What is Menopause?

What is the menopause?

• Menopause is when your periods stop due to lower hormone levels. This usually happens between the ages of 45 and 55.
  • It can sometimes happen earlier naturally or for reasons such as surgery to remove the ovaries (oophorectomy) or the uterus (hysterectomy), cancer treatments like chemotherapy, or a genetic reason. Sometimes the reason is unknown.
  • Perimenopause is when you have symptoms before your periods have stopped. You reach menopause when you have not had a period for 12 months.
  • Menopause and perimenopause can cause symptoms like anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, hot flushes and irregular periods. These symptoms can start years before your periods stop and carry on afterwards.
  • Menopause and perimenopause symptoms can have a big impact on your life, including relationships and work.
  • There are things you can do to help with symptoms. There are also medicines that can replace the missing hormones and help relieve your symptoms.

Common physical symptoms of menopause and perimenopause include:

• Hot flushes, when you have sudden feelings of hot or cold in your face, neck and chest which can make you dizzy.
• Difficulty sleeping, which may be a result of night sweats and make you feel tired and irritable during the day.
• Palpitations, when your heartbeats suddenly become more noticeable headaches and migraines that are worse than usual.
• Muscle aches and joint pains.
• Changed body shape and weight gain.
• Skin changes including dry and itchy skin.
• Reduced sex drive.
• Vaginal dryness and pain, itching or discomfort during sex.
• Recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs)

Helpful Hints & Tips

Do

• Get plenty of rest, including keeping to regular sleep routines
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Have calcium-rich food like milk, yoghurt and kale to keep bones healthy exercise regularly, try including weight-bearing activities where your feet and legs support your weight like walking, running or dancing.
• Do relaxing things like yoga, tai chi or meditation.
• Talk to other people going through the same thing, like family, friends or colleagues.
• Talk to a doctor before taking herbal supplements or complementary medicines

Don’t

• Avoid smoking and drinking more than the recommended alcohol limit

How to ease hot flushes and night sweats

You can:

• Wear light clothing.
• Keep your bedroom cool at night.
• Take a cool shower, use a fan or have a cold drink.
• Try to reduce your stress level.
• Avoid/reduce potential triggers, such as spicy food, caffeine, hot drinks, smoking and alcohol.
• Exercise regularly & focus on losing weight if you're overweight.
• CBT can also help manage hot flushes.

How to ease vaginal dryness

There are vaginal moisturisers or lubricants you can get without a prescription at a pharmacy.

• You can talk to a pharmacist in private if you'd like help to decide which moisturiser is right for you.
• If you're having sex and using condoms, do not use oil-based lubricant as this can damage condoms. You can use a water-based lubricant.
• There are other treatments for vaginal dryness that a doctor can prescribe, such as HRT (hormone replacement therapy) or hormonal treatment (creams, pessaries, gel or vaginal rings).

Protecting against weak bones

You can try to:

• Exercise regularly, including weight-bearing exercises, where your feet and legs support your weight (like walking, running or dancing) and resistance exercises (for example, using weights).
• Eat a healthy diet that includes plenty of fruit, vegetables and sources of calcium, such as milk, yoghurt and kale.
• Get some sunlight on your skin as this triggers the production of vitamin D, which can help keep your bones healthy.
• Take vitamin D supplements.
• Stop smoking and cut down on alcohol.
• Taking HRT can reduce the risk of osteoporosis.