Say Hello To Puberty’s Evil Older Sister!

While I sit here writing this, I have a smile on my face.

Although menopause is absolutely no joke and can be extremely difficult to navigate, we also have to laugh because as women of a certain age, if we didn’t, we would cry and probably not stop!

Normedica headquarters is primarily middle aged women and as a result, we regularly ‘beat our breasts and wail’ about this new change of life and the craziness it brings. From brain fog to mood swings, hot flushes, night sweats, bloating, weight gain, thinning hair, frequent UTI’s and vaginal dryness, the symptoms are endless. Sorry fellas!

In fact the only blessing that comes with menopause is the ending of your period.

Its a period of life that can be extremely challenging, and unfortunately it isn’t over in a flash, (or should that be a hot flash).

Whilst there is a lot more dialogue around this now and our understanding of how debilitating it can be is changing, we have a long way to go before we really fully comprehend the intricate nuances of these changes and how they can be navigated in a way that allows women to keep their lives as normal as possible despite the craziness that it brings.

Today, on menopause awareness day we wanted to spend a little bit of time exploring menopause, what it really means and what we can do to try and make the transition just a little easier.

So, the bit we all love – the science! Make a cuppa and get comfortable…..

Menopause is the time in a woman’s life that marks the beginning of the end of her ability to reproduce naturally.

From the beginning of puberty, the female body produces a mixture of hormones known as oestrogen and progesterone. As the main sex hormones, they are instrumental not only in sexuality and fertility but also in puberty, menstruation, sex drive and pregnancy. Developing in the ovaries, oestrogen levels can vary throughout the month dependant on where in your cycle you are, but as long as everything is running the way it should, this allows your body to produce and release eggs – and if the timing is just right – make babies!

As we age, our bodies begin to slow down. For those of you in this age bracket, male or female, you are probably already aware of that devastating reality!

We creak as we get up, we discover aches in places we didn’t know existed, and the thought of a night out just makes us want to sob into our sherry while we wait for our purple rinse to take!

We laugh about it, but from social to physical to emotional, the day to day impact on your quality of life, personal and work relationships can be huge if menopause symptoms are not diagnosed and treated correctly.

The process itself begins with perimenopause, usually starting between the ages of 45 and 55. As oestrogen production begins to slow and our store of eggs begins to dwindle, our periods begin to disappear and most women start to experience menopause-like symptoms.

As soon as your periods have officially stopped for 12 months, you are considered to have fully entered menopause.

This is an important transition in every woman’s life and one that should be talked about a lot more than it is. As previously mentioned, we joke about it a lot in the office, but actually, it is a difficult one to understand and navigate when you don’t fully understand what’s happening to your body. For many years, menopause has been referred to almost as an illness, and although it can be a difficult transition, the reality is that there are ways of helping the process run a little smoother.

From self care to medication, its a case of finding what works for you to ease the change. Below are just a few of the current recommendations to help ease you into this new way of life.

• HRT – Replace those hormones baby!

Available in a variety of different forms, HRT is prescribed through your GP and has been found to help with a variety of different symptoms related to menopause. Although long term use has been related to a slightly elevated risk of heart disease and breast cancer, when used in low doses from the onset of menopause, it has been proven to help reduce symptoms and slow down bone loss which can lead to osteoporosis or brittle bone disease.

• Prasterone

One of the most common menopause symptoms are issues when it comes to sex. The reduction in hormones reduces the amount of natural lubricant that the body produces which can make intimate activity uncomfortable. There are several different hormone based tablets and creams that can help with this, some of which can also help with urinary issues that can run alongside menopause.

• Low Dose Antidepressants

As a sufferer of perimenopause, one of the most unsettling symptoms I have experienced has been mood swings, although the hot flushes are definitely a close second! Mood can change at the flick of a switch and vary from complete and utter despair to black rage that would destroy a nation – and that is putting it mildly.

This is a very common symptom and can be emotionally exhausting for the sufferer, incredibly confusing for their family and a complete disaster when it takes over in all walks of life. Whilst there are plenty of natural ways of learning to control these, (we will talk about those shortly), there are also low dose SSRI tablets that are specifically used to help control mood. Although they are generally used in people who are suffering with low mood, they can be particularly effective for creating a balance in women who are struggling with mood as a result of menopause. Even better, they can help with hot flashes too. You gotta love a double whammy!

• Brittle Bones

Osteoporosis is a condition that affects the strength of your bones.

As a living, growing organism, your bones are constantly re-growing and adapting to daily life, but because of the drop in hormones as you hit menopause, the bone loss works faster than the repairs can be made. This can result in bone density potentially dropping by as much as 20% in the first five years of menopause. The drop in density can make the bones much more vulnerable to breaking with even just the smallest of trips or falls.

This can be treated in several different ways but there are currently medications on the market that help with this. Although this isn’t a prerequisite for everyone going through menopause, its really important that the correct testing is done early on to establish if this is something that needs to be treated. As with everything else, prevention is better than cure, and whilst you may not be able to stop it in its tracks, minimising the damage is crucial to a healthy, pain free life.

Before deciding on any form of chemical based treatments, it is really important to sit down with your GP and discuss all the options. That way you can ensure that what is recommended will help with the symptoms you are experiencing.

For those of you who want to try and wing it the natural way, there are lots of things you can do and I cannot stress this enough – START THEM EARLY!!!

You don’t need to be menopausal for preventative measures to be started.

The earlier you start – the easier your body should cope with the transition.

• Self Care, Self Care, Self Care!

We cannot stress this one enough. Self care looks different for everyone but whatever you do to help you relax is imperative to your ability to cope with what is thrown at you every day. The world has become a fast and busy place and it can be hard to find a space to just sit and be, but when you are battling a drop in hormones and a rise in emotional outbursts, learning how to just stop and breathe is massive.

Getting out in nature, having a bubble bath, reading a book or just sitting and watching your guilty pleasure on the telly uninterrupted with a cuppa can be all you need. Its whatever works for you. Make sure that you are taking time out for you and that everyone around you knows that you aren’t to be disturbed.

Learning to meditate and focus on breathing is another way of keeping mood swings and emotional outbursts controlled. Sometimes just stopping, shutting your eyes and slowly breathing in and out for a minute or two can be enough to stop a rage in its tracks, give you back the control and stop you from saying something you might have regretted.

• Eat Right and Exercise – its a no brainer

As with everything else we talk about in the Health Hub, eating the right foods and making sure you exercise have a direct impact not only on your physical health but on your emotional health as well. Nobody is saying you can’t have that bar of chocolate or that glass of wine, but balance it with healthy foods and regular exercise.

Exercise doesn’t have to cost anything. It can be something as simple as going for a brisk walk or doing the couch to 5k. There is an abundance of exercise videos on Youtube so there are no excuses when it comes to keeping fit. Studies show that carrying too much extra weight can not only make the hot flashes worse, but it will also put extra pressure on your joints which can put you at risk of a myriad of other medical conditions.

Adding Vitamin D and Calcium supplements to your daily intake and regular exercise will also help massively with bone strength and hopefully reduce the risks associated with osteoporosis.

• Start Counting Sheep

We all know the importance of a good nights sleep and how much of an impact tiredness can have on your overall day, but getting the right amount of sleep can also help massively with menopause symptoms. Although the amount of sleep needed tends to drop as you get older, making sure that the quality is right is imperative.

Start your night right. No caffeine or alcohol too late and give yourself some tech free time before you hit the hay. Research suggests that sitting on your phone or watching telly before bed will actually disturb your sleep, so time out with a good book is highly recommended to help you wind down.

• Get Jiggy With It!

Sex is not only a way of boosting mood but from a physical point of view, it helps massively with the dryness and discomfort that comes alongside menopause. Staying sexually active, whether with someone or on your own, will help to ease discomfort by increasing blood flow to the vagina.

If you need a little help, there is a huge market of lubricants now available which can be purchased without a prescription. Keeping the old slap and tickle going has so many other health benefits as well so we highly recommend it!

• Kegel Like There is no Tomorrow!

Getting older brings with it it’s own problem, least of all urinary issues. Things like UTI’s are incredibly common during menopause but what you may not be aware of is a large number of women suffer a degree of urinary incontinence. Although this is very common, its a problem that nobody likes to talk about out loud. Even the idea of it can be very embarrassing.

During pregnancy, women are encouraged to do pelvic floor exercises but they aren’t really talked about much at any other time. In reality, a good set of Kegels can be the difference between being able to hold out as you get older and not. It costs nothing, nobody even needs to know you are doing them, and they make a huge difference to your pelvic floor.

• Embrace Your Inner Boho Chick

The only way that we can describe the phenomenon of the hot flash is that it feels like your body is this…….

Between the heat, the thudding heartbeat and the rapids thundering past your eardrums drowning out all logical sound, you might be inclined to assume that there is nothing to be done. You would be right. There are ways of calming them but not of stopping them completely. Sorry about that! The good news is though, with a little more thought to your wardrobe, you can reduce the discomfort somewhat.

Fabrics that breathe, layers that can be removed and sleeveless tops all help. Keep room temperatures down, especially the bedroom and if you really suffer, cool packs under your pillow will help to keep it colder. You just need to remember to turn the pillow regularly so you have the cool side up.

All joking aside, menopause is something that comes to all of us, even you men but just in a slightly different form! Nobody is exempt from the changes that occur as we age and hormones begin to drop.

Its not the most fun in the world but do you know what – its another part of your journey and a new way of seeing and navigating the world whilst learning about who you are becoming.

How you navigate it is up to you. It can be a blessing or a curse, but whichever it is, putting steps in place to help the experience will hopefully make it a much easier one. After all, its coming for you whether you like it or not!