Menopause 101

 What is menopause?

Menopause is a natural process, not a disease. Menopause signals the end of menstruation, the end of fertility, and the beginning of a new freedom.

Insomnia and mood changes are the most reported first signs of menopause. Sometimes these changes occur as early as the late 30s or early 40s, and they may not be identified by health professionals as associated with the hormonal fluctuations of menopause.

Other changes that can occur during the menopause process are:

                                                             photo:morguefiles
• headaches                                                                      
• joint pains
• unusual skin sensitivities
• fatigue
• irritability
• memory loss
• mental sluggishness
• flushing
• night sweats
• breast tenderness
• heart palpitations
• frequent urination/bladder irritability
• vaginal dryness
• lack of sexual desire
• pain during intercourse

Although many of these changes are due to hormonal fluctuations, women can also experience distress due to a change in self-concept.

What to do to make menopause a better experience

Seventy-five percent of American women report having one or more menopause changes. Until recent research associated hormone replacement with cancer, heart disease, stroke, gallstones, and more, this medical approach was used by millions of women. 

The good news is that menopause changes can be inconvenient, but they are manageable using safe and effective self-care approaches such as

photo:AP-TURE

                                                                                    
1. eating healthier foods
2. using environmental aids such as fans, layered clothing, learning to manage stress and which pollutants to avoid
3. engaging in the right kind of exercise
4. building a support system                                                                      
5. considering herbs and supplementsphoto: jjauregiu
6. finding and working with  the right health care practitioner
7. developing a menopause success plan

For a free sample chapter of Living Well with Menopause: What Your Doctor Doesn't Tell You That You Need to Know, click on: www.carolynchambersclark.com/id90.html

For articles detailing the risks of hormone replacement, click on:

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19689648

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17882669

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19468079

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18212501

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19585723

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19602689

For all articles on cancer research, treatment, and prevention, click on:

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-17695-Tampa-Health-Care-Examiner~y2009m10d3-Cancer-research-treatment-and-prevention

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