Preparing for Menopause

The prospect of growing old isn't a very happy one for anybody, and women seem to view aging with more alarm than men. Remember when you were 12 and just couldn't wait to be 16 -- or even better, 18? Just about at the same time in your life when you began eagerly anticipating adulthood, you were also going through puberty. Your mother took you aside and explained about the birds and bees, and also about the inevitable menstrual cycle that would began very soon.

YUCK! You thought! I don't need that! But you did, and you survived the whole process. And you did find out that it was a lot better to be an adult than it was to be a child overall. Well, menopause is simply puberty in reverse.

During puberty, your body was preparing to begin the childbearing years. During menopause, your body begins to end the childbearing years. It is just a basic and rather simple biological process -- not PLEASANT, but simple. Puberty wasn't pleasant, either. Our bodies don't LIKE change. But like it or not, our bodies do change with age.

There isn't any way that you can be really prepared for menopause except by educating yourself (and your spouse) about what to expect. Understanding what is happening does take some of the mystery as well as the pain out of the situation. You might even want to start discussing menopause treatment as early as age 35.

It's a good idea to look ahead to what you can expect once the process of menopause is complete (and YES, it will end). Keep these facts that the Jubilee report uncovered in mind:


1.  76% of post menopausal women said that their health was better.
2.  75% said that they were having more fun out of life
3.  93% reported that they had more independence and more choices about work as well as leisure activities.

So you see, it really isn't all that bad. You have a better, healthier and happier life to look forward to the end of menopause symptoms.

Menopause Treatment for Symptoms

Simply put, menopause is the end of the childbearing years for women. That is the biological intention of menopause. Women begin their childbearing years by going through a period called "puberty." That one isn't a lot of fun, but the end of the childbearing years for women is called "menopause," and that one is even less fun with the onset of a variety of menopause symptoms.

 

As the body stops producing the estrogen that is required for monthly ovulation (necessary for childbearing), the body also starts to object to this reduction by making a few chemical changes. It's too bad that there isn't just a switch that can be thrown and the whole process be completed on one fell swoop, then we wouldn't have to worry about menopause treatments.

Unfortunately, that isn't the way that the menopausal process works. It takes time, and during that time the menopause symptoms and side effects that are caused by the chemical change that is taking place aren't all that easy to deal with. They come in the form of menopause weight gain, hot flashes, cold sweats, and a variety of unpleasant, but not life threatening changes to the body.

The shortest route to alleviating the symptoms of menopause  is HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy). This means that the estrogen that is not being produced by the body is replaced by a man-made version of estrogen. When the body thinks that all the estrogen that it needs is in ample supply, the side effects subside - the body actually has that switch I mentioned earlier!

However, there have been many reports of late that indicate that HRT produces a significantly higher risk of breast cancer. If it isn't one thing, it is another!

Many women are simply toughing out the side effects caused by menopause and other menopause symptoms because they are worried about the breast cancer risk factor of several menopause treatments. Other women are opting to use HRT and hope for the best. Still other women seek natural hormone replacement therapies that pose no added risk for breast cancer.

There is no one right answer for all women on what menopause treatment is the best. You have to make your own decision based on your menopause symptoms, and your ability to deal with them for however long it takes.