Menopause and premenopause are stages in every woman's life that cannot be avoided. They bring with them not only physical changes, but also hormonal, emotional and mental trials that present every woman with a real challenge.
Menopause and premenopause are not interchangeable concepts and do not mean the same thing at all. Symptoms and the period of onset of the two consecutive conditions may differ among women, writes he althline.com.
Menopause is considered to have occurred when a woman has no menstrual cycles for a full 12 calendar months. For most women, this stage occurs naturally. Certain medical conditions and surgical interventions also necessitate premature menopause, such as removal of the ovaries, chemotherapy, and others.
There is no specific and exact age at which menopause occurs. It is individual for each woman. For some women, this period occurs much earlier than expected. For some women, the period lasts for a few years, while for others it can last as long as 10 years, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Premenopause, as its name suggests, is the period that precedes menopause. During this period, the body begins to produce less and less female hormones - estrogen and progesterone, which causes a series of physical and emotional changes in the female body. There is also no exact age for this period. Symptoms can also be subtle, preventing many women from realizing they are in perimenopause.
Symptoms of premenopause and menopause are similar. In addition to menstrual fluctuations and cessation, menopause includes night sweats, insomnia, vaginal dryness, depression, mood swings.
Premenopause can include all of these symptoms or just some of them. In addition, chest pains and tension, headaches, dry and scaly skin, dry eyes, weight gain, heart rate changes, memory problems, severe hair loss appear.
How can premenopause and menopause symptoms be alleviated?
These two periods are inevitable and stopping or skipping them from a medical point of view is unfortunately impossible. It is only possible to alleviate the symptoms that plague women at this stage of life.
It is imperative to consult a doctor to advise you on what to do to relieve your symptoms. Do not take medications and nutritional supplements without consulting a doctor.
In most cases, hormone or replacement therapy is offered, as well as the inclusion of various nutritional supplements with natural phytoestrogens to improve menopausal and premenopausal symptoms. However, these preparations are not harmless and may increase the risk of breast cancer. Their intake should be carefully considered with a specialist doctor.
