The natural phenomenon
Menopause brings about a permanent cessation of menses in women and occurs in the mid or late fifties. It means end of a woman?s reproductive life. It the time in a woman?s life when the ovaries stop to produce an egg cell very four weeks and the woman is no longer able to bear children Medically, menopause can be defined as an elevated follicle ? stimulating hormone (FSH) level.
In a way, women, especially working women, may welcome menopause as it gives them freedom from uncomfortable monthly periods and anxieties of conceiving.
In this era of availability of quality medical help, women must understand menopause so that it does not become an unpleasant experience.
The female sex hormones are Estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen is important for reproductive functions and other body functions. Ovaries are responsible for the production of these two female hormones. Menopause occurs when ovaries decrease the production of these hormones. Normally it occurs between 45 ? 55 years of age. The average age is 52 years. It may happen early also. If a woman experiences menopause well before 40 years of age the reasons could be ? smoking, exposure to radiation, side effects of anti ? cancer drugs and certain surgery that impairs the blood supply to ovaries. Menopause could also occur with the surgical removal of both ovaries or uterus. This is called surgical menopause.
The onset of menopause:-
As the level of female hormones declines, the regularity of a woman?s monthly cycle is disturbed. This ?change ? over? period may begin 3 ? 5 years before final menstrual period and is called ?peri menopause? During this phase, women may experience a number of symptoms. These symptoms may vary from woman to woman. Some 20% of women have no symptoms at all. For 10% of women the symptoms are mild, while about 20% of women have severe symptoms. Ignorance of the menopause phenomenon may cause anxiety and fear in your mind and may worsen the distress. Hence learn to adapt your self to this natural change.
The symptoms
? As you approach the menopause, your periods may become irregular, you may get a lighter or heavier periods than usual.
? The gap between the periods may start varying than usual, your periods may become more or less frequent, until they stop completely
? Otherwise your messes may continue regularly and suddenly and simply, stop without any signals.
? Please note that if there is any unusual or over bleeding, consult your doctor.
The physical symptoms
Hot flashes: This common symptom affecting 75% of women experiencing menopause. Flashes are unpleasant sensations of heat being released through body resulting in face becoming reddish or appearance of sweat on the face, neck and trunk. You may have palpitations, dizziness and may faint also.
The problem with hot flashes is it may last a few seconds or an hour and its frequency of attack may be a few per month or several per hour. Hot flashes may occur for 1 or 2 years or may linger for more than 5 years. To cope with hot flashes, drink fruit juice or cold water at the onset of flash ? keep the iced water or juice by your bedside at night so that any time you can drink these.
? Use loose, comfortable croton cloths
2) Night sweats
Profuse night sweating may occur, disturbing your sleep. You may have to change cloths or take a shower bath, in the dead of the night. This may cause sleep deprivation not only to you but also to your partner.
3) Vaginal dryness
The vaginal walls, loose their smoothness and elasticity and become thinner and drier. Itching of vagina may be caused and vagina may easily be infected. The absence of lubricating secretions and resultant dryness of vagina can make sexual intercourse difficult and painful. This makes you shun sexual acts.
4) Urinary tract infections
Menopause increases chances of vaginal and urinary tract infections. The embarrassing problem is urinary incontinence. Even a mere cough, exercise, laughing, lifting heavy objects may put pressure on your bladder and cause leakage of small amounts of urine.
5) Other physical symptoms
Head aches, fatigue, muscle aches, gastro ? intestinal problems, tender breasts. Insomnia, weight gain.
Your skin develops wrinkles and hair starts losing its texture. Increase or thickening of facial hair occurs while your hair on the scalp may become thin and scarce.
There may be bone ? loss as osteoporosis may set in.
Emotional Effects
? Coping with the extra burden of physical distress, may make you tired and irritable.
? You may suffer anxiety ? neurosis, forgetfulness, wide mood swings, difficulty in concentration, and unexplained crying.
? Even small problems may cause you stress. You may suffer from depression also.
Other major complications
1) Cardio ? vascular problems
We know there are two types of cholesterol ? the ?good? HDL (High density lipoprotein) and the ?bad? LDL (Low density lipoprotein). These two are kept in proper balance by the hormone Estrogen. But with the onset of menopause, estrogen becomes deficient. This causes imbalances in HDL and LDL levels. This may cause depletion of HDL and lead to cardiac problems which may progressively increase with each passing year of menopause
2) Osteo ? porosis.
Menopause is more responsible for this bone ? weakness ailment than even age. Again lack of estrogen is the cause. Estrogen helps in deposition of calcium in the body. Loss of estrogen causes loss of calcium from the bones. Long term effects are brittle bones and increased chances of bone fractures. The maximum amount of loss occurs in the first 1 or 2 years following menopause. Asian women are more prone to osteoporosis.
3) Alzhemer?s discase
This is a neurological disease, characterized by loss of nerve cells. This results in progressive form of dementia i.e. loss of memory. It can also result in depression.
Allopathic treatment
1. The symptoms of menopause can be alleviated by giving suitable estrogenic hormones either orally, by injections, by implant or transdermally. This is called Hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Since menopause is caused by deficiency of estrogen and progesterone hormones, these hormones are effectively replaced by HRT. The benefits of HRT are
? HRT prevents hot splashes and night sweats
? Restoration of hair and skin texture
? Cardio ? vascular protection
? Restoration of vaginal wall thickness and moisture.
Contra ? indications of HRT
? HRT may cause post menopause bleeding. This could be very distressing, occurring after menopause when menstrual bleeding is supposed to stop.
? HRT may cause breast and uterine cancer
? Liver and gall bladder diseases
? It the patient has high blood pressure, family history of genital or breast cancer, better avoid HRT.
Ayurveda
Ayurveda can offer an effective and safer alternative that overcomes the short comings of HRT treatment. It offers a comphrensive, full fledged holistic approach treating both physical and emotional problems caused by menopause.
Brief note on Ayurveda
Ayurveda is an art and science that utilizes the natural reservoirs of herbs and minerals. Ayurveda can not only cure you but also strengthen you by improving your body?s immune system. The concept of Ayurveda is based on the theory that individuals are comprised of three life forces vata, pitta and kapha, in varying combination so that no two persons are alike. Vata is the motivating energy, pitta is the transforming energy and kapha is the stabilizing energy. Disease occurs when there forces loose their balances.
Ayurveda and menopause
Ayurveda considers that menopause is caused by an imbalance between vata and pitta doshas. As you age there is natural wear of body tissues. This coupled with wrong food habits and overstressed life style increases the level of vata and pitta in your body. These gradually manifest as symptoms of menopause.
Healthy diet and life style are prescribed by Ayurveda along with herbs. These herbs contain phytoestrogens that act like estrogens. They mimic the positive actions of estrogen but are free from their side ? effects. Thus Ayurveda treatment is non ? hormonal but phytoestrogenic way of relieving the symptoms and long term problems.
Tips for living with menopause
? Eat a well balanced diet. Include more of bitter and astringent tastes like dark, green leafy vegetables, beans, potatoes, apple etc.
? Increase consumption of calcium rich foods like curds, skimmed milk, other dairy products, beetroot, cabbage and carrot in order to delay osteoporosis.
? Use sunflower or corn oil in cooking. These help to reduce LDL cholesterol level.
? Avoid pungent, sour and salt foods that increase the heat in your body. Such foods are hot spicy food, onions, garlic, mustard, chilies, Tomatoes, citrus and vinegar.
? Yoga, meditation, and exercises help. Regular exercise is beneficial to you in menopause conditions. At least take a morning walk. But always consult your doctor before you commence physical exercises. Yoga and meditation help in controlling stress.
Menopause is an unavoidable, natural phenomenon. A healthy Ayurvedic life style can make this transition in your life occurs in a more comfortable manner.
