Genetic tests, checkups, cosmetic procedures – all this helps us get to know our bodies better, take care of our health, prevent diseases, and keep young. Doctors are sure that in the same way, women should carefully prepare for the onset of menopause in order to reduce stress and stress and continue their usual lifestyle. The editors of Beautyhack, together with experts, have prepared a series of publications on this topic. The first part about early menopause, risk groups and ways to delay the onset of this period, you can This time we talked with a specialist about hormones, their effect on the female body and ways to feel better.
On average, women go through menopause at age 48 (plus or minus 2 years). Menopause is also divided into:
- on the natural – the one that occurs in connection with the physiological aging of the woman’s body;
- surgical – associated with oophorectomy, that is, the removal of the ovaries. In this case, menopause occurs regardless of age.
It should be noted that the removal of even one ovary can provoke early menopause. The same can be said about the removal of the uterus while preserving the ovaries. In 30-70% of women who have undergone such an operation, the so-called post-hysterectomy syndrome develops. Removal of the uterus entails a violation of the blood supply to the ovaries, as a result of which their functions fade away, and an earlier menopause begins. Other surgical interventions in the pelvic area, for example, for ectopic pregnancy or for surgical sterilization, lead to the same effect. And operations on the ovaries themselves (exfoliation of cysts, cauterization of endometriosis foci) deplete their ovarian reserve. In this regard, reproductive gynecologists are very sensitive to the ovaries of their patients. Even extremely necessary planned operations are always a decrease in the “power” of these organs. Sometimes reproductologists even resort to freezing a woman’s eggs before the operation takes place.
Returning to the content of the concepts of “menopause” and “menopause”, I will add that menopause is a long period of life associated with the gradual extinction of ovarian activity, from the first failures of the menstrual cycle to its complete stop. Given the modern life expectancy, we can say that menopause is about a third of the earthly path of the average woman. But it is possible that this period will increase to half, because the length of life increases. And how I would like that along with this, its quality would increase, so that life would become brighter.
The climacteric period is divided into three stages:
premenopause – begins with the first failures of the menstrual cycle and lasts from about six months to five years. Normally, this stage begins between 45 and 50 years. Menstruation becomes irregular (sometimes delays, then vice versa), the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) are more difficult to endure, the sensitivity of the breast increases.
Quite often, there is an increase in the abundance of secretions, which is associated with a decrease in the production of the hormone progesterone and the predominance of estrogens. Such an imbalance of hormones is dangerous, as it often leads to the development of proliferative processes, that is, the occurrence of uterine fibroids, endometriosis, endometrial hyperplasia and the growth of polyps. And now the woman becomes a “regular customer” of the gynecologist or, even worse, a frequenter of the gynecological hospital. And the hormones are to blame, and knowing the reason in advance, you can easily avoid all problems.
In addition, many women even at the premenopausal stage begin to show symptoms of hormone deficiency, sometimes there are such unpleasant symptoms as hot flashes, fatigue, irritability. Sometimes they are joined by dizziness, arrhythmia, pressure surges.
Menopause – the last menstruation in a woman’s life.
Postmenopause – the stage that occurs after menopause and lasts for the rest of your life. It can be early (within 5 years after the last menstruation) and late (more than 5 years after this point).
In postmenopause, the most striking symptoms of estrogen deficiency appear: atrophy of the mucous membranes, age-related changes in muscle and bone tissues. Within a few years after menopause, processes still occur in the body that make it very vulnerable: 58% of women experience hot flashes, they are thrown into a fever; 50% – suffer from irritability, nervousness, depressive disorders, insomnia, memory loss; 50% note the development of arterial hypertension and coronary heart disease.
Early postmenopause is associated mainly with the vegetative manifestations of this process: hot flashes, depression of the central nervous system, etc. During late menopause, problems associated with the functioning of the cardiovascular system, metabolic disorders (metabolism) are exacerbated, the risk of developing diabetes mellitus increases, osteoporosis, etc.
Menopause really changes a woman’s life, but it is in our power to learn a number of rules and always follow them in order to alleviate our condition.
Signs of Hormone Deficiency: How to Recognize Them Yourself
There are three main sex hormones that determine our well-being, energy, appearance, mood, ambition – their presence or absence. A decrease in the level of these hormones significantly impairs the quality of life. These are estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Previously, there was an opinion that sex hormones are divided into male and female, but at present, experts believe that such a division is unfounded, since all these hormones are necessary for both men and women. The difference is only in the volume of their presence: representatives of the strong half of humanity, of course, have more androgens, and the fair sex has more estrogen and progesterone.
It is difficult to overestimate the role of estrogens in the female body. These hormones:
- determine the formation of secondary sexual characteristics in the body of adolescent girls (growth of the mammary glands, the appearance of hair under the armpits and on the pubis, the onset of menstruation);
- responsible for the renewal and growth of the endometrium during menstruation;
- cause attraction to the opposite sex, arousal;
- prepare the mammary glands for feeding the baby after childbirth;
- give women beauty and youth; while estrogens are in order – the skin is fresh, the hair is thick and strong and, of course, the eyes shine.
However, estrogen exposure is not limited to gender. oh sphere. Among other things, these hormones:
- maintain the elasticity of blood vessels and protect against the formation of so-called bad cholesterol, that is, low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which readily linger on the walls of arteries;
- prevent the formation of blood clots and regulate the level of blood clotting;
- participate in maintaining bone density;
- regulate the metabolic process, including water-salt, and positively affect the absorption of calcium, which affects the condition of the skin, hair, nails;
- contribute to the normalization of appetite and weight…