It comes a time in every woman’s life when her body changes forever and irrevocably: menopause. This may come as an emotional shock to some of us, but I guarantee you that menopause relief is possible and actually, very easy to achieve.
Understand your body
The most important relationship you have is the one you have with yourself. Therefore, in order to make peace with your body, first of all, you must understand how it works and accept its natural course.
Menopause is, in fact, the final destination of a long journey we’re on for a significant period of time. It doesn’t magically happen overnight – our body sends us various signals way before it happens and it is our duty to perceive them. This process is medically known as peri-menopause.
You know you’ve reached menopause after the lack of menstrual periods for 12 months. It is the moment when our ovaries shut down. Each woman has a pair of ovaries that are part of her reproductive system, located on both sides of the uterus. Every month, during the menstrual period, the ovaries release eggs (ova), and they are also the main source of female hormones such as estrogen which help our body to develop.
The average woman experiences menopause at around 50 years old, but this is not a number to count on. There are cases of premature menopause starting in the early 30s or, on the other hand, late in the 60s.
Learn to read your body’s signals
During the perimenopausal transition, you start to experience new sensations. Of course, every woman manifests differently, but there are plenty of symptoms which you will experience depending on your body.
There are two kinds of symptoms you will have to deal with: physical and emotional. As a first lesson, I have put together two lists of the most common symptoms of both types.
Physical symptoms:
- Hot flashes which usually come along with night sweats
- Irregular periods
- Vaginal symptoms such as dryness, itching, irritation
- Urinary infrequency
- Rapid heartbeat
- Weight gain
- Hair loss
- Breast and back pain
- Fatigue – strong feeling of weakness
- Loss of libido
- Trouble sleepingEmotional symptoms:
- Depression
- Mood swings
- Memory loss
- Anxiety
- Panic attacks
- IrritabilityI assured you that menopause relief is accessible for every one of you and that is completely true. It is all in your hands. I will present to you some of the many alternatives you have, in order to help you get an easier start on your way to better health and acceptance.There are several ways to keep your symptoms under control and to make your living with menopause easy. Here are some tricks:
- Hormone therapy – estrogen and progesterone therapy, oral contraceptive pills
- Pharmaceutical medications – antidepressants, Gabapentin, Clonidine (Catapres)
- Alternative medicine – soy isoflavones, Black cohosh, botanical estrogens – phytoestrogens, Red clover, Vitamin E
- Improving your lifestyle – regular exercise, smoking cessation, healthier nutrition.As you can see, the road to menopause relief is full of possibilities for you if you just learn to understand how your body works and what it needs. Make a change, help your body rest and live happily with yourself!