What is Menopause? What Happens During Menopause?

Do you wonder how the menopause period, which women experience after a certain age and which is seriously affected both physically and psychologically, begins and what you should pay attention to in this process?

In this article, we talked about everything you need to know about menopause.

What is menopause?

Menopause; It is a condition that occurs when women’s ovarian function ends, fertility ends, and menstrual bleeding stops. In this process, the activities of the estrogen hormone also begin to change and stop completely after a certain period of time. Depending on all these, various changes begin in the female body. Some of these changes cause serious discomfort to women.

In order to overcome these problems, it is important to be conscious and to manage the process correctly.

What is the age of menopause?

Women are mostly asked about this issue, “At what age do you enter menopause? They wonder about the answer to the question. It would not be very accurate to give a precise date for this question. But we can say that it is expected to occur between the ages of 45-55. There are also menopausal processes that occur earlier than this interval. However, this should be evaluated around the “early menopause” issue.

What are the symptoms of menopause?

Other most common menopausal symptoms include;

• Menstrual irregularity and interruption,
• Hot flashes, increased body temperature at regular intervals,
• Burning sensation on the face
• heart palpitations,
• Sweating,
• Sleeping disorders,
• vaginal dryness,
• Weight gain, especially around the belly fat,
• Changes in the skin and hair, especially hair loss,
• Osteoclasis,
• leg pain,
• dry eyes,
• Loss of sexual desire,
• Headache,
• Frequent urination, sometimes urinary incontinence,
• psychological problems, depression,
• There are situations such as irritability.

What happens to menstrual bleeding during menopause?

First of all, we have to say this. For a woman to be considered menopausal, she must have had an intermittent and irregular menstrual cycle for 12 months. After about 6 months of this process, the last menstrual bleeding begins, and menopause begins. In other words, the strongest condition among the symptoms of menopause is menstrual irregularity and finally the cessation of menstruation.

Menstruation is not possible after menopause. If bleeding occurs occasionally during menopause, it should be evaluated by a specialist. Because this type of bleeding;

• cervical cancer,
• polyp,
• uterine canal tumors,
• texture problems,
• It can be a symptom of problems such as ovarian cancer.

By the way, when do the symptoms of menopause begin? ” is also a question. These symptoms do not start suddenly with the cessation of menstruation, they can spread over time. In other words, you may start to feel the symptoms of menopause about 1 year before your menstrual irregularity begins.

How long does menopause last?

The onset and duration of menopause and the severity of symptoms vary from woman to woman. While some women experience this process for a very long and severe time, others can easily get through it. Therefore, it would not be correct to say a clear process on the subject. However, there are things you can do to get through this process without much injury.

Is there a cure for menopause? What should a postmenopausal woman do?

Unfortunately, there is no treatment that eliminates and ends menopause. However, there are some applications that reduce symptoms and ensure that the quality of life does not decrease.

First of all, we should say that women who have entered menopause must be checked by a doctor and regularly;

• gynecological examination,
• Smear tests,
• mammography and
• Bone measurement is required. Because the risk of various diseases increases with menopause.

After that, different treatment methods can be applied for patients who experience severe symptoms. Hormone applications can be applied to women who experience severe symptoms, especially those who seek treatment for hot flashes and sweating in menopause. It can also be preferred for women at risk of uterine cancer.

There are also some menopausal drugs on the market. However, how useful they are and whether they are necessary is a matter of debate. You can learn whether you can use these drugs by getting the most accurate information about this subject from your doctor.

Apart from these, some changes in lifestyle can significantly reduce the effects of menopause.

How should nutrition be in menopause?

“ What is good for menopause? ”, we can say that first of all, we can say proper nutrition. Nutrition during menopause is important to reduce many symptoms and prevent serious problems in the continuation. Attention should be paid to proper nutrition in order to eliminate the increased risk of cholesterol, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular diseases after menopause.

• Reducing red meat consumption and choosing to grill lean meats when consumed are beneficial in terms of preventing cholesterol.
• Calcium plays an important role in nutrition during menopause. Because the body needs it to eliminate the risk of osteoporosis. Calcium stores such as yogurt, milk and kefir should be consumed frequently.
• Since the body will be very prone to gaining weight during this period, it is also important to consume certain foods correctly. Chief among these is carbohydrates. We can’t say not to consume at all, but it is useful to choose quality carbohydrates. Foods such as legumes, rye, whole wheat and bulgur may be suitable for menopause diet.
• Snacks such as hazelnuts, almonds and dried figs can be good alternatives to both sink the feeling of hunger and store calcium.
• Green leafy plants are also beneficial for bone health and vitamin C. Again, thanks to the fibers they contain, they help the intestines to work properly.
• Consuming excess sodium during this period increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce salt consumption.
• Foods such as tea, coffee and chocolate containing caffeine cause both restlessness and osteoporosis. In addition, smoking can trigger cancer problems that are already at risk during this period. These habits need to be reduced or even abandoned.

Whether there is a herbal treatment in menopause is one of the issues that women are most curious about. We can’t say it cures, but some herbs are thought to have symptom-relieving properties. Among them;

• Okse one,
• sage tea,
• chamomile tea,
• anise tea,
• Yarrow,
• There are herbs such as lemon balm tea. The biggest features of these are that they are sedative, that is, relaxing, and some of them contain natural estrogen.

Exercise during menopause

Menopause causes conditions such as osteoporosis and decreased physical activity. Therefore, it is important to exercise both to keep the body vigorous and to avoid possible osteoporosis risk. In particular, sports such as yoga and pilates, which have a relaxing effect, can be preferred. Brisk walking and swimming are also beneficial sports.

The importance of psychological support during menopause

Unfortunately, the end of fertility, hormonal disruption, and the thought of “I’m old now” seriously affect women psychologically during menopause. That’s why depression in menopause is a common problem. If you cannot accept this situation and share your problems with your relatives, we recommend that you seek psychological help. Otherwise, problems such as insomnia, palpitations, irritability and depression may increase exponentially.

Apart from that, we recommend that you definitely share with your family and friends that you expect support, that you need help, and that you have troubles. Menopause is something that is certain to happen to every woman. No one will find you strange, don’t worry!

Sex during menopause

Many women think that their sex life will end completely because they have reached menopause. But of course there is no such thing! Yes, vaginal dryness and lack of sexual desire are among the symptoms of menopause, but of course these symptoms will not last forever!

You may feel pain during intercourse due to vaginal dryness, but you can overcome this with lubricant products. Apart from that, if you are avoiding sex due to stress and depression, you can still consult a psychologist. If you get enough support from your spouse, you can overcome the problems you experience in your sexual life.

Is pregnancy possible after menopause?

Unfortunately, all ovulation activities stop after menopause. Therefore, the possibility of pregnancy is also eliminated.

However, with the process called egg freezing, there is also the possibility of getting pregnant after menopause. With this method, the egg frozen at a young age is fertilized with sperm in an artificial environment and placed in the uterus and pregnancy is ensured. However, this alone is not enough, the functioning of the uterus must also go well.