Menopause
Resource Center
Menopause article
syndicated from NIA
Menopause, or the change of life, affects each woman in a different way.
Hot flashes and sleep problems troubled your sister. You felt a new sense of
freedom and energy. Your best friend was hardly aware of a change at all. |
Menopausal
Hormone Use: Questions and Answers article
syndicated from NCI
Menopause is the time in a woman's life when menstruation ends. It is part of
a biological process that begins, for most women, in their mid-thirties. During
this time, the ovaries gradually produce lower levels of sex hormones--estrogen
and progesterone. Estrogen promotes the development of a woman's breasts and
uterus, controls the cycle of ovulation (when an ovary releases an egg into a
fallopian tube), and affects many aspects of a woman's physical and emotional
health. Progesterone controls menstruation (having a period) and prepares the
lining of the uterus to receive the fertilized egg. |
Exercise
Builds Bone Mass in Postmenopausal Women Whether or Not
They Use Hormone Therapy
article
syndicated from NIAMS - Aerobic, weight-bearing and resistance
exercise improves bone mineral density (BMD) in postmenopausal
women whether or not they use hormone therapy, according to results
from the Bone, Estrogen and Strength (BEST) study funded by the
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin
Diseases (NIAMS), a part of the Department of Health and Human
Services' National Institutes of Health. |
Facts
About Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy article
syndicated from NHLBI
Choosing whether or not to use postmenopausal hormone therapy can be one of the
most important health decisions women face as they age. As with taking any treatment,
the decision involves carefully weighing the risks and benefits involved. But,
until recently, the picture of those risks and benefits has been unclear. Studies
gave conflicting results about the therapy's effects on breast cancer, heart
disease, and other conditions.
|
Menopause article
syndicated from Wikipedia
Menopause
(also known as the "Change of life" or
climacteric) is a stage of the human female
reproductive cycle that occurs as the ovaries
stop producing estrogen, causing the reproductive
system to gradually shut down. As the body
adapts to the changing levels of natural
hormones, symptoms such as hot flashes,
mood swings, vaginal dryness, increased
depression and anxiety, and increasingly
scanty and erratic menstrual periods are
common. |
The
Ayurvedic Approach to Menopause and Natural Hormone Replacement
Therapy by
Nancy Lonsdorf M.D.
The medical community is quickly evolving its understanding of menopause. Following
the abrupt, early halt to the HRT portion of the Women's Health Initiative last
July, due to findings that Hormone Replacement Therapy's risks outweighed its
benefits, headlines now read "Menopause is not a disease, but a normal part of
life." Hormone "replacement" therapy (HRT) has become simply hormone "therapy" (HT)
in recognition of the fact that replacing estrogen is not natural and brings
dangerous side-effects, rather than the fountain of youth once touted. |
Menopause article
syndicated from NWHIC
Menopause, a normal and natural event, is the end of menstruation. It is usually
confirmed when you have not had a period for 12 months in a row (with other causes
for this change ruled out). Menopause starts when your body's level of the hormone
estrogen falls permanently to very low levels and your menstrual periods stop
for good. Menopause is also known as "the change of life." |
Perimenopause article
syndicated from NWHIC
Perimenopause is the time leading up to menopause (when you have not had your
period for twelve months). During perimenopause, your body starts making less
of certain hormones (estrogen and progesterone), and you begin to lose the ability
to become pregnant. Perimenopause varies in how long it lasts. Women normally
go through menopause between ages 45 and 55. Many women experience menopause
around age 51. However, perimenopause can start as early as age 35. It can last
just a few months or a few years. There is no way to tell in advance how long
it will last OR how long it will take you to go through it. |
Talking
to Your Health Care Provider About Menopause article
syndicated from NWHIC
Some women say their doctors treat menopause like a disease. It's important for
you to remember that menopause is not a disease. However, you may have some symptoms
that are difficult to cope with. There are ways to make this time in your life
easier. |
Taking
Charge of Menopause by
Lynne L. Hall
"I was 40
when I first started having night sweats," says Patti Shields, 42,
of Birmingham, Ala. "I'd wake up in the middle of the night, and even
though the air conditioner was running full blast, I'd be covered in
sweat." Shields
is talking about menopause, the rite of passage that signals the end
of a woman's reproductive years. "Those night sweats--and the other
symptoms I began to notice--suddenly made me feel old. One day I'm
a young woman in her prime, and the next day I'm worrying about whether
or not I'm prepared for retirement and thinking about 'getting my affairs
in order.' It was a classic overreaction," she says, laughing. |
Menopause & Hormones article
syndicated from FDA
Menopause is a normal change in a woman's life when her period stops. That's
why some people call menopause "the change of life" or "the change." During menopause
a woman's body slowly produces less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
This often happens between the ages of 45 and 55 years old. A woman has reached
menopause when she has not had a period for 12 months in a row. |
New
Attitudes Towards Menopause by
Sheryl Weinstein
Imagine
a cocktail party conversation in 1966 turning
to menopause. It would have been as unlikely
as a female high school student yearning
to be a soccer star. But
times have changed. Just as participating
in sports has now become significant to many
young women so has being open and even activist
about menopause become equally important
to their mothers. |
Menopause
and Bladder Control article
syndicated from NKUDIC
Some women have bladder control problems after they stop having periods (menopause
or change of life). If you are going through menopause, talk to your health care
team. After your periods end, your body stops making the female hormone estrogen
(ES-truh-jun). Estrogen controls how your body matures, your monthly periods,
and body changes during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Some scientists believe
estrogen may help keep the lining of the bladder and urethra (yoo-REE-thrah)
plump and healthy. They think that lack of estrogen could contribute to weakness
of the bladder control muscles. |
Questions
and Answers About Black Cohosh and the Symptoms of Menopause article
syndicated from ODS
Although preliminary evidence is encouraging, the currently available data are
not sufficient to support a recommendation on the use of black cohosh for menopausal
symptoms. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)
at the National Institutes of Health is funding a rigorous scientific study to
determine whether treatment with black cohosh reduces the frequency and intensity
of hot flashes, and other menopausal symptoms. |
Male
Andropause (Menopause): Symptoms and Solutions by
Dr. Loretta Lanphier
At about ages 40-50, starting even as early as their 30’s, men go through
a change when they realization hits them--they are aging. Their bodily changes
are accompanied by changes in attitudes and moods. During this time men frequently
begin to question their values, accomplishments, and life’s direction.
The entire pattern of these changes has led to the notion of the mid-life crisis.
But let’s look deeper into this cultural phenomenon. |
The
Great Awakening - Menopause by
Dr. Loretta Lanphier
Menopause is a natural transition all women experience, as natural as adolescence.
For your grandmother and great-grandmother, life expectancy was shorter. Reaching
menopause often meant that their life was nearing an end. But this is no longer
true. Today women are living longer—on average, until age 78. How you experience
menopause is determined by many factors: attitude, diet, overall health, genetics,
and your cultural group. Medical science views menopause as the state of your
body after you had completed one full year without having a period. It is most
definitely not a disease! By making wise decisions about your menopause and healthy
lifestyle, you can make the most of the 20, 30, or more years afterwards! |
Menopause
Symptoms - What's the Hype About? by
Dr. Loretta Lanphier
Everywhere you turn these days—TV, magazines, newspapers, radio, junk mail,
Internet—menopause and aging are turned into a disease to get rid of quickly!
That is, if they are talked about at all. Advertising and media play a very powerful
role in American life. So much so, most of us will not take the time to educate
ourselves about particular issues, especially health issues. And why should we,
when someone else will do it for us? We have been lulled to sleep by those who
would say, “Don't worry we’ll take care of you.” It seems that
you cannot deal with these natural processes—aging and menopause--without
some form of drug or surgery being advertised as the newest solution. |
Premenopausal
Years by
Susun S. Weed
The actual age at which menopausal Change begins varies considerably from woman
to woman; the norm is 45, with a normal range of 35 to 55. During these premenopausal
years, menstrual periods may become noticeably different (closer together, farther
apart, scantier, more profuse). Night sweats or hot flashes come, if at all,
only occasionally and are usually blamed on too many blankets or a rich meal. |
Menopausal
Climax Years by
Susun S. Weed
The menopausal climax years include the year or two before and a year or more
after your very last menstruation. The average age of a woman in the midst of
her Change is 51. But women come to their menopausal climax in their 20s, 30s,
and 40s, as well. Some achieve menopause by surgical means, some by way of chemotherapy
or radiation, and some just naturally arrive early. (Menopausal climax before
the age of 40 is considered "premature.") |
Post-Menopausal
Climax Years by
Susun S. Weed
The post-menopausal years symbolically begin on the fourteenth new moon after
your final menstruation. (And continue, of course, for the rest of your life.)
Hot flashes, aching joints, heart disease, incontinence, vaginal atrophy, and
broken hips may diminish the quality and quantity of these years. Use of Wise
Woman ways in the post-menopausal years can halt and reverse osteoporosis (the
bones accept calcium once again), keep estrogen- and progesterone-sensitive tissues
in the vagina and bladder from weakening and drying out, and maintain a healthy,
vigorous heart and circulatory system. |
Menopause
Metamorphosis by
Susun S. Weed
"Menopause is a metamorphosis, like a caterpillar becoming a butterfly.
The caterpillar needs a cocoon, and so do you. One of the most important things
you can do during menopause is to take time for you. Go into your cave, go into
your cocoon, go into your room and shut the door." |
Menopause
Is Enlightenment by
Susun S. Weed
The energy aspects of menopause are of special interest to me. As a long-time
student of yoga, I was struck by the many similarities between menopausal symptoms
and the well-known esoteric goal of "awakening of the kundalini." Though
the ideas presented in this section may seem strange or difficult to comprehend,
they contain powerful messages about menopause which lie at the heart of the
Wise Woman approach. |
Soy
Supplements Fail to Help Menopause Symptoms by
Dr. Joseph Mercola
Supplements that contain concentrated phytoestrogens -- plant-based estrogens
found in soy -- do not appear to improve mood, memory or menopause symptoms in
women over age 45. Some studies had suggested that a diet rich in soy may alleviate
symptoms of menopause. However, daily dietary supplements of a concentrated soy
isoflavone extract had no effect on a small group of postmenopausal women, reported
Dr. Gail Hochanadel, of the Clinical Research Center at Massachusetts Institute
of Technology in Cambridge, on Friday at the Pacific Coast Reproductive Society
meeting in Carlsbad, California. |
Annual
Pap Smears May Not be Warranted After Menopause article
syndicated from www.mercola.com
After menopause, many women may not need to be screened for cervical cancer as
frequently as they were when they were younger, researchers report. Postmenopausal
women who choose to be screened more frequently should be informed of the risk
for false-positive results and the need for further diagnostic testing. |
Menopause
and Hormone Balance Issues article
syndicated from ZRT Laboratory
In the years leading up to menopause (perimenopause) menstrual cycles that may
once have been like clockwork start to become erratic. Bleeding may be heavier
or lighter than usualalthough women are not officially in menopause until
they have had 12 consecutive months without a period. Erratic cycles are a sign
of erratic ovulation leading to highs and lows in estrogen and progesterone,
an effect many women describe as an emotional roller coaster. |
New
Federal "Report on Carcinogens" Lists Steroidal
Estrogens Used in Estrogen Replacement Therapy to List
of Known Human Carcinogens article
syndicated from NIH
The federal government today published its biennial "Report on Carcinogens",
adding steroidal estrogens used in estrogen replacement therapy and oral contraceptives
to its official list of "known" human carcinogens. This and 15 other new listings
bring the total of substances in the report, "known" or "reasonably anticipated" to
pose a cancer risk, to 228. |
Yoga
for Menopause by
Susan M. Lark, M.D.
Yoga stretches can benefit both the body and the mind, bringing energy and balance.
This is particularly helpful to women who are currently in menopause or in menopause
transition because their hormonal levels and body chemistry may be fluctuating
rapidly. This can leave women feeling out of balance and truly victims of their
changing bodies. Yoga exercises level out this physiological instability by relaxing
and gently stretching every muscle in the body, promoting better blood circulation
and oxygenation to all cells and tissues. |
Hormone
References by
Dr. John R. Lee
Not too long ago Dr. Lee was confronted at a conference by the owner of a large
herbal products company who claimed that Dr. Lee was incorrect in referring to
the progesterone used in the creams as "natural" because it was manufactured
or synthesized in a laboratory, and that made it synthetic. This is a confusion
in semantics that we hear frequently. In fact progesterone is far more natural
to your body than any plant is because your body actually manufactures the identical
substance. |
Relieve
Hot Flashes, Night Sweats and Mood Swings...Naturally by
Dr. Loretta Lanphier, ND, CN, HHP
According to statistics, hot flashes occur in 40 - 90% of women during transition
into menopause and up to 85% of women after menopause. Other typical complaints
related to hot flashes include anxiety, nausea, feelings of suffocation and inability
to concentrate. Here are steps that can minimize or eliminate your hot flashes
and night sweats. |
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