Many women over the age of 65 will experience a condition known as Osteoporosis, which affects more than 30% of all women, without any of them ever realizing. This number increases with age. For younger women like me, who go through menopause early this risk is increased by about 25%. By the time a normal woman is 80 she will be among the many women who will have or have had some kind of hip francture, the age is much lower for some women who has had thier menopause onset much earlier.
Why is this a problem?
Even the experts are stumped as to why menopausal women have such a rapid decline in bone density during the years after the onset of menopause. Because a women lacks estrogen she is more likely to be at risk. Estrogen itself would have been the preventative measure in this case. However in most cases the problem is that women are deficient in estrogen and thus more suseptible to this condition.
Who Else is At Risk
Other things may cause or put you at risk for Osteoporosis or Bone Density problems, one of those thing is being very tall and thin. These are not my problems but it is important to this blog that I mention this.
Another Risk is being caucasian, again not one of my problems. However for many this is a risk in these ladies.
You may be at risk if you are an avid smoker, you will need to stop soon if you want to reduce the chances of having bone density problems.
If you have to take any thyroid medications, you to are at risk for this particular problem.
Lastly if you are simply sitting on your backside all day long, you are putting yourself at risk for bone density problems. Being active and getting exercise is the only way you are going to be comfortable with menopause and save yourself from bone density problems.
December 16th, 2009 | The Facts About Menopause | No Comments »
When you get to the age where you get menopause you should know what will happen to your heart at that time. For many women it means that the likelihood for heart disease is increased. Therefore you will need to take the time to find a way to keep that from being an issue.
Most women get heart disease as it the top killer of women. Once a woman gets to menopause, it is safe to say that her life expectancy is that she MAY live another 30 or 40 years. However while in menopause her risk for heart disorders and serious problems increase, she is more likely to get stroke, heart disease, and hip fractures. In addition she may also be more subsceptible to getting alzheimers or dementia as well.
Younger woman may be at a lower risk but once a woman gets older that risk is increased dramatically. Women who get menopause early have an even more pronounced risk for the disease. In addition women who are on HRT (hormone replacement therapy) will have an even higher risk that those who simply have menopause.
December 12th, 2009 | Tags: heart disease, menopause symptoms
Symptoms of Menopause | No Comments »
The body of a woman is very complex, and there is a lot of different things that are going on in the body. In order to understand menopause you must have an idea of what is going on in the body.
- The ovaries contain all the materials a woman needs to produce an egg (also called ova) in small sacks. The uterus is a hollow organ which is in the pelvic area of a woman. These eggs that are produced will have to travel through what is called the fallopian tubes. When the egg is out of the ovary then it can be fertilized and will then become implanted in the lining of the woman’s uterus. This is what a woman needs to have happen in order for them to get pregnant.
- The body is producing hormones, these hormones are estrogen and progesterone. These are found within the woman and are essential to making the body prepared to reproduce. They also create the female body development as well as being a part of the nervous system and brain, the liver, the urinary tract and the bones of the woman. Progesterone is also responsible for thickening the uterine lining so that the woman’s fertilized egg is ready to grow.
- As the woman gets older her body will start to decline in its ability to make eggs, which will eventually stop causing the woman to have a condition called menopause. Women will also experience menopause when they have their ovaries removed in surgery.
- The woman goes through perimenopause, a process that leads up to menopause. A woman is not going to go through overnight, she will go through this process first which could take a couple of years. There are three stages a woman may go through, The early stage is where their menstrual flow changes and the cycle slows down. The second stage may be skipped periods or irregular ones. In the last stage of perimenopause a woman will miss a lot of periods until they actually stop all together. This comes with many different symptoms.
- A woman reaches Menopause in which there is no longer a secretion of the hormones estrogen and progesterone. Your body no longer produces eggs, and you may stop having symptoms you had in perimenopause.
Now you have an idea of everything that should be happening in your life from period to menopause. Now you can study menopause with a clear understanding of it.
December 8th, 2009 | Tags: estrogen, menopause, progesterone
An Overview of Menopause | 4 Comments »
In finding the treatment for menopause, you will find that this is a completely normal condition and it usually does not require medical attention. Therefore the treatment for menopause most women will look for is relief from the symptoms of menopause. Here are a couple of treatments that work for menopause sufferers:
- Hormone replacement therapy which is a drug treatment that helps the hot flashes, however there are a ton of side effects to this drug that include heart diseas and breast cancer so if you do use it, use it only as a short term remedy.
- Antidepressants may help you if you are experiencing mood swings, or if you are having hot flashes.
- Herbal remedies may help to manage symptoms and many women report them doing so, however the medical community has not offered any proof to support this.
These are some good ways to get relief from these symptoms.
December 4th, 2009 | Treatment of Menopause | 2 Comments »
When a woman is going through perimenopause she will experience a few different symptoms and for some women this may be very mild, while for others this can be an exceptionally severe experience.
Here is the list of perimenopausal symptoms:
- hot flashes: due to the fact that women end up experiencing a buildup of body heat which result in flashes of heat that come from no where
- heart pounding
- mood swings: Because of the changes in your levels of hormones you may find yourself angry one moment and happy in the next
- vaginal dryness
- disturbances in your sleep
- your hair may thin out
In most cases these problems come from a change in the amount of estrogen and the amount of progesterone your body has. Once you actually get to regular menopause most of these problems will completely disappear.
December 1st, 2009 | Tags: hot flashes, mood swings, perimenopause symptoms
Symptoms of Menopause | 3 Comments »
In my research I found that menopause is simply the time when a woman is no longer producing eggs in her ovaries and when she experiences a decline in the amount of estrogen and progesterone both womanly hormones. In most cases the women who get menopause are older, usually between 45 and 55. However younger women may also get menopause if they had their ovaries removed or if they are experiencing a premature form of menopause, so here I am a 38 year old woman with menopause or actually I have a form of menopause called perimenopause which means that the periods are beginning to taper off. For me they have actually stopped, however you are not considered fully in menopause until you have missed 12 full months of periods. While having menopause early is one thing, it is not common, normally women don’t get this until they have reached on average about 51 years of age. So if you are 38 don’t worry you may very well have plenty of time left before you actually get it.
In the next blog we will talk about the perimenopause symptoms and what you can expect from getting this stage of menopause.
November 27th, 2009 | Tags: menopause, perimenopause
An Overview of Menopause | No Comments »
Hello Everyone, I am Katherine Johnson also known to most as Pastor Kayte. I am now in my very late 30’s and guess what I am going through early menopause. I am not embarrassed about it, as it is simply a part of life, however I know there are some women who find this time considerable distressing. So I decided to create a place where ladies could find all the information they need on the subject. I look forward to seeing you in the coming months as we discuss this topic.
November 22nd, 2009 | Introduction | No Comments »