Menopause represents a major hormonal change for women and can be a distressing time. Hot flushes and sudden sweats, many times during the day and at night, are common and unwelcome symptoms. Occasionally heavy irregular bleeding may suddenly occur which can seem alarming. This may be accompanied by an increase in blood pressure and some nose bleeds.
There may be a tendency to weepiness for no good reason that makes its appearance, which is disconcerting. Women, who previously were assertive, may lose their self-assurance over-night and their memory and concentration declines markedly. Disorientation can become a regular feature too. There is some unwelcome weight-gain that is noticed by women after the onset of what they aptly call their change of life.
A few women even experience flatulence and a change in their bowel habits at the menopause. There often also follows a fairly substantial loss of sexual appetite. For a few this ordeal is over in a few months, but for some unfortunate ladies, this state of affairs can persist for a number of years. Of course, all this ceases in time without hormonal treatment.
Because the sum of these symptoms can be so very distressing, many women opt for HRT which can bring about a complete cessation of all these symptoms (except weight-gain). Yet the fear of breast or ovarian cancer associated with HRT is often so great that women will go off the HRT and endure the raft of symptoms described above. However, my advice over the years has been to these women: to switch to the plant estrogens that provide effective amelioration without the dreaded possible adverse consequences.
Harald C Gaier Naturopathic Physician can be contacted via his website at www.drgaier.com