Someone once said that most of the problems women are faced with today are linked to men which includes menstrual pain, menopause, mental disorder…. I will leave that for you to decide if it’s true or not. Today, I will be intimating you on the challenges of menopause. Well, as much as this is not a health problem, the hormonal changes and other factors which are associated with it, that brings about discomfort, makes it a topic worthy of discourse.
As always, let’s start with the definition. Menopause can be defined as a complete year (must be up to a year) without menstrual flow in the absence of any surgery or medical condition that may cause menstrual flow to stop which includes: surgical removal of uterus and ovaries, use of hormonal birth control, over active thyroid etc.
Menopause usually occurs as a natural phenomenon as every woman is expected to go through it, normally within ages of 45–50. When it occurs within ages 40 and below it is referred to as premature menopause. The natural menopause occurs due to natural hormone decline in production by the ovary. The ovary is responsible for the production of all the female hormones including testosterone.
So, as a woman advances in age, there is a decline in these hormones most especially the estrogen and progesterone which are largely responsible for your menstrual cycle. The symptoms that would be experienced during menopause, would be as a result of these hormonal changes.
Menopause can be split into three different stages: Perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause.
A woman begins to notice some changes in her body which can be called menopausal symptoms, in the perimenopause stage. This could continue for up to 10 years before menopause eventually begins. As a woman ages, like I stated earlier, there is a decline in estrogen production which causes redistribution of fat to the front and sides of the tummy and even reduces the body’s ability to burn fat. This is majorly implicated in the cause of weight gain and also responsible for the menopausal belly in women of menopause age. Other symptoms include irregular periods, vaginal dryness, hot flashes (you feel warm all over your body), chills, night sweats, sleep problems, mood changes, weight gain and slowed metabolism.
The menopausal stage is when menopause actually begins which is usually a year without menstrual period/flow.
The postmenopausal stage usually is after menopause has started. Due to the hormonal changes, some people may experience heart diseases, urinary incontinence (not being able to control your urinary outflow) and other health conditions.
Every woman’s menopause experience is unique, for some women it’s mild and bearable while for others it may be very severe that they need to visit the physician.
My humble advice for women as I conclude is this, please watch what you eat as you advance in age, reduce intake of saturated fatty foods, (I gave examples of them in my previous article: seven best ways to keep your heart healthy click here Medium).Always remember you become what you eat.
Thank you for reading.
www.healthline.com Menopause: symptoms, causes, treatment and more
www.menopause.org Treatments & solutions for menopause symptoms
www.webmd.com Menopause: Definition, symptoms, causes and treatment
www.my.clevelandclinic.org Menopause, Perimenopause and Post menopause.
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