Menopause and Weight Gain by Women's Health Today

Menopause and Weight Gain by Women's Health Today

Menopause is commonly referred to as a change of life as this is a phase of life where a woman stops menstruating. The symptoms of menopause includes the following : mainly hot flashes and palpitations, and also vaginal dryness, insomnia, headaches, breast tenderness, memory problems and weight gain, to mention a few.

This is not an abrupt process but rather a gradual process that takes place over time. For this reason some doctors prefer to say that a woman has reached menopause if they haven't menstruated for a year. Menopause can also be diagnosed, usually after missing her period for three months, by the testing of hormone levels, specifically the levels of the follicle-stimulating hormone ( FSH ). Although, the testing of the estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones at mid-cycle can give a clearer result. If we look at menopause statistics we can see that menopause does not affect all women in the same way or even at the same time.

The average age for onset of menopause is 51 years. But then again, 8 out of 100 women stop menstruating before the age of 40 whereas 5 out of 100 women can menstruate up to the age of 60. A rule of thumb that is often applied in predictions about menopause is that if a girl starts menses at an earlier than average age then she most probably will have a longer than usual menopause.

Also, most often the daughter's menstrual history will follow that of her mother's. Some of the biggest health problems that women develop after the onset of menopause include osteoporosis and heart disease. Apart from the more serious health problems that develop there are also the inconvenience of symptoms like hot flashes, sleeplessness, night sweats, hair changes, headaches, fatigue and gaining of weight. One of the main causes of weight gain is the drop in estrogen levels that takes place in menopause.

The problem most often associated with menopause is the hot flashes that a woman in menopause experiences, and this is the symptom that motivates the woman to seek medical help. Menopause and weight gain is one of the factors that negatively influence the body image and self-esteem. As a woman first enters menopause the hormone levels fluctuate daily. Quite regularly the first signs of menopause are hot flashes, and the sudden onset of heart palpitations, especially in the early hours of the morning. This occurs usually in conjunction with sleeplessness or insomnia. Some women find that menopause and weight gain is a major problem, but there are solutions to the latter problem available.

The treatment of the symptoms of menopause include, but are not limited to, hormone replacement therapy ( HRT ), estrogen replacement therapy ( ERT ), anti-estrogens, low dose testosterone and low dose oral contraceptives if below 55 years of age. Naturopathic, homoeopathic, Ayurvedic, and other treatments and therapies are also available. In the next article we will discuss the various treatments and therapies available for menopause.

In conclusion, in this discussion on the symptoms of menopause we saw from the menopause statistics that the average age of menopause is 51 years but onset can be anywhere from before 40 years or up to 60 years.

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