For every woman – two events in her life are unforgettable – Menarche(when she starts menstruation or periods) and Menopause(when the horror of bloody periods finally ends). And in your forties/fifties, when you are looking forward to finally bidding adieu to your periods, you can rest assured that this monster will not leave quickly. It will torment you and trouble you with numerous symptoms, but you don’t need to worry.

TheMidLife is devoted to talking about menopause, and here is a quick primer on all things about you so that you are well-prepared to deal with this phase of your life on your terms.

Menopause: What Is It, Exactly?

Technically, menopause is termed as the event when your periods stop totally. Usually, it occurs naturally between the ages of 45-55 years. It can also be induced surgically due to the removal of the uterus (hysterectomy) or oophorectomy, which is the removal of the ovaries) or due to treatment for cancer etc.

Menopause is not a one-day event. It takes time to phase out your periods. And before menopause, you have perimenopause.

Perimenopause is the gradual phasing out of your periods. However, it has several unfortunate symptoms, like mood swings, irritability, hot flashes, and anxiety.

Symptoms Of Menopause And Perimenopause:

Monthly Cycle Changes:

When you start experiencing changes in the usual pattern of your periods – they are irregular all of a sudden, absent for no reason for a month/months, etc., you are in the perimenopausal stage. 

Physical Symptoms:

Do note that this is an extensive list of symptoms – all of them wouldn’t apply to everyone:

  • Vaginal dryness
  • Vaginal discomfort during sex
  • Hot flushes
  • Palpitations
  • Reduced sex drive
  • Dry skin
  • Weight gain
  • Joint pains
  • Sudden muscle aches
  • Night sweats
  • Insomnia
  • Frequent urinary tract infections

Mental Symptoms:

Almost all women face several mental symptoms also when dealing with menopause:

  • Brain fog
  • Issues with focus and concentration
  • Low mood
  • Anxiety
  • Low self-esteem
  • Mood swings

Treatment: Symptomatic Treatment 

There is no treatment for menopause because it is a natural process. However, suppose you are experiencing a lot of symptoms. In that case, symptomatic treatments can help you with that issue.

Here are a few common treatments you should know about before embarking on this journey:

Vaginal Estrogen:

During perimenopause/menopause, the vagina can become itchy, painful, and dry. Vaginal dryness can not only provide enormous discomfort during sex but can also be a very itchy issue. You can use a vaginal estrogen cream/ring/tablet to resolve the issue. Estrogen is not absorbed into the bloodstream, but it works locally and provides immediate relief.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

It is perhaps the most talked about treatment for menopause. It provides estrogen into your body (because it is not producing enough on its own) during the perimenopausal/menopausal phase. It can be absorbed in the body in the following forms:

  • Tablets
  • Implants 
  • Gel
  • Skin spray
  • Skin patches

It helps with hot flashes and also aids in preventing bone loss. Your doctor may also prescribe progesterone to protect the uterus’s lining against estrogen. When you take both progesterone and estrogen together, it is termed combined HRT. HRT is pretty beneficial as it helps to relieve most of the physical symptoms of menopause, including vaginal itching, brain fog, mood swings, anxiety, hot flashes, joint pains, night sweats, etc.

Testosterone Gel/Cream:

If you also have a low sex drive and combined HRT cannot relieve the symptoms, the doctors may prescribe you a dose of testosterone. 

Besides improving your sex drive, it will also enhance your energy levels and mood. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy:

This is making a lot of strides in recent years. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) can help a lot with the following:

  • Joint pain
  • Hot flushes
  • Anxiety
  • Low mood
  • Mood Swings

Antidepressants:

Even though, finally, the dreaded and traumatic periods are going away from your life for good, you can still be depressed. This is due to the hormonal changes that your body is experiencing. Hormone replacement therapy can help a lot with this phase. However, a substantial percentage of women still become depressed and cannot find relief with HRT. At this stage, doctors may prescribe some low-dose antidepressants to help you. These are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). They not only help with enhancing your mood but also help with hot flushes. Various doctors also prescribe them to relieve some physical symptoms when the patient in question can’t have HRT due to medical reasons.

Menopause is a life event, and these treatments ought to be available to every woman on the planet, no matter which region she stays in, no matter what is her economic status, and no matter whether her country is developed or not because it is a fundamental right. This year, the United Nations Theme for International Women’s Day (IWD) is “DigitALL: Innovation and technology for gender equality.” In underdeveloped and developing countries, period poverty is a critical issue where girls/women don’t have access to menstrual products and hygienic health facilities. Unfortunately, it affects almost 500 million females worldwide.

We hope that apart from period/menstrual equity, menopausal equity also becomes a way of life for every woman.  

Well, menopause may sound scary with all its physical and mental symptoms but remember, it is also hot! And that is the brilliant tagline of TheMidLife, where we help with everything related to menopause!