What is menopause?

Menopause is the end of a woman’s menstrual cycle and the end of her fertility, that is, the end of the reproductive years.

The reasons are not our topic. But routinely, menopause occurs due to the depletion of our eggs coming with birth in our ovaries. Menopause is a normal part of aging when it occurs after age 40. But some women may go into early menopause. This can be both familial and the result of damage to the ovaries such as surgical removal of the ovaries or chemotherapy. If it occurs before the age of 40 for any reason, it is called premature menopause.

First signs of menopause

The most common and most well-known menopausal symptom is hot flashes. During these symptoms, medically called vasomotor symptoms, there is a sudden feeling of warmth radiating to the upper body, often with flushing, heart palpitations, and sweating. While some women notice that menopause is approaching with severe flashes, some may not experience it at all.

In addition, of course, irregularity of menstruation is indispensable. In some women, the intervals between menstruation become more frequent, while in others, they open and delayed menstruation begins. Basically, many signs of menopause are due to the decrease in estrogen hormone. Common findings include vaginal dryness, sexual reluctance, mild depression tendency, tendency to gain weight, sleep problems, dry wrinkling of the skin, dry mouth and eyes.

Natural menopause occurs as a slow and natural flow without any medical or surgical treatment. Findings come gradually, so to speak, naturally. The first stage, called perimenopause, begins several years before menopause, where the ovaries gradually produce less estrogen. Perimenopause lasts until menopause, the point at which your ovaries stop releasing eggs. During the last 1-2 years of this phase, estrogen levels drop faster. Menopause is when it’s been two years since menstruation. The ovaries no longer fully ovulate and can produce no estrogen at all. Postmenopause is the period when the body gets used to these changes; vasomotor symptoms, hot flashes, night sweats are relieved, but health risks (such as heart attack, osteoporosis) due to estrogen deficiency increase.

If you cannot predict where you are in the menopause cycle, your physician can give you detailed information by evaluating your ovaries with examination and ultrasound and by performing hormone tests.

Is there a cure for menopause?

Menopause is a natural process and many symptoms will go away over time. But this is not a disease, it is an irreversible consequence of the aging of the body. Therefore, there is no definitive treatment. However, each of the symptoms can be treated individually. With estrogen replacement therapy, called hormone replacement therapy, conditions such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness or osteoporosis can be managed by replacing hormones that the body no longer produces. Some non-hormonal medications or combinations can help with hot flashes and vaginal symptoms as well as strengthening bones. There are many treatment options for each of the symptoms, such as hormone creams, low-dose antidepressants, or osteoporosis drugs.

Certain lifestyle changes have been scientifically proven to help many women cope with menopausal symptoms. For example, in vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes, it is helpful to cool the body internally by drinking cold water. Vaginal moisturizers or lubricants can be used for vaginal dryness. Regular sleep, exercise to prevent conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis, staying socially and mentally active to prevent memory problems, quitting smoking (tobacco can cause early menopause and increase hot flashes), yoga, breathing therapy, etc. proven to be good.