What Women Need to Know About Constipation & Menopause

During menopause, problems with constipation is not a new thing anymore. This may occur due to a series of hormonal imbalances. Stress, an unhealthy lifestyle, worrying over pesky symptoms of menopause further adds to the complicated condition that is constipation.

Clearly constipation may manifest on the first stages, mid-stage or at the final stages of menopause. Whichever stage problems of constipation decides to reveal itself, it is during menopause you will have these unpleasant signs and symptoms such as infrequent bowel movements; smaller, harder and drier stools that are hard to pass out; feeling bloated and sluggish; feeling of incomplete removal of stools even when done doing the deed; excessive and severe straining during normal bowel movements; and specks of blood on the stools.

Constipation Causes During Menopause

Clearly causes of constipation greatly varies during menopausal stage. It may be because of one reason, two reasons or a combination of both reasons. Some of the most common causes are related with constipation during menopause such as the aging factor, slow activity of the gastrointestinal tract and the intense needs of the aging liver.

Additionally, a lot of medications that are used by women for relieving unpleasant menopause symptoms have side effects and can cause constipation. Usually the suspects are medications used for lowering blood pressure, heart medication, iron and calcium supplements, antidepressants, tranquilizers and even pain killers. Add to that a woman's unhealthy eating habits with ample amount of processed and fast foods, inactive lifestyle and low water intake. Another thing is that most women if not all, are blatant for pigging out on comfort food and junk food when stressed, and you can only imagine how stressful it is for a woman going through menopausal stage.

Furthermore, going through menopause and overcoming problems with constipation at the same time is a serious balancing act. In addition to getting rid of constipation, women are battling the unfavorable effects of menopause with hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings at the top of the list. And if not coped with, may lead to depression and insomnia or sleep disorder.

To balance constipation and menopause, here are a few constipation remedy that menopause women should avoid and these are remedies that contain senna, cascara sagrada and aloe since these substances have negative effects on menopause treatments.

The best thing that you need to do to avoid problems with constipation during menopausal is to eat high fiber food such as vegetables and fruits, increase water intake and exercise. You could also consumed these natural foods such as prunes, figs, psyllium seeds, dandelion and rhubarbs.