Most women happily await the end of the hassles of menstruation, but going through the process of menopause offers many challenges for some. While some surgical treatments bring menstruation to an abrupt end for some women, those who experience natural menopause undergo a premenopausal state of perimenopause, followed by menopause, and post menopause. Menopause is considered to be the point at which you’ve not had a period for 12 months or more.
Symptoms Of Menopause
Due to changing hormones, the symptoms that characterize both perimenopause and actual menopause include:
- Acne
- Decreased sex drive
- Dryness in the eyes, mouth, or skin
- Emotional changes that include mood swings, mild depression and irritability
- Hair loss
- Headaches
- Hot Flashes
- Mental fog
- Night sweats
- Stress incontinence after sneezing or coughing
- Tenderness in the breast
- Trouble sleeping
- Urinary urgency
- Vaginal dryness and painful sex
The Best Ways To Counteract The Symptoms Of Menopause
While many women experience minimal symptoms, or ones that do not disrupt their daily lives, others are extremely uncomfortable. While there are specific remedies that can calm certain symptoms, the best approach for most people is to adopt a healthy lifestyle as hormones level out. This includes:
- Eating a nutritious heart healthy diet that includes plenty of calcium and vitamin D to maintain bone health
- Exercise regularly to strengthen your bones and heart and keep weight under control
- Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and stress which can make symptoms worse and disrupt sleep
- Stop smoking to reduce long-term health risks and reduce hot flashes
When someone is suffering through menopause systems, these general approaches to healthy living might seem too “long-term” to be helpful. Web MD offers some useful suggestions for effectively dealing with menopause symptoms through specific behaviors:
- Keep a diary of what seems to cause hot flashes. Common culprits are caffeine, alcohol, hot rooms, and stress. Taking slow deep breaths out of your mouth and nose may be able to help.
- Try medication, yoga, or tai chi before bed and replace your alcoholic nightcap with a glass of warm milk. If you’re still awake, read yourself to sleep.
- Reduce vaginal dryness with nonprescription vaginal lubricants or moisturizers and then have more sex. Sexual activity improves blood flow, which aids general health. If you’re not in the mood, work with your partner to make time for intimacy and together develop new ways to make the experience fun again.
- To offset the highs and lows of menopause described as “amped up PMS,” try yoga and tai chi, along with activities you enjoy.
- To offset mental fog and fuzziness, stay mentally active by taking up a new hobby, which should help reduce stress. Hot flashes and fuzziness are often connected, so as the hot flashes lessen, you may also feel more alert.
More Help For Menopausal Symptoms
If changes in your behavior do not lessen menopausal symptoms, your primary care provider may be able to prescribe something to help. In addition to pharmaceuticals, there are a variety of other effective alternative treatments which may include:
- Botanicals and dietary and herbal supplements
- Acupuncture
- Chiropractic
- Massage therapy
- Biofeedback
- Homeopathy
Raintree Medical & Chiropractic Can Help
At Raintree Medical and Chiropractic Center, we help you manage the symptoms of menopause with a variety of approaches, which include drug therapy, when needed, chiropractic, yoga, and massage therapy. We also have nutritional counseling and smoking cessation workshops to help you live a healthier lifestyle.
If you are bothered by menopausal symptoms, schedule an appointment with Raintree Medical and Chiropractic Center. For additional information, give us a call to at 816-633-3020.