How to reduce the discomfort caused by menopause?

 

1. What is menopause?

Menopause is the time after a woman’s ovaries stop working completely, no longer ovulating and producing hormones. As a result, the woman no longer menstruates and cannot become pregnant.

Menstruation may stop for a few months and then return. Therefore, a woman is called menopausal when she has not had a period for over 1 year.

The normal age of menopause is between 45 and 55 years of age. Menopause is not a disease but a normal period transition that occurs in all older women.

2. What is perimenopause?

Perimenopause is the period before actual menopause. During this time, a woman’s body will change and cause symptoms such as hot flashes, menstrual disorders, trouble sleeping, irritability, etc. These symptoms may persist for months or even years after the last menstrual period. After menopause, a woman enters the post-menopause phase, which lasts for the rest of her life.

3. What discomfort may I experience before and after menopause?

Menopause can affect a woman. There are many people who do not experience any discomfort. There are also many people who experience many symptoms that severely affect their lives. Some changes that can occur during pre- and post-menopause:

• Menstrual disorders
• More or less often
• Lasts more days or fewer days
• Amount more or less
• Hot flashes (hot flashes): quite common, are a sudden burning sensation that occurs over the eyes, neck, or chest. Hot flashes may be followed by flushing, sweating, and chills. Nighttime hot flashes can cause night sweats and disrupt sleep.
• Difficulty sleeping may be due to hot flashes during the night, night sweats.
• Vaginal dryness: reducing estrogen levels makes the vagina dry, atrophy, malnourished. This can cause pain during intercourse and discomfort, such as itching, burning, vaginal discharge, and vaginal bleeding.
• Urinary disorders: urinary incontinence, urinary urgency, urinary tract infection, difficulty holding urine when urinating.
• Decreased libido: because of mood swings, insomnia, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse.
• Mood changes: irritable, irritable, irritable, emotional, crying. Decreased ability to concentrate, forget.
• Weight gain, belly fat gain, flabby muscles, wrinkled skin, loss of elasticity, dry hair, easy to fall off, breast atrophy, flabby...

4. Menopause cause osteoporosis?

Low estrogen levels can lead to osteoporosis, weak bones, and brittle bones. However, the process is quite silent and you may not experience any discomfort until you break a bone. Fractures in the elderly are difficult to heal and cause many serious complications.

To have a healthy skeleton, exercise regularly and have a diet rich in calcium and vitamin D such as milk, yogurt, cheese, etc. Women over 51 need about 1200mg of calcium and 600 units of vitamin D per day. You can supplement with calcium and vitamin D tablets if needed.

5. Does menopause increase the risk of cardiovascular disease?

This is true. After menopause, you will have an increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as stroke and heart attack. This may be due to a decrease in the hormone estrogen, or possibly due to aging. Lifestyle changes can help, such as

• Do not smoke and avoid secondhand smoke from others.
• Regular exercise for about 30 minutes a day helps keep your body supple and healthy, significantly reduces the symptoms of menopause and helps you feel more active and love life. You can choose for yourself one or more suitable sports such as walking, cycling, yoga, tai chi, swimming... If you have medical conditions such as cardiovascular, osteoarthritis, consult a doctor before exercise.
• Eat a healthy diet, reduce salt and fatty foods, eat lots of green vegetables and fruits. Increasing the portion of fish in your meal helps increase healthy fats, omega-3s, good for the heart.

6. How can I minimize menopausal discomfort?

Here are some ways to help you feel better:

Flushing:

Avoid things that trigger hot flashes, such as spicy foods, alcohol, coffee, stress, being in a hot place, smoking.

• Wear loose-fitting clothes
• Use a fan or air conditioner to cool

• When a hot flash begins, try taking slow, deep breaths, inhaling through your nose, exhaling through your mouth. Breathe only 5-7 times per minute, much slower than usual.
• Exercise regularly, but not too close to bedtime. Meditation, yoga, qigong, tai chi, acupuncture, or massage will also help reduce hot flashes.
• If you stay up at night, drink a glass of cool water. Try different ways to get back to sleep, such as meditating, taking slow, deep breaths, or getting out of bed and reading until you feel drowsy.
• Lose weight if you are overweight

Vaginal dryness, painful intercourse:

• Certain lubricants can make intercourse more comfortable.

Difficulty sleeping:

• Exercising but not too close to bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep
• Avoid eating a lot, smoking and working before bed. Avoid coffee after afternoon.
• Keep the bedroom cool, dark. Do not work in the bedroom.
• Get into the habit of going to bed and waking up at a certain time
• Avoid napping too much

Mood change:

• Try to get enough sleep and exercise regularly will help you feel more loved and healthy
• Avoid stressful jobs

7. When should I see a Doctor?

You need to see your doctor when menopausal symptoms bother you. Your doctor will examine you and guide you through life changes so you can feel more comfortable and prescribe medication if necessary. You should also have a routine check-up every 6 months to detect diseases such as high blood pressure, hyperlipidemia, diabetes, etc., assess the risk of osteoporosis, have a gynecological examination to detect gynecological diseases, especially genital cancer… If you have vaginal bleeding over 1 year after menopause, see a doctor right away because it could be a sign of endometrial cancer or cervical cancer.

How can hormone replacement therapy help me?

IVF is the treatment of female hormones, such as estrogen and progesterone, to replace the lack of hormones when you go through menopause. This is an effective measure to help you relieve the discomforts of menopause and osteoporosis. However, it can have some harmful effects, especially if taken for a long time.

Benefit:

• Reduce hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, irritability, vaginal dryness
• Slow progression of osteoporosis

Risk: may increase some risk of disease

• Thrombosis
• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Breast cancer
• Gallbladder disease

It should thoroughly discuss the decision to use hormone replacement therapy with your doctor about the benefits and risks. If used, you need to be careful to use the lowest effective dose for the shortest possible time.

8. What if I go through menopause before age 40?

The normal age of menopause is between 45 and 55 years of age. Some women may go through menopause before age 40. This is called early menopause or premature ovarian failure. It can have many causes, but there are also many cases where no obvious cause can be found:

• Medical treatment, such as removal of the ovaries
• Cancer treatment that destroys the ovaries, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, to the pelvis
• An autoimmune disease in which the body has cells that attack the person’s own ovaries
• For women who want to have children, early menopause can be an enormous shock. You should discuss with your doctor how you can get pregnant, such as asking for an egg or adopting a baby.
• Early menopause can increase the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. You should discuss with your doctor for the best treatment and prevention measures.

Source: Tu Du Hospital

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The CarePlus international clinic system now has a Menopause Health Screening Package to help women in perimenopause and menopause better understand their health status. Receive the advice from a specialist on whether to use hormone replacement therapy and which therapy is most appropriate to relieve symptoms of this period. When registering for the pre-menopausal health care package and consultation package, customers will receive:

• Obstetrics and Gynecology Examination
• Cardiology examination
• Breast ultrasound
• Ultrasonic transducers
• Thyroid ultrasound
• Echocardiography
• Tests to evaluate the function of liver, kidney, thyroid, blood fat, blood sugar, blood coagulation
• Pap smear

The package is currently 15% off until January 25, 2022 and 20% off when registering from 2 people or more. To register for an examination package, please book an appointment HERE or leave a message on the website for detailed advice.

CAREPLUS INTERNATIONAL CLINIC SYSTEM

• Branch 1: Savico Building, 66-68 Nam Ky Khoi Nghia, Ward Nguyen Thai Binh, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
• Branch 2: 2nd Floor, Crescent Plaza, 105 Ton Dat Tien, Tan Phu Ward, District 7, City. Ho Chi Minh
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Website: www.careplusvn.com - Free Hotline: 18006116 - Fanpage/Zalo: CarePlus Clinic VietnamSource: Tu Du Hospital