MENOPAUSE 101 - The Basics of Menopause

Menopause is one word most women fear. Who wouldn’t be terrified anyway by the thought of not having some good time in bed anymore? But that’s one of the many fallacy related to menopause. Fear sets in whenever someone doesn’t have enough knowledge of something. As with menopause, this is definitely the case. Some women still do not have any idea what menopause is, medically speaking and otherwise. There are people who perceive menopause as the end of their femininity. This is absolutely not the case. This comprehensive overview of menopause would clear the myths and lay out the facts on menopause.



What is Menopause?

Menopause is a normal phase in every woman's life when her menstrual period stops and drastic changes occur in her body. Going through the physiological side of it, menopause refers to the time when the ovaries of the female body cease to function. When this happens, women would not be able to have her period for 12 consecutive months. It consequently means that a woman doesn’t have the capacity to bear a child any longer. This usually happens to women ages 45 to 55 years old. It is observed though, that smokers reach their menopause at an earlier age than the usual.

A woman’s ovaries have a number of pouch-like structures that contains an egg; this sac is called a follicle. Imagine this, women have a total of more or less a million eggs by the time she reached puberty and only about 500 of these are released in each menstrual cycle. A cerebral gland produces hormones that cause just one egg to be released from a follicle every month. Then progesterone and estrogen is produced, also referred to as sex hormones. A fertilize egg would thickens the inner lining of a woman’s womb to nourish the egg and it then it would eventually develop into a baby. If in case the egg did not fertilize, then that would be the start of menstruation.

Understanding what menopause is all about should help every woman deal with it as they experience this phase. Aside from reading from medical books and researching, asking your doctor about it is the best option as the experience of undergoing menopause differs from one female to another.

Three Types of Menopause
There are currently three most common types of menopause.

1. Natural menopause – refers to the normal phase in the course of aging.

2. Induced/Surgical/Medical menopause - an outcome of a hysterectomy or surgery performed to remove the ovaries as well as the uterus or an effect of cancer treatments like chemotherapy.

3. "Cold Turkey" menopause – happens after a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer, the patient is relieved from therapy for menopausal hormone.

Experiencing Premature Menopause and Post menopause
Premature menopause refers to the occurrence of menopause before reaching the age of 40. Similar to the normal menopause, this may be natural, which can be attributed to one's family's genetic history, or induced such as the effect of surgical operations like ovary removal or treatments for cancer. Post menopause refers to all the succeeding years after having experienced menopause, regardless of the process being natural or effect of an induced one.

The Symptoms of Menopause and Dealing with It
Generally all women who have experienced menopause is expected to exhibit these menopausal symptoms -hot flashes, changes or irregular periods, fatigue, stress, abnormal bleeding (spotting), night sweats, depression, sleeping problems, irritability or mood changes/swings, weight gain, headaches, short-term memory loss, problem in concentrating, vaginal changes, loss of sex drive, vaginal as well as bones thinning, urinary problems, among others.

Experiencing some or all of the symptoms enumerated should not be a cause of alarm for those currently undergoing or about to encounter menopause. A change in lifestyle might be called for as having a healthy diet, good sleeping habits and regular exercise could help ease these symptoms.