The Causes, Symptoms and Treatment for Menopause
Menopause is a normal condition that all women experience as they age. The term ” menopause ” can describe any of the changes a woman goes through either just before or after she stops menstruating, marking the end of her reproductive period.
Causes:
A woman is born with a finite number of eggs, which are stored in the ovaries. The ovaries also make the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which control menstruation and ovulation. Menopause happens when the ovaries no longer release an egg every month and menstruation stops. Menopause is considered a normal part of ageing when it happens after the age of 40. But some women can go through early, either as a result of surgery, such as hysterectomy, or damage to the ovaries, such as from chemotherapy. Menopause that happens before 40, regardless of the cause, is called premature menopause.
Natural menopause is brought through three stages:
● Perimenopause: This typically begins several years before menopause, when the ovaries gradually make less oestrogen. Perimenopause lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs. In the last 1 to 2 years of perimenopause, the drop in oestrogen quickens. At this stage, many women have menopause symptoms.
● Menopause: This is the point when it’s been a year since a woman last had her last menstrual period. At this stage, the ovaries have stopped releasing eggs and making
most of their oestrogen.
● Postmenopause: These are the years after menopause. During this stage, menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes ease for most women. But health risks related to the loss of oestrogen rise as the woman ages.
Symptoms:
Most women approaching menopause will have hot flashes, a sudden feeling of warmth that spreads over the upper body, often with blushing and some sweating. The severity of hot flashes varies from mild in most women to severe in others. Other common symptoms include:
● Irregular or skipped periods
● Insomnia
● Mood swings
● Fatigue
● Depression
● Irritability
● Racing heart
● Headaches
● Joint and muscle aches and pains
● Changes in libido ( sex drive )
● Vaginal dryness
● Bladder control problems
What Are Long-Term Health Problems Tied to Menopause?
● Osteoporosis
● Heart disease
● A poorly working bladder and bowel
● Greater risk of Alzheimer’s disease
● Poor skin elasticity (increased wrinkling)
● Poor muscle power and tone
● Some weakening in vision, such as from cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye ) and macular degeneration (breakdown of the tiny spot in the centre of the retina that is the centre of vision )
Ayurvedic view of Menopause
Ayurveda cites three major reasons:
● Since menopause is the transition from the Pitta phase of life to the Vata phase, if a woman already has a significant Pitta or Vata imbalance in the years before menopause, things are likely to get worse during menopause, which is a period when hormonal and other natural changes take place in the body.
● Another factor leading to menopausal imbalances is the accumulation of digestive impurities ( ama ) in the physiology. Ama blocks the channels that transport nutrition to the cells and remove waste from the body and thus contributes to menopausal problems.
● A third factor is the misuse or overuse of the mind, body, emotions, or senses. Basically, this happens when a woman strains her mind too much, is under too much ongoing stress or pressure, or is doing work that is too “heavy” for her body or is under tremendous emotional stress.
Menopause can be treated effectively with Herbal medicine, diet and Ayurvedic Herbal Oil Treatments with lifestyle adjustments.
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