WHAT IS MENOPAUSAL SYNDROME?

The menopausal syndrome is not a disease, it is the natural process of aging in females. In this condition, the menstrual cycle or fertility period ends.

It does not happen suddenly, it is a slow-developing process 

If menopause occurs before the age of 40 it is considered early menopause or induced menopause and it occurs due to an underlying cause.

RISK FACTORS FOR EARLY MENOPAUSE

If the menopause occurs after the age of 40 it is considered normal but if it occurs before 40 it premature menopause and it is triggered by some factors 

• Family history -any woman having a family history of early menopause, these women are more prone to developing early menopause.
• Some medications that reduce the level of estrogen level can induce the early menopause 
• Smoking
• Autoimmune diseases such as thyroid
• Turner syndrome

COMPLICATION OF MENOPAUSAL SYNDROME

Although menopause is a natural phenomenon after menopause women face many complications such as 

• Osteoporosis- in the early phase of menopause, bones become weak and lose bone density, which increases the risk of developing osteoporosis 
• Cancer- the cases of breast cancer are more common in women who have reached menopause. Cancer of the reproductive part is also common such as CA of the cervix.
• Urinary incontinence- at the menopause stage the vaginal and urethral parts lose their elasticity and as a result, females face problems such as loss of control in urination, involuntary loss of urine, urine passed out during coughing, sneezing, or lifting of any heavyweight, frequent and sudden urge for urination.
• Cardiovascular - as the menopause phase the level of estrogen drops leading to various cardiovascular diseases.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE?

Menopause does not happen suddenly, it may run up to months or a year 

Initial symptoms are 

• Irregular menses -initial the regular menstrual cycle become irregular like menses may come early as come within a week or some female, may experience a delay in menses like menses can skip up to 2 or 3 months, gradually this time increases.

• Symptoms related to female genital parts-some women may experience various problems in the genital area such as itching, dryness, discomfort, and may feel excessive pain during sex (this pain occurs due to low level of estrogen, leads to vaginal inflammation, and as a result decreased in lubrication)

• Hot flashes -hot flushes are very common symptoms in menopause, it is the feeling of hotness in the body it happens suddenly generally it happens in the upper part of the body such as the face, neck, or chest and gradually reached in mower part of the body.

• Cognitive function-menopause lead to an impact on memory, sometimes females experience easy forgetfulness, facing difficulty in focusing on work, and loss of concentration.

• Mental problems - sometimes females become irritable, face mood swings, sleep disturbance, anxiety, and depression, due to low sexual power feel depression at this stage.

• Urinary problems -at this time females become, more prone to UTI, other pelvic inflammatory conditions such as cystitis, and urinary incontinence, lack control of urination.

• Pregnancy - at menopause the estrogen level becomes slow leading to fewer chances of pregnancy 

• Night sweat -if the hot flashes occur at night during sleep it is called night sweat sometime during hot flashes women experience episodes of drenching sweats at night during sleep.

• Insomnia- disturbance in sleep lead to insomnia

• Obesity -obesity is more common at this stage because the metabolic system becomes slow.

• Hair Loss and thinning of hair 

• The size of the breast becomes small due to shrinkage 

• Pain in joints

• Weakness 

• Skin becomes dry and wrinkles.

All these problems may gradually decrease within 2 to 5 years. Sometimes it may persist for a long time but it is not so much dangerous.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF MENOPAUSAL SYNDROME?

The ovaries are the part of the female reproductive part it releases the egg into the fallopian tube and also releases the hormone which is necessary for the menstrual cycle.

Ovaries release estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. 

These are two hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle these are estrogen and progesterone if the level of these hormones is disturbed it leads to menopause

 Natural -Menopause is a natural phenomenon in women's life but menopause occur due to the loss of estrogen, it mainly occurs after the age of 45, but there is no fixed age for this but it generally occurs after 40.

After  30 the release of estrogen level(regulate the menstrual cycle ) from the ovary becomes less, when the women reach the age of 40, irregularity in the periods starts, and finally at the age of 50 ovaries stop producing an egg, and no more periods occur 

If the menopause occurs before the age of 40 it is considered premature menopause, it occurs due to such reasons 

• Therapy induced -Some time menopause occur due to various treatments, such as chemotherapy and pelvic radiation therapy .it is called  induced menopause 
• Hysterectomy -during hysterectomy if only the uterus is removed it leads to the gradual development of menopausal symptoms because the egg is still released and produces estrogen and progesterone, but if both ovaries and uterus are removed during surgery it leads to immediately stop of period 
• Premature ovarian failure -if the ovary loses its function early or when ovaries fail to produce normal levels of reproductive hormones, it leads to early menopause  

DIAGNOSIS OF MENOPAUSE

• Generally, it is diagnosed when any woman has not had a menstrual period for one year without any underlying cause 
• Diagnosis is also made by asking some general questions such as the pattern of the menstrual cycle, or any family history of early menopause
• Hormonal test-to diagnose menopause FSH and estrogen level is tested, during menopause the level of FSH increases, and the estrogen level is decreased.
• TSH (thyroid-stimulating hormone) is also checked to rule out the hypothyroid because it resembles the same symptoms as menopause 
• picoAMH Elisa test -it is done to measure the amount of anti-mullerian hormone in the blood, through this test doctor can determine when you will enter menopause.
• Blood test -CBC to rule out the anemia

TREATMENT OF MENOPAUSE

• If there are no symptoms then no need to take medicine because it is a natural process.
• The conventional treatment for the menopausal syndrome is hormone replacement therapy which includes supplements of estrogen and progesterone hormone, sometimes oral contraceptives also advise 
• Sometimes doctors also recommend antidepressant drugs.
• Symptomatic medications are available such as medications for hot flushes such as gabapentin medication for vaginal symptoms as are anti-fungal treatments.
• Supplements for the anemia and calcium 
• This condition is well managed by homeopathy without any side effects because another medicine gives you temporary relief 

MANAGEMENT OF MENOPAUSE

• Eat less but in a healthy manner because at this age the metabolic system becomes slow so if females eat more it leads to obesity 
• Do exercise daily, it reduces the risk of heart disease, and strengthens your bones 
• Maintain a healthy weight because it can lead to various health issues 
• Avoid smoking and alcohol because it increases your risk of developing heart disease twice 
• Find the other underlying diseases and treat them, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure, because all these are risk factors for the heart disease 
• Drink lots of water it improves your hot flushes
• Should expose your body to sunlight because it decreases the risk of osteoporosis
• Women can take calcium supplements but it is better to take more calcium from the natural diet 
• Avoid excessive physical exertion
• Avoid tight clothing 
• Limit the consumption of spicy food, caffeine, and alcohol
• Avoid stress
• Always Maintain a cool and comfortable temperature in the room because it reduces the hot flushes and anxiety.
• Maintain normal sleep cycle, always go and wake up at fix time 

HOMEOPATHIC MANAGEMENT OF MENOPAUSE

• Homeopathy is a good option for managing the symptoms of menopause, there are various medicines that can easily manage the hot flushes, weakness, trembling, and mood swings 
• Constitutional medicine can help you very well and also reduce the complications, but never take medicine without proper consultation from the registered homeopathic physician
• There is homeopathic medicine are lachesis, sepia, sulphuric acid, folliculim, lycopodium, calcarea carb, pulsatilla .
• These medicines act on the body internally and give safe and effective results

DO’S AND DON’TS

Do’s

• Take a healthy diet, which is rich in calcium 
• Take exercise daily 
• No need to panic it is a natural phenomenon of the aging 
• Drink lots of water, keep hydrated
• Take proper sleep
• Maintain or fix the sleeping or waking time 
• Always spend time in the sun rays, especially in the morning
• Maintain healthy weight

Don’ts

• Avoid stress
• Avoid alcohol and smoking
• Avoid staying in a less ventilated areas 
• Avoid wearing tight clothing
• Avoid spicy and junk food