There are three important hormonal milestones in any woman’s
life cycle:
- Puberty
- Pregnancy
- Menopause.
Puberty and pregnancy are
instrumental in defining womanhood. These hormonal events are responsible for
continuation of mankind and make women biologically distinct and superior to
their male counterparts. This positive hormonal balance continues till age of
45 to 55 years and comes to an end at, what we call, menopause.
Why this discussion about
Menopause?
Menopause is an important milestone in any woman’s health
cycle. Female hormones viz. estrogens and progesterone are responsible for
maintaining cyclical menstrual bleeding and thus fertility in women. These
hormones, especially estrogen, have been shown to have a tremendous positive
impact on health of other organs like bones, heart and brain. At menopause, secretion
of these hormones gets halted. This predisposes the women towards poor health
outcome in form of disruption in sex life, osteoporosis (weak bones), heart
problems and also increased risk of dementia (decreased thinking power).
How do you identify
impending menopause?
Menopause happens usually between 45 and 55 years, but, the
average age of menopause is 51 years. In general, you can expect to have
menopause at approximately same age as your mother or sister had., Changing
hormonal milieu can lead to some of the symptoms of menopause even years before
you stop having menstrual periods. The most common symptoms are irregular
periods, hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, sleep problems, and vaginal
dryness.
Can we discuss
Hot-Flashes in little detail?
Hot flash:
Hot flashes are experienced as a feeling of
intense heat with sweating and rapid heartbeat, and may typically last from two
to thirty minutes, ending with chills and shiver. The sensation of heat usually begins in the face or chest
and it can spread throughout the whole body. Hot flashes may be associated with
a feeling of anxiety or heart palpitations during the hot flash. The
hot-flashes may happen few times each week or every few minutes throughout the
day. Hot flashes are often more frequent and more intense during hot weather or
in an overheated room. When hot flashes happen during sleep, they are called
night sweats.
Does every woman with
menopause needs treatment?
Menopause is a normal physiological event in any woman’s
life. In view of positive impact of female hormones on all body function, there
had been a great enthusiasm towards treating every woman with these hormones in
past. But, recent studies have suggested that benefit of this treatment is not
uniform and great and may even harm woman. But, this does not mean that a woman
with menopausal symptoms have to suffer. We have safe and established treatments
to alleviate these symptoms and thus improving quality of life during
menopausal transition. Even hormonal replacement for short term periods has
been shown to be safe. But, individualization of treatment is of paramount
importance in management.
Apart from
symptomatic management, what are the health issues requiring specific
attention?
Heart and Bones.
Osteoporosis is one issue, importance of
which cannot be overemphasized. Every woman should get a DXA scan (bone density
test) done ten years post menopause and get it evaluated by their hormone
specialist (Endocrinologist). As diabetes is becoming more prevalent in our
society, heart problems in post-menopausal age are becoming more and more
common. So getting your blood sugars and cholesterol tested would be good idea.
Another health issue which should not be overlooked is depression and
anxiety.
Happy Menopause to you.
Dr Rajiv Singla
HOD and Consultant, Endocrinology Department
Kalpavriksh Superspeciality Clinic & Saket City Hospital
www.kvsc.in
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