It is a fact of life that all women will reach a stage when they experience and go through menopause. This is a completely natural process that revolves around a decrease in the function of the ovaries; this decrease eventually causes a stop in the production of estrogen and progesterone levels. So what does this generally mean? Menopause is basically the ending of the menstrual cycle, meaning once the process is complete you will no longer be able to conceive. The process of menopause can, however, be an overwhelming and complex one, bringing with it a variety of symptoms.

Stages and Symptoms

How a woman handles and experiences this change depends completely on the individual. Experiences of it are rarely the same; what is the same, however, is the fact this change comes in a variety of stages. These stages can be broken down into three stages starting with early menopause. During this time when your body is building up to your last period, you will probably notice that for a few months before this happens your periods will become irregular, you may experience bleeding between periods or missed periods, and there are chances that they could either become heavier or lighter. Your early menopause symptoms will then be teamed with perimenopause symptoms. So what exactly does this mean? It is during this stage that you will start to experience hormonal changes. It is these hormonal changes that will then lead to the symptoms that you could suffer from; these symptoms can then last for any amount of time between two and six years but what exactly are these symptoms?

The perimenopause symptoms that persist during this change can range from aspects such as hot flashes to bone density loss. The amount of symptoms and the severity of these symptoms that you experience could be one extreme case or several milder cases etc. – as I previously mentioned, every women is different. A list of the main symptoms that a woman could experience includes hot flashes, night sweats, dry skin and hair, weight gain, vaginal dryness, and changes to your sexual enjoyment. However, the symptoms associated with this time in your life isn’t all simply physical, a number of them are also emotional and psychological; these include depression, mood swings, and anxiety.

The third stage of this life changing experience is the actual menopause itself; this is when you go through your final period. This can basically be confirmed when you haven’t had a period for at least twelve months. What this signifies is the ending of your menstrual cycle, which of course also indicates the ending of fertility. You will go through this change in your life usually when you are between the ages of 45 and 60; however, this isn’t always the case. There is a chance that you could experience this change early in life. There are a number of reasons as to why this could happen such as elements of smoking or exposure to chemicals.

The last stage that you will experience in this change is post-menopause. This stage is, however, one that could cause you further health problems such as osteoporosis. The reason for this is the fact that lowered estrogen levels can weaken the bones. It is because of reasons such as this that it is vital that you take care of your health and take extra supplements such as calcium and vitamins, but what else is there available to you that can help you with menopause symptoms as a means of helping you get through it…

Many people turn to hormone replacement therapy as a means of coping and protecting against menopause. What this does is generally replace the hormones in your body that have been lost during this change; I am of course talking about estrogen and progesterone. This will minimize the symptoms that you go through and will also protect against what you may end up suffering after you have gone through this change. What you need to keep in mind, however, where this treatment is concerned is the fact long term use really isn’t recommended as there is a risk you could go on to develop aspects such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, or a stroke.

This is something that puts a lot of people off using this replacement therapy but what are the alternatives? See Part II for the answers!

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