Post menopause symptoms - do you know how to recognize them?
There actually does come a time when you are through menopause and you enter your post menopause years and begin to experience post menopause symptoms. But, how do you know you have arrived?
Post menopause symbolically begins on the fourteenth new moon after your final menstruation, and, of course this continues for the rest of your life.
If menopause represents the end of a woman's ability to have a child, then post menopause and the effects of post menopause symptoms represent a "new beginning."
In the past life spans were shorter. A hundred years ago the average age of menopause was 47, but the life expectancy of a woman was only 49. Now women become menopausal at around the same age, but their life expectancy is around 80, so we can expect to spend 25 to 30 years post menopause with various post menopause symptoms.
So it is very important to be able to make the kind of informed choices that will help us maximize our enjoyment of these years of "new beginning." Today because the average woman lives one third of her life post menopause, this should be a time of adventure, health and vitality.
While the experience of post menopause and the many post menopause symptoms is different for each woman, recent surveys have suggested that many of the stereotypes of midlife and mature women are false.
Rather than suffering depression at the conclusion of child-bearing years or experiencing a disinterest in sex, nowadays many women report feeling liberated, empowered and more in touch with life.
Many women feel free to experience post menopause as a time of self-discovery, confidence and enhanced intimacy with the renewed energy to enjoy it all.
Changes in sexual responsiveness and interest in sex frequently happen to women in their post menopause years. Some women find they are less interested in sex and others find that sex is more enjoyable than ever. Some women find that sex is better post menopause when they no longer have to worry about pregnancy.
Their relationships with their partners can improve when there is more time available and they can rediscover and expand their definition of sensual pleasure. So physical and hormonal changes associated with menopause need not have a negative effect on your capacity for physical and emotional pleasure.
If women find that their vagina is drier during Menopause and in post menopause, then regular intercourse or masturbation seems to decrease vaginal dryness and irritation and using simple lubricants can be helpful.
"What Has Happened With Our Hormones
To Get Us Here?"
During our reproductive years our ovaries usually produce one egg per menstrual cycle along with the hormones estrogen and progesterone. The hormones in the pituitary gland control the activities of the ovaries.
When levels of estrogen are low the hormones stimulate the ovary to ripen an egg and produce estrogen. When levels of estrogen are sufficient hormones cause the egg to be released from the ovary about mid-cycle. This cycle repeats itself every month, if the egg is not fertilized.
The number of eggs available steadily declines over the years until between the ages of about 40 to 55 there are fewer and fewer eggs until eventually no more eggs are left to be released. So the production of estrogen and progesterone falls and monthly menstrual cycles cease.
Estrogen is the main female hormone produced in the ovaries and to a much lesser extent in the adrenal glands and fatty tissue. Estrogen is responsible for the development and maintenance of physical female characteristics contributing to both physical and emotional well being.
Progesterone controls the level of estrogen. In post menopause when the levels of estrogen have decreased the adrenal glands and fatty tissue take over as the major estrogen producers.
"What Changes Occur During Post Menopause?"
Once you enter the post menopause phase and begin to experience the many post menopause symptoms you may regain your energy and feel emotionally normal once again, but the lower level of estrogen in your body may put you at higher risk for certain conditions.
Good nutrition affects the way we look, feel and behave and this is particularly true for our bodies as we go through menopause and with post menopause symptoms.
Some problems associated with Menopause and Post Menopause may be related to low levels of some vitamins, so increasing your vitamin intake and paying attention to your overall nutrition can help minimize some of the challenges associated with post menopause.
One of the biggest challenges for women experiencing post menopause symptoms can be "osteoporosis." The gradual loss of calcium from bones is a normal process in mid life and later life, but excessive loss of calcium causes thinning and brittleness of the bones and this is called "osteoporosis."
Estrogen helps protect the female body against calcium loss, so when estorgen levels decrease during menopause there can be a sharp decline in the thickness and strength of your bones. The greatest loss of calcium occurs in the first five years of experiencing post menopause symptoms.
To ensure an adequate calcium intake during menopause and especially when experiencing post menopause symptoms, it is recommended that a woman take 1000 to 1500 mg of calcium per day and combine this with magnesium and Vitamin D for absorption.
Another health challenge for women with post menopause symptoms is heart disease. The risk of heart disease increases due to the permanent drop in estrogen levels. In the cardiovascular system estrogen acts as a guard against heart disease.
In post menopause a woman's risk of heart disease is almost the same as a man's. Heart disease is a serious condition, so it is important for women to know their blood pressure, levels of cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides and fasting blood glucose.
Women with post menopause symptoms can lower their risk of heart disease by eating a healthy diet, a diet rich in B Vitamins, especially B-12, B6 and Folic Acid. Not smoking, losing weight, exercising regularly, and managing your response to stress will also help lower your risk of heart disease.
Post menopause symptoms can cause a woman's life to be quite complicated, physically and emotionally, but if you pay attention to your health and lifestyle post menopause can be vibrant time of your life.
