Medical Guide | Women's Health

Although Menopause happens (usually) during "mid-life", that doesn't mean the "end of life"! Many woman feel that Menopause is a bad thing, and the end of being a "woman". It isn't! It is a normal, healthy part of being a woman. As irritating as some of the symptoms of menopause can be, there are many benefits as well.

You can enjoy a healthy, active sex life with your partner without pregnancy worries, (We do not recommend that you go out and have sex with everyone you meet, there are still STD's to worry about!) You can also wear white without worry! Among a few other good things (which can vary from person to person)...

The bad part of menopause are some of the temporary side-effects. Just remember they are TEMPORARY! Make sure you talk with your doctor or ob-gyn when these symptoms start occurring, because now a days there are some great medications that can alleviate some of the side-effects of menopause.

The monthly menstrual cycle usually continues until a woman is about 45 but this is a bit of a generalization. Changes can occur in some women before 45 and some afterwards.

So at about 45 a woman's ovaries tend to start to fail. The hormones produced by the ovary also start to decrease, so the body levels of these hormones that have remained relatively static for years start to fall.

This slow fall continues for about 10 years, leveling off to what are called post-menopausal levels in the mid-fifties. At some stage down this fall, a woman's period's stop, but what has to be remembered is that there are changes in the hormone levels before this happens and AFTER this happens.

• Sometimes a woman's periods carry on every month and then suddenly stop
• Sometimes they stutter with longer gaps between periods until they stop
• Sometimes they can become more frequent and then stop

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) contains estrogen. Women going through the menopause undergo HRT because their ovaries are no longer producing estrogen.

There are some much publicized risks with taking HRT. The lining of the uterus can start to build up which makes increases the risk of cancer of the uterus. However, a lot of HRT contains progestrogen which helps bring that risk back down.

A lot of women prefer an alternative approach using phyto Soya products. More information about phyto Soya can be found at the link below.

There are also lots of other solutions that can help alleviate some of the symptoms and side-effects of menopause. Talking with your doctor is the first step to finding out what the best choice for you and your body will be.

Get more information here:

• http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/menopause.html
• http://www.menopause.org/

If you believe you are entering menopause then you should contact your doctor or ob-gyn and discuss it with them. They will be able to tell you if you are becoming menopausal and what to do about it.