While many women have little or no problems associated with menopause some have major problems and need special help and treatment for their menopausal symptoms.
Eating healthy foods and keeping physically fit are important to you feeling your best at any time but especially during the perimenopausal period leading up to menopause and beyond. For those women who suffer from menopausal symptoms, there are a number of levels of treatment which may well be able to help you and make life more bearable.
The treatment options range from simple, basic lifestyle changes all the way to prescription medication treatments. We always recommend to start at the most basic level. Make appropriate dietary changes and lifestyle changes, holistic and herbal treatments, hormonal replacement therapy, medical prescription medications. Which you chose and the dosages and numbers of varying treatments will always depend on the severity of your symptoms, how much problem they cause you and certain other factors we will discuss below.
If your symptoms are severe or are causing problems first talk with your doctor about the risks and benefits of any treatment you might choose. Your doctor should first determine that your symptoms are caused by the onset or existence of menopause and also, very important, that they are not caused by any medical problem that simply coexists with your menopausal symptoms. Your doctor can help you determine which treatments are best for you. It is important to stress here that there is no panacea, that is there is no one treatment, medical or other, that works 100% of the time in 100% of the women experiencing menopause.
Hot Flashes, Flushing and Night Sweats
Many menopausal women suffer hot flashes, flushing and night sweats. This may happen when these women are eating or drinking hot or spicy foods, alcohol, foods containing caffeine, when they are feeling stressed, when they are in a hot place or on occasion doing nothing at all that seems to bring them on.
- Obviously, the first line of prevention and treatment is avoiding any foods, situations and/or activities that trigger and bring on these hot flashes and flushing.
- Dress in layers. It is smart to dress so that you can add or subtract clothing easily to maintain your best comfort zone.
- Keep a fan in your home or workplace.
- Many medical doctors can offer hormone replacement therapy (HRT; sometimes this is also referred to a Medical or Menopausal Hormone Therapy - MHT) for more information about Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy, click here.
- Medical doctors may offer antidepressant or epilepsy medicines, this would be a last resort trial if nothing else works.
Hot Flashes, Flushing and Night Sweats
A holistic or herbal approach to treating these menopausal symptom might include using herbs, individually or in combination, such as:
Ginseng, Black Cohash, Chickweed, Hawthorn Berries, Dandelion, Dong Quai and/or Licorice Root
The holistic and herbal approach is meant to treat the condition as well as treat the mental and emotional side of the woman who is suffering from hot flashes caused by menopause as this change of life affects all aspects of a woman's mental and emotional stability.
For the exact dosages and how to use them we suggest consulting a certified herbalist.
Vaginal Dryness (Vaginal Atrophy)
If the main problem is dryness which creates difficulty having sex then one simple non-medical approach would be using a water-based, over-the-counter vaginal lubricant (such as K-Y Jelly) can be helpful if sex is painful.
If vaginal dryness is a problem and it has little or nothing to do with having sex then a vaginal moisturizer (also over-the-counter) can provide lubrication as well as also help to keep vaginal tissues moist and comfortable.
If dryness is a significant problem beyond dryness and sex, that is it is painful, itching, irritation is present and you are very uncomfortable, then hormone replacement therapy may be your best solution. If vaginal dryness is the only reason for considering hormone replacement then consider any one of a number of vaginal estrogen products designed specifically to only treat vaginal symptoms. Vaginal estrogen products can come in the form of creams, tablets, and estrogen inserts and rings.
If the problem is systemic then oral bio-identical hormone replacement therapy should be considered. If this is not practical, for whatever reason then the holistic herbal approach may be helpful. For more information on Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy, click here.
Insomnia and Other Problems Sleeping
Many menopausal women complain of difficulty falling asleep and staying a sleep. This can be a major problem. It can affect the woman’s entire life. She could remain fatigued, find it difficult to focus and concentrate mentally, create emotional instability, mood swings, mood changes, depression. and all together take a lot of joy from her life.
As with everything else we discuss there are varying levels of problems all the way form an occasional bad night to every night being a night mare. Hot flashes and night sweats can be a major problem or they may not be any problem at all.
Basic Tips To Help You Sleep Better
In a series of articles titled Insomnia, Medical Treatment of Insomnia and Holistic and Alternative Treatment of Insomnia we discuss this topic throughly.
A few other simple tips are:
One of the best ways to get a good night's sleep is to be physically active. However, don’t exercise close to bedtime as it may have the reverse effect of stimulating you and triggering hot flashes, or hot flushes.
- Remember to use melatonin and DHEA
- Avoid large meals, smoking, and working right before bedtime.
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol from afternoon on.
- Drinking something warm before bedtime, such as herbal tea (no caffeine) or warm milk as these might help you to feel sleepy.
- Keep your bedroom dark, quiet, and cool, and use your bedroom only for sleeping and sex.
- Avoid napping during the day, and try to go to bed and get up at the same times every day.
If you wake during the night and can't get back to sleep, get up and read, watch TV or listen to the radio or music until you’re sleepy. For some women, journaling is also a great help, especially if your mind is running lose and causing you to think about the next day, or what happened to day or what you expect to happen in the future. Don't just lie in bed and fight trying to get to sleep. If you need to be up then work on a hobby: Paint, embroider or knit. Do not work on your books, pay bills or obsess over problems, this will only make relaxing difficult. Do something relaxing and fun, something you enjoy, Use this time wisely and do not resist nor fight anything.
If hot flashes are the cause of sleep problems, treating the hot flashes will usually improve sleep, see above.
Mood swings
While some women report simple mood swings or just "feeling blue" during the perimenopause and early menopausal years, others experience “raging hormones” and even suicidal behaviors.
Women who had suffered mood swings secondary to Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS) before their periods, or suffered postpartum depression after giving birth, may have more mood swings around the time of menopause. These women are often exceptionally sensitive to hormone changes. Most of the time mood swings will go away within a short time after the onset of the menopause (no menstrual period for one full year).
Women is using HRT for hot flashes or another menopause symptom, generally get better very rapidly, but not always. Also, when women are getting sufficient sleep and are physically active they will have less mood swings and feel better emotionally. Mood swings are not the same as depression.
Once again the first line prevention and treatment for eliminating mood swings are improving your diet, increase exercise levels and eliminate all negative lifestyle issues that might provoke mood swings.
A Holistic Approach to Treating Mood Swings
If the primary symptoms is anxiety then the following may be helpful:
Anxiety is simply unresolved stress that is stimulating your mind, emotions, body and nervous system. There are several herbal preparations that can help relieve anxiety.
Skullcap added to a cup of tea, Chasteberry or Passion Flower beverage. Other ingredients used to fight anxiety are cat nip and peppermint tea. These preparations have a calming effect on the body, mind and the spirit.
If the primary symptoms is depression then the following may be helpful:
Depression is once again simply unresolved stress that is depressing your mind, emotions, body and nervous system. There are several herbal preparations that can help relieve anxiety.
Acupuncture, Yoga, Kung Fu, Tai Chi and Chi Gung as well as dancing are all healthy approaches to reducing and eliminating depression. All of these act to stimulate the woman's mind, emotions, body and spirit and chase away the blues. These activities can put you in a better more positive state of mind.
Herbal and holistic preparations which help with depression are; St. John's Wort, Ginkgo Biloba, Siberian Ginseng, Rose, Lavender and Sandalwood. The amino acids S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-E) and5-Hydroxytryptophan (5-HTP) are also know to help.
When symptoms of anger, frustration, guilt or fatigue, lack of concentration, despair and grief exist with depression use the oils of Rosemary, Lemon, Bergamot or Clary Sage along with the above herbal preparations When mental hyperactivity and restlessness are issued use Rose, Lavender and Sandalwood.
When you are having trouble focusing, fuzzy thinking, or forgetfulness
Often women complain of symptoms with trouble focusing, fuzzy thinking, or forgetfulness. Studies suggest that natural menopause has little effect on memory or other “brain” functions. Most commonly these symptoms are associated with sleep depravation and or lack physically activity. Improving sleep and increased physical exercise often helps to improve or eliminate these symptoms. See Insomnia section above. If memory problems are severe then bring this to the attention of your doctor right away.
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