At a certain age in the body of a woman there are some changes that interfere with her physical, social and psychological state. The primary role in this process belongs to endocrine disruptions, mainly a decrease in the production of the hormone estrogen. What are these changes? At what age can they overtake a woman? This is exactly what will be discussed in this article.
General information
Menopause is a normal condition that absolutely every woman has to face.
In the life of all women comes a rather difficult time, associated with hormonal changes in the whole body. This is a special physiological period, during which, against the background of natural age-related changes, involution processes predominate directly in the reproductive system itself. They, as a rule, are characterized first by the cessation of the childbearing function, and then by the menstrual function. Such a physiological period in medicine is called "climax".What to do?
The main causes of
According to experts, the reason for the development of this condition lies in the change in the hormonal background, or more precisely, there is a decrease in the production of sex hormones. If it is a prematurely started menopause, here doctors identify a number of provoking factors:
- life situations that led to severe stress;
- removal of ovaries and uterus;
- various kinds of thyroid disease;
- production of insufficient amounts of ovarian hormones;
- is a sexually transmitted infection that was diagnosed during puberty.
What time does menopause start in women? Unfortunately, it is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to this question, as every woman, depending on the genetic predisposition, comes at different ages in this period.
What are the stages of the menopause?
Specialists conditionally subdivide it into three stages. If every woman has an approximate idea about this period, from a psychological point of view it will be much easier for her to transfer this time. The thing is that she will understand what is happening to her right now. This is a very important aspect, which will be discussed in more detail below.
- Premenopause. What time does menopause start? This stage occurs in women about 40-45 years. Some doctors consider premenopause as the beginning of menopause. It is characterized by a sharp decrease in the production of the hormone estrogen, which manifests itself in the form of an irregular menstrual cycle and a change in the nature of the discharge. As a rule, women do not complain about any physical or psychological discomfort.
- Menopause. In specialized literature, you can find another name for this stage - "natural menopause in women."Symptoms, the age of the ladies can vary slightly. This period is characterized by an almost final cessation of estrogen production, which is accompanied by a complete cessation of menstruation.
- Postmenopause. This stage occurs about a year after the menstruation has completely stopped. Its duration, according to experts, depends solely on how quickly the body and the endocrine system can adapt to their new condition. Postmenopause is insidious in that it can significantly worsen a woman's health and provoke the development of many diseases( osteoporosis, thyroid pathologies, etc.).
When does the climacteric begin?
How does the climacteric begin? First of all, it should be noted that this condition occurs in some women before, and in others - later, but in most cases at the age of about 45 years. Some women believe that the onset of menopause and its mean duration are directly related to the intensity of sexual activity and the number of births. They explain this by the fact that the birth literally "exhaust" the ovaries. This is why the mother of many children has a climax much earlier and is accompanied by great suffering. However, this statement is incorrect. A large number of children and a pronounced ability to conceive reflect only the good work of the ovaries and excellent health.
Specialists( based on data from numerous experiments) are confident that the abuse of alcohol and smoking, as well as promiscuous sexual relations, most often manifest themselves in menopausal women. The age of women who entered this physiological period is usually less than 45 years.
In medicine, there are also concepts of early and late menopause. In the first case, you can expect the termination of the menstrual cycle before the age of 40 years. As a rule, close relatives of such women also had an early menopause. Moreover, the ladies from these families have a later onset of menstruation( 18-20 years).
As for the late menopause( after 50 years), then there is no reason to be afraid. If a woman does not have health problems, the experts recommend simply to visit the gynecologist regularly and monitor her condition.
How does the climacteric begin?
Doctors identify a number of symptoms that directly accompany this condition. It is important to note that some women show all clinical signs, while others have only a certain part. How difficult it is to experience this condition, depends directly on the level of estrogen and the rate of its decrease. If earlier the hormone levels were not very high, and they decreased gradually, most likely, the woman will not feel any discomfort. Otherwise, with a high level of hormones, menopause will not survive easily. What is the difference between the climacteric period? Symptoms:
- Hot flushes - a feeling of heat and redness of the skin in the head and neck, which are simultaneously accompanied by sweating. This condition can last about five minutes.
- Headaches.
- Insomnia. In fact, this is a very characteristic symptom for menopause. Loss of sleep, in turn, provokes nervousness, exhaustion, not only on the physical, but also on the mental level.
- Depressive state also appears with menopause in women. Age in this case plays far from the last role. The younger the lady, the more pronounced this symptom is. Tears without a cause, a bad mood, a sense of complete hopelessness are all obvious signs of depression.
- Change in the habitual metabolism. Some ladies suffer from a disruption in the metabolism of carbohydrates, which entails changes in blood sugar levels and even the appearance of it in the urine.
- Blood circulation problems. These are hot flushes, numbness in the limbs, a feeling of constant pressure in the chest.
- Irregular periods.
- Decreased sex drive, dryness in the vagina, fullness. The breast loses its habitual elasticity. The body weight increases, as the action of the thyroid gland weakens.
Above we listed only some of the symptoms that most fully characterize how the climacteric begins. In fact, they can vary somewhat depending on the individual characteristics of the female body.
What complications can be encountered?
According to experts, about 55% of women( 45-50 years) in the period of menopause in the absence of qualified treatment face heart disease. At a later age( 55-70 years), there is often a violation of the function of the urinary tract( from incontinence to the inflammatory processes of chronic nature).
Many representatives of the fair sex have osteoporosis, which entails fractures of large bones. According to available data, by the age of 70, about 40% of ladies suffered such traumas.
The main problem is that a woman needs to seek help from completely different specialists( gynecologist, surgeon, therapist, etc.).One has only to imagine that from each doctor she receives 2-3 prescribed medications. As a result, only certain symptoms are treated, and not the primary problem called "menopause."What to do in this case? Can you soften the discomfort?
What should be the treatment?
First and foremost, doctors strongly recommend that you give up bad habits, add more sports and try to rest more often. It is better to give up the obsession to lose weight. The thing is that many women as the climacteric begins, so there is excess weight. Subcutaneous fat, as is known, plays a primary role in hormone metabolism.
In addition, yoga, sauna and massage are the main non-drug ways to combat discomfort. They are recommended to relieve pain and stress.
How else can you overcome the menopause?
Comments of doctors on the treatment of this physiological condition are very diverse. So, some are convinced that this period should be simply experienced.
Others believe that drugs can not be dispensed with. Most often, women are prescribed hormonal drugs. However, they are categorically contraindicated in varicose veins, tumors, diabetes, high blood pressure. All these restrictions make many women refuse to take medication.
With extreme caution should take antihypertensive and sedative drugs, as in the period of menopause very often there is a passing hypertension.
In menstrual disorders, gestagens are administered by the course.
Should I be afraid of menopause?
Actually treat this state the way it is by the end of life, not worth it. Thanks to the achievements of modern medicine, today it is possible to minimize the discomfort and primary symptoms that arise during this period. Moreover, many ladies between the birth of the last child and the beginning of this "new" time takes about 20 years. This means that practically no significant changes in life, for example, socially, do not accompany climaxes in women. Symptoms, age, lack of psychological support - many ladies face this. However, it is important to properly adjust yourself - and then all discomfort will pass unnoticed.