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Memorandum From OSS.Net For Anyone Interested in This Topic
Menopause Highlights
Technically must go one year without periods to have achieved menopause. Can still get pregnant until that full year has passed. After that, no periods, no pregnancy. Pre-menopause will last up to ten years. “Post-menopause is a cakewalk compared to menopause.”
Key conditions are hot flashes, vaginal dryness, loss of interest in sex, chest pain, shortness of breath, mood swings, memory difficulties, panic attacks, fatigue, irritability, and depression. Loss of hair, urinary incontinence, bone weakening, and weight gain are common but can be relieved if you address them from now on.
Hormone treatments cause a 100% increase in blood clots in the lung, a 50% increase in incontinence, a 41% higher rate of strokes, a 26% increase in risk of invasive breast cancer; a 25% increased risk of dying from breast cancer, and a 20% increase in the risk of heart attacks. This summary assumes that you have chosen to avoid hormone replacement therapy.
The literature does not recommend a hysterectomy, which many states now caution against, and require that patients be informed of all alternatives before this one is considered. This can be a “devastating” operation for “many” women and increases the chances of urinary incontinence by 60%. Don’t do it! Keep your ovary(ies) as well.
Exercise, drinking lots of water and milk, vitamins, fruit (especially apples and bananas), and avoidance of caffeine, alcohol, and carbonation all help.
Drinking one glass of red wine a day but only one, reduces heart risk by 70%. More than one glass reverses the odds and adds breast cancer risk.
Aspirin is recommended (80 mg or half of one a day, or a baby aspirin).
Herbal products can make a difference, particularly soy products (40 grams of soy protein per day, reduces heart risk considerably and helps with bones) and ginseng. Green tea is an antioxidant and highly recommended.
Stress is the first thing we have to eliminate. It aggravates everything else. Meditation, doing nothing (park the kids), and walking are all recommended, as is bonding with other women—there is a definite calming effect from having girlfriends and relating to one another as females in a manner than cannot be replicated by your husband or other men. “Not having enough female friends can be as damaging to your health as smoking or being obese.” (Bouchez, p. 268) Identifying every single thing about your life that is causing stress, and then systematically working to eliminate each individual thing, needs to become routine.
Hot flashes can be relieved by Progestine (effective 50-80% of the time), Clindine (50%), deep breathing (50%), and soy protein (0-45%). You can reset your body thermostat with ice or ice cold water on your wrists. Black cohosh appears to be effective at reducing hot flashes and also moisturizing the vagina.
Hair loss comes from a mix of loss of hormones and resulting dryness. Buy Minodoxil (Rogaine) and start using it immediately. It stops hair loss, it does not restore lost hair. Use the 5% solution advertised for men, not the 2% solution advertised for women. It is essential to begin and to continue this treatment for it to have the desired effect. Ask your dermatologist or doctor about Avodart, which blocks the hair loss enzyme in women. This is being tested around the country and may be available nation-wide soon. Use moisturizer on your head and hair regularly.
Urinary incontinence is the greatest inconvenience. Start now with “Kegel exercises” each time you go to the bathroom. In the course of releasing urine, identify the muscle that stops it, and begin to regularly exercise that muscle, beginning with holding it for 3 seconds, then waiting 5 seconds, building up to 10 second holds and 5 second waits. You can also do this with a tampon inserted, tightening the muscles around the tampon and doing daily exercises. Going to the bathroom each time you wake up at night is recommended.
Vaginal dryness and infection followed by loss of the ability to have sex is the next issue. Regular application of Vitamin E oil (or olive oil or vegetable oil) directly to the vagina is recommended, for ten days in sequence, after which once a week will do for maintenance. Regular masturbation and/or sex using KY Warming Liquid or Atroglide is strongly recommended. Regular lubrication as well as “activating” the vagina through manipulation helps avoid infection by reducing incidence of micro-tears through which bacteria can enter. “Use it or lose it” is the operative phrase. “Speaking from a strictly physiological standpoint, the less you have sex, the more your vaginal tissue will atrophy, and ultimately, the more painful and difficult sex will become.” (Bouchez, p. 212) Drinking cranberry juice makes urine acidic and also helps reduce occurrence of minor infections. Ask your doctor about vaginal tablets (Vagifem)which are inserted into the vagina twice a week with an applicator. This may not be an option while dysfunctional bleeding is occurring. Chocolate and strawberries as well as shellfish are helpful, as is the deliberate thinking of sexy thoughts and fantasies on a regular basis.
Skin dryness can be addressed by Retinol (over-the-counter) or Retin-A (prescription) and by using alternatives to soap when bathing, especially on your face.
Weight gain is likely as the body becomes less forgiving, unless careful attention is paid to combining healthy food and regular exercise. Walking combined with weight lifting are recommended, as is yoga. Weight lifting is essential to keeping body shape and muscle tone as loss of hormones take effect. An emerging explanation is that your insulin resistance goes up and spikes in blood sugar cause more weight retention than in younger years. The lead doctor examining this recommends both the avoidance of any foods that cause spikes in blood sugar, and goes so far as to suggest that women consider the oral diabetes medication Metformin as a means of increasing your cell’s sensitivity to insulin, processing the sugar more effectively.
Cancer screening is a must—breast cancer, cervical cancer, colon cancer, skin cancer
Sources: Colette Bouchez, Your Perfectly Pampered Menopause (Broadway, 2005); Marica Jones and Theresa Eichenwald, Menopause for Dummies (Wiley, 2003); and Donna Rogers, The Menopause Survival Guide (Oakview, 2002).