|
When a woman’s reproductive system
slows down and eventually stops around the age of 50, this is called a
menopause. Menopause occurs as the ovaries stop
producing estrogen, causing the reproductive system to gradually shut
down.
Each and every one of the aged females has to pass through the period of
menopause.
|
Menopause Symptoms:
Heart palpitations
Dizziness
Uneasiness
Decreased sex drive
Feeling of vomiting
Sleeplessness.
Headache
Excitement
Worries
Loss of concentration
Gloom
Pain in joints
Dryness of the skin
As the body adapts to the
changing levels of natural hormones, vasomotor symptoms such as hot
flashes and palpitations, psychological symptoms such as depression,
anxiety, irritability, mood swings and lack of concentration, and atrophic
symptoms such as vaginal dryness and urgency of urination appear.
|
 |
Together
with these symptoms, the woman may also have increasingly erratic
menstrual periods. The clinical features of menopause are caused by
lessening amounts of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in the
woman's body.
|
Menopause-Vasomotor
instability
* hot flashes, hot flushes, including night sweats
* sleep disturbances
|
Menopause- Urogenital
atrophy
* itching
* dryness
* bleeding
* urinary frequency
* urinary urgency
* urinary incontinence |
Menopause- Skeletal
* osteoporosis
* joint pain, muscle pain
* back pain
|
|
Menopause-Skin, soft
tissue
* breast atrophy
* skin thinning
* decreased elasticity
|
Menopause-
Psychological
* mood disturbance
* irritability
* fatigue
* memory loss
* depression |
Menopause- Sexual
* decreased libido
* vaginal dryness
* problems reaching orgasm
* dyspareunia |
| |
A drop in your
estrogens levels can cause you to lose bone mass, but you can easily
counter this by exercising your bones. Before the onset of menopause,
ovaries of the ladies secrete sex hormones (estrogen). During menopause
this estrogen which is continuously circulating in the blood gets reduced
to the significant extent. Because of the reduction in the level of
estrogen the pituitary gland in the brain has to secrets more gonadotrophin hormones maintaining the balance in the body.
Premature menopause (or
premature ovarian failure) is defined as menopause occurring before the
age of 40; it occurs in 1% of women. some women enter menopause at a
younger age, especially if they have had cancer or another serious illness
and undergone chemotherapy. Other causes of premature menopause include
autoimmune disorders, thyroid disease, and diabetes mellitus. Premature
menopause is diagnosed by measuring the levels of follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH); the levels of these hormones
will be higher if menopause has occurred. Rates of premature menopause
have been found to be significantly higher in fraternal and identical
twins; approximately 5% of twins reach menopause before the age of 40. The
reasons for this are not completely understood. Transplants of ovarian
tissue between identical twins have been successful in restoring
fertility.
One
of the foremost menopause symptoms seems to be weight gain and a change in
the overall shape of your body. Though you may not be so happy about this,
it is important to keep in mind that this weight gain is normal and to be
expected.
Reports show that, the 80 % of ladies who
are approaching menopause suffer from uneasiness, lot of perspiration and
unnatural bodily heat. This uneasiness and hotness is felt because the
proportion of estrogen has decreased. Such uneasiness persists every time
from half a minute to five minutes. This feeling of heat and perspiration
results from chemical changes that take place inside the body when
perspiration evaporates; one also feels trembling due to cold.
Some women easily adopt
the changes with no discomfort, while others feel uncomfortable and often
unwelcome sensations as their body adjusts to a new chemical balance.
Considering
menopause can last for five years you will probably want to do everything
you can to minimize the unpleasantness.
Yoga keeps body and mind in sound health. Ladies practicing yoga practice from their middle-age period they
hardly notice the onset as well as the passing away of the menopause
period. Yoga can help to alleviate or eliminate many of the
sometimes-uncomfortable physical and emotional feelings associated with
menopause.
Complementary and
alternative therapies
In the area of
complementary and alternative therapies, acupuncture treatment is
promising. Some studies have noted a slight benefit from soy
isoflavones.
Inverted
postures and Pranayama are particularly helpful of hot flashes because
they cool the body and fill it with energy and life force.
Diet
for Menopause:
Include
Fresh fruits and vegetables.
Milk --- maintain the level of calcium in the body.
Drink lot of water that will stabilize the effects caused by the liquid
discharge out of the glands.
Reduce the intake of salt in food.
know more about
Diet.
Obviously following measures
gives relief, such as drinking cold liquids and removing excess
clothing layers when hot flashes strike, and avoiding hot flash triggers
such as spicy foods, may supplement or supplant the use of medications/
treatment for some women.
Botanical (herbs/
herbal) and other dietary supplements can interact with prescription and
over-the-counter drugs, affecting how the body reacts.
Note:
If the effect of menopause
is very serious or in greater proportion, doctors give estrogen in such
conditions for hormonal replacement therapy; but such a treatment makes
ladies prone to cancer of breast or uterus.
More information on Menopause:
Menopause in other species-
Unlike humans, other animals rarely experience menopause. This may simply
be due to their comparatively shorter lifespans.
Andropause- is a medical
phenomenon, similar to the female menopause, that can affect men between
the ages of 40 and 55.
Key Points
* Many women have few or no symptoms related to menopause, or feel
that their symptoms are not enough of a problem that they need to seek
treatment. Some symptoms traditionally seen as menopausal may be related
to aging in general.
* Menopause should not be viewed as a disease, according to the SoS
conference panel.
* For many years, menopausal hormone therapy (MHT; in the past, it was
called hormone replacement therapy or HRT) was the primary treatment for
troubling menopausal symptoms. Recent studies have found increased risks,
however, for certain serious health problems from prolonged use of MHT.
* Women with severe or long-lasting symptoms of menopause that have not
been adequately relieved in other ways should consult their health care
providers about their personal risks and benefits for using MHT. Certain
lifestyle changes can also be helpful.
* There is very little high-quality scientific evidence about the
effectiveness and long-term safety of CAM therapies for menopausal
symptoms. More research is needed.
* It is very important for women who are considering or using CAM
therapies for any health concern to discuss them with their health care
provider physicians, doctors. This is to help ensure safety and a
comprehensive treatment plan.
Research
Feasibility and acceptability of restorative yoga
for treatment of hot flushes
|
A few
Alternative Therapies |
|
List of branches of
alternative and Complementary Medicine |
|
-
Acupuncture
-
Auriculotherapy
-
Korean hand acupuncture
-
Medical acupuncture
-
Meridian therapy
-
Sonopuncture
-
Acupressure
-
Alexander Technique
-
Osteopathy
-
Unani
medicine
-
Traditional Chinese medicine
-
Affirmations
-
Affirmation Visualizations
-
Applied kinesiology
-
Apitherapy
-
Aromatherapy
-
Astrology
-
Auriculotherapy
-
Autogenic Training
Facial diagnosis
-
Faith
healing
-
Fasting
-
Feldenkrais method
-
Feng
shui (creating a soothing, tranquil renewing environment)
-
Chinese food therapy
-
Functional medicine
-
Gua
Sha
-
Hair
analysis (alternative medicine)
-
Hand
analysis
-
Hawaiian massage
-
Healing touch
-
Health
psychology
-
Herbal
crystallization analysis
-
Herbology
-
Herbal
therapy
-
Holistic living
-
Holistic medicine
-
Homeopathy
-
Bach
flower remedies
-
Flower essence therapy
-
Isopathy
-
Homeo
wave therapy
-
Hypnosis
-
Hypnotherapy
-
Natural Health
-
Natural therapies
-
Diet and Food
-
Dietary supplements
-
Exercise
-
Organic Foods
-
Home
remedies
-
Natural hygiene
-
Naturopathic medicine
-
Nutrition
-
Botanical medicine
-
Hydrotherapy
-
Minor surgery
-
Manipulative therapy
-
Pharmacology
|
-
Neuro-Linguistic
Programming
-
Nutritional healing
-
Nutritional supplements
-
Omega-3 fatty acid
-
Organic Diet
-
Orgonomy
-
Orthomolecular medicine
-
Pilates
-
Plum
blossom (Chinese medicine)
-
Polarity Therapy
-
Prayer
-
Psychosocial interventions
-
Psychic surgery
-
Bates
Method
-
Biologically Based Therapies
-
Bates Method
-
Chinese food therapy
-
Macrobiotic lifestyle
-
Orthomolecular medicine
-
Body-Based Manipulative Therapies
-
Body
work or Massage therapy
-
Breathing Techniques
-
Integrative medicine
-
Iridology
-
Journaling
-
Light
Therapy
-
Magnetic healing
-
Medical acupuncture
-
Medical intuition
-
Medical Qigong
-
Meditation
-
Sclerology
-
Seitai
-
Soil
bath therapy (Mrittika snan)
-
Somapractic
-
Support groups
-
Suseunghwagang (meditation breathing)
-
T'ai
Chi Ch'uan
-
Tantra
massage
-
Thalassotherapy
-
Therapeutic horseback riding
-
Theta
Healing
|
-
Mega-vitamin therapy
-
Meridian therapy
-
Moxibustion
-
Music
therapy
-
Five
Elements
-
Seven
star
-
Trigger point
-
Tui na
-
Zang
Fu theory
-
Meridian therapy
-
Shiatsu
|
|
