waves
• Changes in the vagina and urogenital tract: thinning and dryness in the vagina, lack of elasticity, frequent infections and lower libido
• Psychological changes: irritability, mood swings, insomnia, headaches, fatigue and difficulty to concentrate
• Lower elasticity of the skin
• Osteoporosis and heart and vascular conditions

How the woman would endure this transition period greatly depends on several external and internal factors: genetics, the environment, the workplace, the atmosphere at home, stress, diet etc.  Menopause is different for every woman. There are medications that could alleviate the symptoms, such as phytoestrogens (natural based hormones), homeo-therapy, hormonotherapy…