What is menopause?
When you haven’t had a period in over a year and can no longer become pregnant naturally, you’ve experienced menopause. While this change in your body can bring a welcome end to the menstrual cycle, a number of uncomfortable symptoms often accompany it. These symptoms often begin before your last period and continue for years after it. While the average length of menopausal symptom continuation is four years, some women experience these symptoms for over a decade.
The symptoms of menopause include:
- Irregular periods
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Trouble sleeping
- Weight gain
- Mood swings
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Vaginal dryness
- Reduced mental clarity
- Reduced memory
- Joint stiffness
- Changes in hair, including hair thinning or hair growth in new and unexpected places
- Headaches
- Reduced sex drive
- Overactive bladder
- Urinary incontinence
What causes menopause?
Over time, your body produces fewer reproductive hormones (i.e., estrogen and progesterone). By the time you reach your late 30s, production of these hormones – which regulate your menstrual cycle – has begun to decline. As a result, you may notice changes in your period – and in your overall body – in your 40s. As your body produces less estrogen and progesterone, you eventually stop getting your period altogether. The average age for the body to stop having a menstrual cycle is 51.
That said, most women experience menopausal symptoms during perimenopause, or the years leading up to their last period, and well into post-menopause, or the years after their last period.
How are menopause symptoms treated?
Fortunately, women today have a number of different options for restoring their quality of life before, during, and after menopause. Hormone therapy, for example, can be used to replace the hormones that your body has stopped producing, minimizing your symptoms.
Certain medications can be used to treat specific symptoms, too. For example, sleep medications can help with insomnia, while selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can minimize hot flashes. If you’re dealing with menopausal symptoms that are lessening your quality of life, the team at Fresno Women’s Care can help you identify the best treatment for your specific wants and needs.
If you would like more information about menopause and your treatment options, don’t hesitate to call Fresno Women’s Care or schedule your appointment online today.
