Menopause Symptoms, Causes, Complications & Treatment

Menopause Symptoms – The body of a woman is way more complicated than anyone can ever think. It can give birth to another human being, and what else can you expect from a woman other than the miracle of birth?

Believe it or not. It is never going to be the same forever. Every woman in the world experience several stages in her life, and menopause is somewhat the final stage. Despite being a natural process, a lot of people do not understand menopause, periods, birth, etc.

That is why today we are here to discuss everything regarding human reproductive hormones, including menopause symptoms. 

What is menopause?

Menopause is the signal of nature that marks the end of menstrual cycles in women. From the very first day of her puberty, every non-pregnant woman in the world has a menstrual cycle each month. The average age of menopause in the United States is 51, but it can also happen in your 40s or later in your 50s.

Menopause is usually diagnosed after you have spent 12 months without any menstrual period. Despite being a biological process, it can have some physical symptoms, including hot flashes. Most women around the world experience huge emotional symptoms after menopause as it can lower their sleep time and energy and affect their mental health.

Menopause Symptoms

Menopause is a unique condition that can cause every type of symptom, including physical, mental, and emotional. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believe every woman who is experiencing menopause can also experience the below-given list of symptoms.

The intensity of these symptoms can be mild to moderate, depending on the person.

• Vaginal dryness
• Port flushes
• Chills
• Irregular periods
• Night sweats
• Sleep problems
• Weight gain
• Mood changes
• Thinning hair and dry skin
• Loss of breast fullness
• Slowed metabolism

Out of all these symptoms, irregular periods are among the most, and every woman in the world is going to experience them. There is a high probability that women who are experiencing menopause might not get their menstrual cycle each month. You might experience a gap of two or three menstrual cycles before you get your next one.

If you are in your later 40s or early 50s and you are experiencing the above-given symptoms, including an error in the regular menstrual cycle, then you should consult with your health care provider. You need to take good care of your health during menopause.

When to see a Doctor for Menopause?

Once you have learned about all the symptoms of menopause, the next question which is going to pop into your mind is when you should see a doctor. Menopause is a natural thing for a woman to happen, and most women around the world won’t even require any medical assistance during their menopause.

Health experts around the world also suggest every woman just keep an eye on their symptoms during menopause and visit their healthcare professional for preventive health care.

You should not miss any of your screening tests, including colonoscopy mammography and triglyceride screening. If your doctor believes you are experiencing any trouble due to your menopause, then your doctor might suggest you some tests and exams, including thyroid, pelvic, and breast exams.

Important tip: If you are experiencing bleeding from your vagina even after having menopause, then you should consult with your health care provider as early as possible.

Causes of Menopause

Every woman in the world is born with the natural gift of giving birth. The body of a woman is going to produces an egg each month, and when the egg fails to meet sperm to make a baby, it causes menstruation.

When the body of a woman stops producing eggs after a certain age, it is called menopause. It is the natural course of life that can happen anytime after the age of 40. In the United States, the average age of menopause is 51. Still, there can be several causes of menopause. Let’s take a look at a few of them.

By age

Most women around the world experience menopause by age. As you might already be aware, women above the age of 35 start experiencing less fertility. It is a natural course of life, as your ovaries will start making less estrogen and progesterone. 

Both of these hormones regulate menstruation, and tick lining the production can also result in declining fertility. After the age of 40, a woman will start experiencing an uneven menstruation cycle. Your periods can get longer or shorter along with heavier or lighter depending on your condition. 

There is a high probability that by the age of 51, you will experience complete menopause, which means you won’t be able to get pregnant.

Surgery

Surgery is the second biggest reason for experiencing menopause, and it is also the first cause which can cause premature menopause. As you are already aware, the ovaries of women produce hormones, including estrogen, that regulate the menstrual cycle and pregnancy.

Surgery to remove ovaries can cause immediate menopause without any symptoms. You won’t experience any period after that, and you are likely to have some signs of menopause after the surgery. The intensity of these symptoms or signs can be intense as the body of a woman prepares itself throughout menopause.

Menopause caused by surgery can immediately abrupt hormonal changes, and the women might experience symptoms of menopause for a longer period. If you are having surgery to remove the uterus, then there is a high probability that you won’t have any menstrual cycle, but your ovaries will keep releasing every month.

Chemotherapy

Women who have been diagnosed with cancer and going through chemotherapy or any other radiation therapy are more vulnerable to experiencing premature menopause. A lot of reports have already suggested that fertility after chemotherapy is not a guarantee. 

Even though a lot of women have given birth even after receiving chemotherapy for their cancer treatment but there is a huge possibility that you might experience menopause once you have successfully recovered from cancer using chemotherapy.

Complications after Menopause

Even if it’s a natural occurrence, there are still chances that you might experience complications after menopause. Let’s take a look at the view of the complications, and you will learn about the situation more clearly.

Heart Disease

Once the woman has reached menopause, she becomes more vulnerable to developing heart and blood vessel diseases. There is a unique combination of estrogen levels and cardiovascular diseases. As your estrogen levels decline, your risk of cardiovascular disease increases.

Heart diseases are the leading cause of death in women and men, so you need to take good care of your heart once you have hit menopause. Health experts around the world suggest women have regular exercise, eat a healthy diet, and maintain a normal weight after menopause.

Sexual Function

As you can see in the above-given list of symptoms of menopause, a woman might experience vaginal dryness once she has reached her menopause state. That is why a woman might experience discomfort and slight bleeding during sexual intercourse after hitting menopause. One of the major reasons for these Things is vaginal dryness and decreased moisture production. It might also reduce your libido and sensation.

Loss of urine

A woman in her menopause experience more loss of urine than any other person in the world. The vagina of a woman who has hit menopause is going to lose tissue and elasticity. It can result in a frequent, sudden, strong urge to urinate. Apart from that, there is a huge possibility that you might experience lots of urine, wild cooking, or laughing.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Menopause

Before we wrap up this session, let’s take a look at all the diagnoses and treatment options for menopause. Most women around the world won’t even require any diagnosis or treatment for the same condition. 

It is a natural occurrence, and every woman in the world is going to experience it once in her lifetime. Still, under some circumstances, your health care expert might suggest you go for some tests, including stimulating thyroid hormone and over-the-counter FSH.

There is a correlation between the symptoms of thyroid stimulating hormone and menopause. Your doctor might use the test to rule out any possibility of thyroid.

Treatment

Similar to diagnosis, the treatment options for menopause are limited, and they are just going to focus on lowering the intensity of the symptoms. Usually, women do not require any treatment for menopause, and it is going to happen naturally.

Under some circumstances, your doctor might suggest you go for hormone therapy to balance out the hormone and prevent any bone loss or long-term effects of menopause. Women who are experienced menopause might also get a prescription for vaginal dryness, loss of elasticities, etc.