Menopause

Menopause is reached after a transitioning period called Perimenopause. It is in the perimenopause or pre-menopausal period that women experience a range of unpleasant symptoms, during which the hot flashes and/or night sweats are complained about the most.

Perimenopause can begin as early as the mid 30’s, but most women start this transition between the ages of 45 and 55, the average age for starting perimenopause is 47 years. Most have started by 52 but some women can still be in perimenopause at 58, although this is not very common. Pre-menopause or perimenopause can even begin as early as 35.

Each person is different but generally speaking, if your mother started perimenopause early or late, there is a chance you will do the same. Once the woman has not menstruated for 12 consecutive months, she is considered to have ended the perimenopause or transitioning period and is now in menopause. Menopause simply means a pause in menstruation.

In general, the perimenopause lasts 3 years in total, however, some women may experience subtle changes in their bodies which gradually increase until the woman decides that the symptoms she is experiencing warrants a doctor’s visit. These symptoms often include unforgettable fatigue, headaches, muscle aches and pains, digestive problems, palpitations, nausea, vaginal dryness and itchiness, hair falling out or thinning, depression, irritability, mood swings, lack of concentration, dry skin, wrinkling, insomnia, low libido, forgetfulness, confusion, low energy, brittle nails, simply put - you just feel terrible (there is a total of 35 symptoms). The doctor may well do numerous tests and come back and say there is nothing wrong. If you are in the 45-55 age range, it is very likely that you have entered the peri-menopausal stage.

Women tend to suffer more during the perimenopausal period but once menstruation has stopped completely for 12 consecutive months, everything tends to balance out again. Occasionally women may have an occasional period during menopause, which can be confusing but studies cannot explain why as yet. It could be due to stress, dieting or exercise so some sources say that it is only after 2 full years of not menstruating, you are in menopause.

Less common side effects of perimenopause are an awareness that your depth perception (you may notice that when hanging clothes on the wash-line that you miss the line when you try to put the peg on it) and special awareness (eg. You could be bumping into things or knocking the car on gates, walls etc.) are changing. Your sense of taste or smell can change. Some people can have cold flushes, rather than hot flushes – you can use Sage Essential Oil for this.

If you are feeling cold all the time you could have low thyroid issues which should be checked by your doctor. Acne could return, even psoriasis, eczema or asthma – check your diet, consider using something to support your immune system and rest a bit more.

You could feel spaced out which could also be a symptom of dehydration, low blood sugar levels, dietary factors, stress and anxiety – take a look at your lifestyle and consider making changes to reduce the stress. You could get a strong desire to have another child just as you enter perimenopause, you could even become a little irrational at this point and this could cause more stress due to the fact that you more than likely cannot get pregnant. Consider visiting a psychotherapist in order to talk it through to make peace with it.

What is happening in your body?

Basically your ovaries have stopped producing the hormone called estrogen. This is a chemical change and is what causes the symptoms you will be experiencing.

Progesterone and Estrogen are pretty equal in your body most of the time, but you stop producing Progesterone which leads to what is called Estrogen dominance. Estrogen dominance leads to increased chances of heart problems and cancer.

The imbalance in the progesterone and estrogen levels could have an effect on the thyroid stimulating hormone – the hormone that helps your body make thyroid is the thyroid hormone. If the thyroid hormone starts to decrease it could result in symptoms of low thyroid ie. Your hair starts falling out or thinning, nails become brittle, skin becomes dry and you could become more prone to colds. This can then affect other things like the cortisol levels in your body.

Cortisol is what gives you energy during the day and should be at its highest in the morning. If you feel sluggish in the mornings then there are more than likely imbalances in your thyroid and cortisol levels. This is why it is not a simple thing to treat a person for symptoms of perimenopause, but we can reduce the severity of the symptoms.

Note: People who have their ovaries removed can also experience perimenopause symptoms.

What happens after that?

For most women the end of the 2 years from your last menstrual cycle, your symptoms should be tailing off but this could also depend on how well you looked after yourself during perimenopause ie. Did you eat properly? Were you under stress or not? What is the state of your general health? It is vital that you look after yourself right through perimenopause to enable your body to adjust well after the 2 year period. If not, this could cause the perimenopause to last longer and for you to suffer from the symptoms a little more.

To decrease the symptom severity and the duration of menopause, you could turn to plant based hormones such as DHEA or Melatonin or you could consider trying the following (before resorting to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) drugs):

Food that Cause Hot Flashes, Night Sweats & Other Menopause Symptoms

Top of the list is Processed Sugar causes Candida and Yeast overgrowth in the gut causing inflammation.

• Processed Soy that contains estrogens.
• Artificial Sweetners.
• Gluten causes inflammation of the lining of the gut and could also lead to autoimmune diseases.
• Packaged foods containing hydrogenated oils or refined flours.
• Processed meats contain hormones, anti-biotics and steroids which increase hot flashes, lower energy levels and sex drive.

Foods that Help Balance Hormones & Reduce or Get Rid of Menopause Symptoms

• Coconut products can balance the blood sugar levels in the body.
• Berries are high in antioxidants.
• Omega 3 Fatty Acids that are found in wild caught fish eg. Salmon
• Other healthy fats are found in Avocadoes, which are also high in Magnesium, Potassium and Omega 9.
• Flax Seeds and Flax Meal found in sprouted flax seed or Chia Hemp. These can be added to morning smoothies.
• Grass fed Beef is full of Iron.
• Lots of cruciferous Vegetables like Turnips, Kale, Cabbage, broccoli and Brussel sprouts help detox the body by removing phytoestrogens and bad hormones.

Supplements That Can Help

• Collagen Protein Powder.
• Soil based probiotics to help digestion.
• Adaptogen (helps your body to adapt to stress). Herbs like Ginseng, Ashwagandha and Holy Basil.
• Omega-3 reduces inflammation of female organs and the gut.
• Black Cohosh which is popular in Chinese medicine.
• Vitex balances the hormones in the female organs and body in general.
  Do not use Vitex with any other hormone treatment such as birth control.
• Soil based Probiotic supplements.

Great Essential Oils to Use

• Sandal Wood, Ylang Ylang, Wild Orange, Palmarosa, Chamomile or German Chamomile are good for balancing your mood.
• Peppermint and wild orange are good for energy – Peppermint good for hot flashes.
• Clary Sage, Geranium, Rose, Petuli are good for hormone balancing.
• Thyme balances progesterone.
• Clary Sage balances estrogen.
• Stay away from hot essential
  oils ie. those that make your
  skin feel hot when you put a
  drop on yourself; use the
  cooling essential oils.
• Mix a few drops of essential
  oils into a carrier oil like
• Sweet Almond, Grape Seed
  Oil, Olive Oil or Avocado Oil.
• Rub on your neck, wrists or ankles or you can dilute your choice of essential oils into your bath.

Change Your Lifestyle to Reduce Stress

• Two or three walks per day, if possible, of 15 to 20 minutes each.
• Yoga breathing (breathe in through your mouth for 4 counts, hold breath for 4 counts, breathe out through your mouth for 4 counts and hold for 4 counts) do this 5-10 times.
• Meditation (eg. Mindfulness).
• Detox baths (ie. 1 cup Epsom Salts with 20 drops of essential oil of your choice eg. Lavender).
• Listening to Binaural Beats, Isochronic Tones or Holosinc Audio Tones, regularly (each day).
• Drinking healthy Estrogen Smoothies each day.
  -A handful of spinach, an avocado cut in half, 2 tablespoons of Flax Seed, 1 cup of Berries for flavor (eg. Pomegranate, Blue Berry, Black Berry, Strawberry) Nuts and Seeds (eg. Sunflower, Sesame Seed, Pumpkin Seed) with Almond Milk. Blend it altogether and drink.
• Look after yourself by giving yourself some “Me Time” to do what you enjoy most.

Look out for my article on “Essential Oils” or look for the “Essential Oil Chart” on on [SteemIt] (https://steemit.com/@valeriem)/!

Images: from Google Images