Menopause Changes and Symptoms

Every woman everywhere will eventually endure menopause changes. Menopause changes are a naturally occurring life event or phase, signifying the conclusion of a woman's child-bearing years and the end of fertility.

Menopause is not so much a condition as it is an event within a woman's life span. Menopause is calculated backwards figuring twelve consecutive and uninterrupted months from the time of the last menstrual cycle.

If a woman has not menstruated for 12 consecutive months she is considered to be menopausal. American women typically notice menopause changes at around age 51. However, menopause changes could begin as early as age 45 or as late as 55. Every woman is different and age 51 is just an average benchmark.

Perimenopause, pre menopause, and early menopause are terms used to describe the early cessation or partial cessation of menstruating periods. Many inside and outside factors could be contributing issues for these developments however, stress, shock, dramatic life changes, and invasive surgeries resulting in hormonal imbalances and estrogen depletion are among the primary culprits.

In and of themselves, menopause changes are not life-threatening however; severe and very severe symptoms may be life-altering. Fortunately, only about 15% of American women (of menopausal age) statistically present symptoms which can be categorized as severe or very severe.

Typical menopause changes are hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. There are more than 30 additional recognized symptoms (than these) but these are among the very most common and if severe, the most irritating.

Hot flashes have been described as a warm to hot internal burning sensation which builds to intensity in the upper chest, neck and facial areas. Warm flushes are a milder form of hot flashes. Night sweats (as the term would imply) are the night-time version of a hot flash and can easily awaken the sufferer from a deep sleep if they are intense enough. Night sweats are among the most insidious of menopause changes as they are not only immediately discomforting, but pose a long-term health treat due to repeated sleep deprivation.

Sleep deprivation can lead to lanquidity, increased anxiety, depression, heart palpitations, uneven blood pressure, and if left unchecked, heart disease and more serious maladies.

Hot flash and night sweats can vary wildly in length and intensity. Bouts can last from a few minutes to 15 to 20 minutes or more and may reoccur as frequently as every one to two hours.

Mood swing bouts are equally all over the map. Bouts range from mild irritation or anxiety to severe depression, and everything in-between. Unlike hot flashes and night sweats which seem to be of somewhat consistent veracity (typical to the individual woman), mood swings can vary in length and intensity and do not seem to follow as much of given pattern.

Women diagnosed as perimenopausal, pre menopausal, and early menopausal all display the same symptoms and these have been linked to hormonal imbalance and estrogen level drops. As noted previously, not all menopause changes are severe though they are at the root of many an old wives tale.

Though menopause changes cannot be prevented, associative menopause symptoms may be ameliorated and in some cases eliminated entirely.

Success has been noted in treating mild to moderate menopause changes with vitamins, minerals, diet, exercise, catalysts awareness, and homeopathic treatments.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) though heavily promoted by the medical community for the past half century ought to be avoided to due to the incontrovertible evidence that HRT is directly linked to heart disease, arterial disease, ovarian and endometrial cancers. The question begs itself; if menopause changes (at worst) are only life-altering, why invest in a treatment plan proven to be life-threatening, even if used short term.

Though HRT has been clinically proven (in about 70% of the cases) to effectively reduce common menopause changes like hot flashes and night sweats, many women are more than reluctant to undertake HRT treatments due to the associative and unnecessary risk levels.

The search for safe and effective remedies or treatments for menopause changes can be a daunting one. Many herbal treatments have been touted for hundreds of years and find their roots in Europe and Asia.

Natural herbal treatments are of little interest to large pharmaceutical companies as they are naturally occurring and available to everyone and cannot be patented as proprietary drugs. As a result, the medical community is more than reluctant to advocate natural methods to treat menopause changes.

Surprisingly, physicians routinely advocate HRT though the Hippocratic Oath clearly asserts; "First, do no harm." Somewhere along the way, the fact that HRT causes heart disease and cancer has either been forgotten or swept under the rug. Unfortunately, the medical community is a one-trick-pony when it comes to treatment for menopause changes.

If an individual is serious about discovering an alternative to HRT there is a plethora of available information on the web. Discovering which alternative treatment is the safest, most effective and addresses efficacy concerns, is a bit tougher task.

All natural plant based supplements are among the safest, especially those taken from field crops. These have been ingested by animals and humans for thousands of years and can represent the safest of all treatments for menopause changes.

Several clinical trials have indicated that the phytonutrients in flax hull lignans are especially potent suppressors of common menopause symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings. The phytoestrogens in flax hull lignans (taken from whole-grain flaxseed) have been described as effective as HRT in managing Menopause Changes.