Symptoms of menopause in women, how to manage
During menopause, various symptoms appear due to changes in the body due to menopause. Menopause refers to the complete end of menstruation, which has continued periodically and refers to the absence of menstruation for a year without a specific cause.The menopause transition usually begins around the age of 47, and menopause occurs around the age of 51. Early menopause is the loss of menstruation due to a lack of sex hormones before the age of 40.
Although the age of menopause is determined by some genetic factors, women with a short menstrual cycle during childbearing age, women who never delivered, women with low weight, low socioeconomic status, or smokers, and women with impaired ovarian blood flow due to surgery, etc.
can be faster Recently, as the average life expectancy of women has exceeded 80 years, they have been living in menopause for 1/3 of their life. Decrease or loss of ovarian hormone during this period increases the risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis, as well as menopause symptoms.
Menopause syndrome symptoms are very diverse Menopause symptoms are especially severe right after menopause.
The severity of the symptoms varies from individual to individual and varies from cases in which almost no symptoms are felt to cases in which daily life is difficult.
Various menopausal symptoms are related to factors such as demographic characteristics, anthropometric characteristics, obstetric characteristics, healthy lifestyle, and stress perception of postmenopausal women.
Menopause status, biological age, low economic status, smoking, negative mood symptoms, and negative attitudes toward menopause have been identified as major risk factors for menopause symptoms.
These factors are associated not only with vasomotor symptoms but also with psychological symptoms and other physical symptoms.
The most common symptom of menopause is hot flushes. A typical hot flush lasts for 30 seconds to 5 minutes in the upper body and then disappears suddenly with severe sweating and chills, accompanied by a feeling of fainting, helplessness, or vertigo (dizziness).
Also do It is especially severe at night, and there are cases of prodromal symptoms such as palpitations and headaches. About 80% of women experience hot flashes within 3 months of their last menstrual period.
About 70% of women with hot flashes have symptoms for more than 1 year and 50% for up to 5 years, and in most cases, the severity decreases with age. Hot flushes are believed to be caused by a sharp drop in estrogen blood levels.
Also, during menopause, atrophy of the genitourinary system is induced, causing pain during intercourse, burning, itching, and bleeding. As the urethra and bladder mucosa also become thinner, urethritis accompanied by urination disorder, frequent urination, and stress incontinence may occur. , fatigue, joint pain, or muscle pain are common.
symptoms that accompany menopause.
After menopause, it is necessary to see a gynecologist Menopause can be diagnosed when amenorrhea persists for more than 12 months after the last menstrual period.If there is amenorrhea before the age of 40 or if menopause cannot be confirmed by resection of the uterus, follicle-stimulating hormone and estradiol concentrations can be measured to confirm menopause.
At menopause, physical examination, blood pressure measurement, and gynecological examination such as cervical cytology should be performed to check for abnormalities.
Basically, blood chemistry tests including general blood tests and lipid tests are required, and thyroid-stimulating hormone or bone marker tests are performed together.
It is also necessary to diagnose osteoporosis through mammograms, spine radiography, and bone density measurement.
Menopause Treatment and Management
Hormone therapy is effective in relieving hot flashes and psychophysiological symptoms in postmenopausal women, preventing urogenital and skin atrophy, relieving muscle and joint pain and protecting bones.
However, if a woman with a uterus is treated with estrogen-progesterone combination therapy for more than 5 years, the risk of developing breast cancer and cardiovascular disease may increase.
Therefore, it is recommended to consider the benefits and losses that can be obtained through treatment and to use low doses of female hormones as short as possible.
On the other hand, women who have undergone hysterectomy are given estrogen alone, so the risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease is not high, so they can be safely treated.
A large-scale study examining the effectiveness of low-dose hormone therapy has shown that it is effective in alleviating menopausal symptoms, has an endometrial protective role,
Reduces vaginal bleeding. In addition, it is reported that it reduces the loss of bone density as much as the amount of hormone treatment and maintains the bone density in postmenopausal women, so it can be an
Effective treatment method for menopause.
Non-hormonal drugs that have been proven effective for hot flashes so far include antidepressants and antiepileptic drugs, but their effectiveness is inferior to that of female hormones.
Non-hormonal drug treatment relieves hot flashes by 30-60% and improves the quality of life by improving sleep patterns and depressed mood.
The combination of black cohosh and St. John's wart, a phytoestrogen, an estrogen-like substance extracted from plants, is used as an effective treatment for menopausal disorders because there is no risk of breast cancer.
In addition, evening primrose oil, a soy isoflavone extract, Ginko Biloba, and vitamin E are widely used to relieve menopausal symptoms, but there is insufficient evidence for long-term effects. If hot flashes are severe, it is recommended to keep the room temperature cool.
In addition, it is recommended to wear layers of clothes to cope with the heat or chills appropriately and to use clothes and bedspreads made of well-ventilated cotton or natural fabrics.
It is recommended to avoid hot or spicy food, alcohol, and caffeine. If you feel the precursor to hot flashes, take a deep breath (6-8 times per minute) or drink cold water or beverages.
In addition to normal withdrawal bleeding, if vaginal bleeding occurs and the amount of bleeding is large or prolonged, and bleeding is seen after intercourse, you should consult your doctor.
If you are planning a major surgery while taking female hormones, or if you become immobile for any reason, it is best to stop taking hormones.
All women receiving hormonal treatment should perform the basic examination items they received before treatment every year and discuss with their doctor whether to continue the treatment.
Effective ways to prevent menopause
As an effective preventive method for female menopause, it is important not to lose the rhythm of first life. Go to bed early, get up early, avoid overwork, and take care not to exacerbate mood swings.
Second, nutritional imbalances must be avoided. Don't eat unbalanced meals because it doesn't suit your mouth. To prevent osteoporosis, eat foods rich in calcium, such as milk, anchovies, whitefish, spinach, radishes, kelp, and seaweed, and consume moderately unprocessed natural foods, that is, vegetables and fruits.
Finally, exercise is essential. In particular, if you take a walk outdoors in the sun or exercise that you can do easily such as bare-handed gymnastics, as well as aerobic exercises such as swimming, aerobics, and cycling, and exercise to strengthen your muscles, you can prevent osteoporosis and prevent various symptoms of menopause. is of great help too.
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