The Menopause Aging Process Is All About Your Hormones.

What Is Menopause?

Many women misunderstand the process of menopause. Though the term “menopause” is often used as a blanket statement referring to all the stages of menopausal transition, menopause technically isn’t reached until periods have fully stopped for 12 months. Most women enter menopause between the ages of 40 and 55 naturally, as their bodies approach the end of fertility and ovulation ceases. However, some women experience early menopause, due to surgeries such as full hysterectomies and total oopherectomies (the removal of the ovaries). In addition about 1% of women in the United States experience early menopause onsetting before the age of 40 due to autoimmune conditions, cancer treatments, thyroid problems, or other medical reasons.

The Symptoms of Menopause

Each woman will experience different symptoms of menopause – often to varying degrees. One of the most troubling and telltale symptoms of menopause are hot flashes – unpredictable rises in body temperature that can be accompanied by sweating, nausea, disorientation and even panic.

Many women also experience psychological and emotional symptoms of menopause, as hormone deficiencies affect mood-regulating chemicals in the brain such as serotonin. For these women, rapidly shifting mood swings, depression and anxiety can also become hallmarks of the hormonal imbalances associated with menopause. The irregular periods that occur as women approach menopause not only stem from the same hormonal imbalances – but can often exacerbate mood as hormones fluctuate further during irregular menstrual cycles.

How Long Do Menopause Symptoms Last?

For women who enter menopause naturally, symptoms tend to appear gradually over time, often peaking during the period known as perimenopause. However, for women who have entered early or medically-induced menopause, symptoms of menopause can strike suddenly, and tend to be more severe. Many women experience menopausal symptoms during the years prior to fully entering menopause. Recent studies have shown the duration of menopause symptoms can last well into post-menopause, in some women up to 10 years.

How Do I Know If I’ve Entered Menopause?

Most women notice their transition into menopause by the emerging of obvious symptoms – but some women experience symptoms that are so slight, they attribute them to other causes. If you have been experiencing irregular or skipped periods, you may want to consult your doctor about the possibilities of perimenopauseor pre-menopause . If you have not menstruated for a year, chances are extremely strong that you have already transitioned into menopause.

One way in which your physician can help you gauge where you are in your menopause journey is through a simple measure known as an FSH test. Since the onset of puberty, your brain’s pituitary gland releases FSH, known as the Follicle Stimulating Hormone. This hormone stimulates ovarian activity, preparing the body for ovulation during your fertile years. As you approach menopause, FSH levels begin to climb, due to the body’s increasingly difficult – or futile – attempts at stimulating ovulation. This process occurs as the ovaries stop producing eggs due to declining estrogen levels. As a result, the closer women are to menopause, the higher their levels of FSH will generally be.

Understanding the Stages of Menopause

Though menopause officially occurs with the year-long cessation of periods, the journey through menopause is truly a process. In order to facilitate understanding of the stages of menopause, experts have broken down the process into three main phases: pre-menopause, perimenopause and post-menopause.

• Pre-menopause

  Generally entered in the late 30s or early 40s, pre-menopause marks the earliest signs of the menopausal transition. Symptoms begin to show during this time period, but generally begin to arise gradually, starting out as less frequent and less severe.
  

• Perimenopause:

  During the years surrounding menopause, symptoms of menopausal hormone imbalances tend to worsen and often peak. This phase, known as perimenopause, literally means “around menopause” and refers to the time period leading up to menopause (the full cessation of fertility, marked by 12 consecutive months without periods). Women often remain in this stage as they transition into menopause, since menopause cannot be definitively reached until a year has passed since the last menstruation. Of course, many women experience menopausal symptoms as they wait for this time to pass – leaving them technically in perimenopause until the one-year mark.
  

• Post-menopause:

  From the point when menopause has been officially achieved, women are considered to be post-menopausal. Post-menopause technically refers to the lengthy time of life after menopause – but is most often used to describe the period where symptoms of hormonal imbalances linger.

Menopause Symptom Treatment Options

Whether you’re dealing with frequent hot flashes, night sweats, irritability or itching, menopause symptoms can range from distracting to disturbing for many women. The good news is that you have a host of menopause treatment options to choose from – most with distinct benefits, drawbacks and risks. As a woman dealing with menopause, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the menopause remedies available to you, in order to select the best solution for your body and your health.

• Hormone Replacement Therapy

  Hormone replacement therapy – also known as HRT – is one of the few menopause therapies that deals with the underlying hormonal imbalance that causes menopause symptoms. HRT addresses menopause hormonal imbalances by reintroducing hormones into the system –through methods such as oral pills, injections, creams, gels, patches and suppositories. There are many pharmaceutical HRT brand names and variants, each with a specific combination of hormones. For a long time, many women experienced relief from menopause symptoms through the use of HRT.

  Unfortunately, rising concerns about the safety of hormone replacement therapy have caused a sharp drop in its popularity. Government reports disclosed data revealing significant health risks caused by HRT – including raised incidences of breast cancer and pelvic cancers, stroke incidence, heart attack risk and serious blood clotting issues in women who use HRT. As a result, many women have been reluctant to assume the health risks of hormone replacement therapy, opting for alternative therapies instead.

• Bioidentical or “Natural” HRT

  Much has been made of Bioidentical or “Natural” hormone replacement therapy (known as BHRT or NHRT) in recent years. By creating structurally similar versions of naturally occurring hormones, Bioidentical HRT claims to provide a safer, more effective version of hormone replacement therapy. BHRT may commonly include the preparation of hormones such as progesterone, testosterone, estrone and estradiol — along with rarer uses of estriol and dehydroepiandrosterone, the latter two which are largely used outside of the U.S. and Canada. Many women also undergo saliva hormone testing as compounding pharmacists attempt to customize hormone levels to their needs.

  Unfortunately, little evidence exists that BHRT provides a safer and effective alternative to traditional hormone replacement therapy. Though BHRT often is often ordered by prescription and prepared by compounding pharmacists, the FDA has warned that its claims of safety and efficacy remain unproven.

• All-Natural Menopause Vitamins & Herbal Supplements

  Because of the safety concerns around traditional hormone replacement therapy and related menopause solutions like BHRT, a growing number of women are turning to all-natural menopause supplements. Many of these natural menopause remedies fall into three categories – vitamin-based nutritional supplements; herbal , plant-based remedies; and combinations of the two.

  Menopause vitamin supplements can provide much-needed nutrition during menopause, but don’t tend to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. Herbal, plant-derived menopause supplements such as black cohosh, red clover and soy (known as phytoestrogens) can have mild but positive effects on women experiencing symptoms. However, most phytoestrogens only target a single symptom or two – and menopause supplements collectively leave most symptoms untreated.

• Over-the-Counter Menopause Solutions

  Women can also elect to treat certain symptoms of menopause – such as vaginal dryness and painful intercourse or flaking, itchy skin – with over-the-counter therapies. Many of these over-the-counter solutions aren’t created for menopause directly, but consist of vaginal lubricants, moisturizers and topical ointments. Similarly, women can self-treat a range of menopause symptoms with over-the-counter options, such as natural sleep aids and allergy pills – though relief may be limited.