Natural remedies for menopause symptoms

The female anatomy and reproductive parts age differently than of men and menopause is a challenging time for women. When the menstrual cycle has stopped for at least 12 months its termed as menopause. Perimenopause and menopause are continuous phases in a woman’s life. Perimenopause is the phase just before menopause and is characterized by heavy flow, low blood pressure, uneasiness, and psychological stress. It leads to menopause, the phase where a woman’s ovaries stop functioning. She can no longer reproduce and goes through a series of complex physical and mental challenges.
Menopause pro is an interactive website where women can learn how to face the challenges of menopause in a rock-solid manner and lead a healthy and fruitful life. Menopause and health are two sides of the see-saw of a woman’s life and the goal of Menopause is creating a balance between the two.

Some of the symptoms of menopause are mood swings, hot sweats, lower blood pressure, sleeplessness, and mental stress. Not knowing how to deal with these issues creates an additional burden. Another major physical intimacy challenge that a woman faces during this phase is vaginal dryness. She is embarrassed to let her husband know about this discomfort and thus avoids entirely getting intimate. This makes her husband think she is being awkward and this may lead to huge misunderstandings between a husband and wife. One solution for this is using lubricant, the other of course is being open about your discomforts to your husband. Let him know what you are going through so that he doesn’t misjudge you.
Taking heavy medicines might feel like a good choice for you but it may also have certain side-effects. I would suggest some herbal remedies straight out of your garden that can help cut out the problems from the roots.
Let’s look at some of the foods good for a women’s health:

• The food with plant estrogens is good to boost the immune system and keep the reproductive parts healthy. Foods like soy, beans, seeds, celery, nuts, and flaxseed oil are ideal for women looking for food rich in plant estrogens.
• Chasteberry: This Indian spice acts on reproductive parts and also helps manage anger, mood swings and help keep you active.
• Evening Primrose: This is a killer cure for life after menopause as it contains powerful nutrients that work wonders on your bladder, uterus and keeps most menopausal symptoms at bay.
• Ginseng: It’ a powerful herb that helps reduce stress and boosts the immune system. Some researches have also said that it helps with hot flashes although it’s not completely true!

Following some of the above methods can help you at least lessen the physical discomforts of menopause. They are totally supportive of menopause and your health. Some women may require counseling from a gynecologist but it does help you. If you feel doubtful about any remedy consult your doctor.
Menopause and support from your loved ones can provide acceleration to your path to curing the symptoms. Whichever medicine you take, love and support of your near and dear one is a priceless and most effective cure!

How to take care of yourself after menopause?

Menopause is one of the worst phases of a woman’s life when she faces uncontrollable mood swings, sleeping problems, mental stress and low appetite. This sure is a rough phase for her. Life after menopause is sure not a cake walk but can be made easier with proper support from your gynecologist and most importantly your life partner.

Perimenopause is the phase that occurs before menopause. Perimenopause and menopause are different phases but are connected in a way so it’s good to have knowledge about this as well! Perimenopause is characterized by mood swings, irregular periods, heavy flow, panic attack, etc whereas menopause is a phase where menopause stops and women face certain physical and mental discomforts for a length of two to three years.

Menopause comes at a time when you have sent your children to college, looking after your husband’s ailing parents, taking care of your husband and surrounded with these responsibilities you hardly get time to take care of yourself. A daily self-care routine helps a lot!
Taking care of your health is most important because then only you will be able to do other activities.

Follow the below health tips to stay energetic and healthy in this fragile phase of yours-

1. Eat a lot of fibrous fruits and vegetables. Use some olive oil to dress salad and spend less time eating fried and oily stuff like chips, burgers, pizza and likewise!
2. Do some physical exercise daily, get your heartbeat go high and burn extra calories each day. Do yoga for your peace of mind.
3. See your doctor for your physical discomfort and don’t take medicines off the counter. Check with your doctor for mood tranquilizer and antidepressants. Don’t be embarrassed to tell your doctor all your problems.
4. Don’t worry about something that’s not under your control which is your hormones. If you happen to get angry in a social situation, try to calm down and don’t beat yourself up while trying to do so. Let your close friends and family members know that you are facing this issue and that you are trying your best to pull yourself together!
5. Spend time with your husband. Husbands might not know the reason for your discomfort and mood swings! Let them know what you are going through. That will let him understand you better and also your bring you a peace of mind that you have someone to share your pain with. 
6. Menopause and support from your husband go hand in hand. Not being able to be sexually active might be a barrier in your physical intimacy with your partner. Use lubricants and medicines to face the issues of vaginal dryness. Tell your husband about your discomforts and use other efficient ways to stay intimate! Go to movies, go on long drives or go on a dinner date. Just dressing up, putting on a light make-up, having wine in a restaurant with nice ambiance will lift up your mood. I will even suggest going on a romantic outing for a week or month! It is like dialing down the stress level and embracing more peace into your life!

Doing these will help reduce the anxiety at physical and mental level. Follow them to live a happy and healthy life after menopause!

How does menopause affects married life?

‘Marriages are made in heaven’. This is a popular saying. We believe once we get married it’s going to stay forever. It’s a very debatable topic of whether you should stay in a marriage that’s bruised with fights and lack of physical intimacy or detach yourself like a loose thread. Whether you should fight against the storm or succumb to its power. Whether you should consult a relationship counselor or take your own decision based on your personal instincts against your spouse.

These very topics bring us to the many factors that lead to a marriage failure. Communication gap, inability to give much time to your spouse or in general, difference of opinion between the couple can decay the relationship over time and ultimately lead to one question: Whether to reminisce the wedding vows or say goodbye.

Finding the cause

It is a known fact that 50% of American weddings end in divorce. It’s a matter of analysis that the ratio of successful marriage to failed marriage is even more critically lower in couples who are in their 40’s and 50’s. One of the reasons is Menopause, the phase where women suffer lots of physical ailments like hot flashes, insomnia, weight gain, erratic and emotional turmoil, night sweats and inability to cope with their emotions in order to respond to the circumstances! The outcome? Husbands are the recipients of their irritated behavior. Menopause and marriage sit on two ends of a very thin rope that’s made stronger with mutual understanding.

Men often find this phase irrational and discomforting. The hormonal shifts cause the women to become short tempered and suffer from mood swings. But they are also not so open to discuss their personal changes to their husbands. They find it hard to be intimate and do not respond well to physical closeness! Life after menopause is marred with increasing weight and inability to gain libido.

These factors are hard for men to understand and they find their spouses irritating and incompatible. Menopause and sex are two scenarios that run poles apart from each other. They often resort to physical satisfaction outside marriage and this results in extra-marital affairs. Women feel more dejected as their self-esteem hits rock-bottom. Her relationship stands on the loose thread of menopause and marriage.

Ways to Resolve this Situation

Women should open up to their husbands and discuss about the discomfort they are feeling. They should be okay with not being physically intimate with their husbands. The couple should together work upon building a strong and happy relationship. They can go on outings, have dinner dates, spend time doing recreational activities together and just hear each other out. Husbands should be patient with their wifes. If she behaves differently or gets angry on little things they should understand that they are not the reason for their anger. It’s just a hormonal thing. Social situations like anniversaries or birthdays of children can be a challenge if the woman gets irritated on guests or shuts down the party entirely because she doesn't feel like playing the host. Husbands should make others understand that it’s not her fault and handle the situation like a gentleman. He should take his wife’s side otherwise she might feel more irritated.

Ultimately it’s your choice

Menopause can be tough as it comes at a time when you are sending off your children to college, taking care of your elderly parents or looking after an ailing husband. You just need to remember that like every phase this too shall pass away.

Remember the time when you just got married and started a new life? You had to make many adjustments! Or the time when you had your first child? You were worried like hell but you did it anyway right?

Similarly this phase will be easier if the couples plan on staying together in tough times, communicate their innermost fear and understand each other’s doubts and dread.

Don’t let menopause ruin your life - Menopause Pro

From being a self-loving teen-ager to a meek emotionally drained mom and wife, a woman's life takes several twists and turns. Life after menopause is a life dreaded by most women! You might have been the most popular girl in your high school but with years of not giving enough time to yourself, looking after your husband and sending your kids to school and then to college, you have drained your energy to the minimum level. Years of working 24/7 both at the office and at home has taken a toll on your health. Most women complain about various health symptoms as they reach in their fifties.

When hormones are playing with you!

Menopause is surely a difficult time for most women. I have seen women complain about heavy flow which makes it difficult to stay outdoors for long. Hot flashes is another symptom which causes your body to burn uncontrollably. You might feel you are being baked! I have also known most polite women to have lost their temper. Once I was at a restaurant and a woman was yelling at a waiter because the food didn’t have required salt. It made me wonder what’s wrong with this woman. Then as I ate my pie on another table I overheard her husband saying something about menopause. Being a curious person, I immediately searched google about the symptoms and I got to know that during this devil phase that women go through they tend to have abnormal hormonal changes in their bodies which makes them short tempered and incapable of being in control of emotions. Life after menopause is sure not a cake walk but it can be dealt with patience and self-love.

Menopause and marriage

While I am talking about how menopause affects you personally I cannot skip how it affects your marriage. Menopause and marriage need to be dealt with together. During menopause, support from your husband is beneficial. Health problems are more easily dealt with if there is someone to love and care for you. It seems discomforting and embarrassing to confess your insecurities with your husband. Vaginal dryness does make you feel you should never be physical but you should share this with your husband. Menopause and marriage do not have to be two separate roads! You should work on this together by either talking to your doctor or taking lubrication. It will help you surely.

Follow these to lessen the effects - 

Life after menopause should be dealt with in the following ways:

Eat right: Even if you have not cared enough about your health before now is the time. Your diet should contain fruits and vegetables. Include sprouts and nuts in your morning breakfast. And please never make the mistake of skipping breakfast for work or for any other reasons. Take an apple, banana or Orange each day. Dress your celery with apple cider vinegar or olive oil. It’s high time you kick alcohol, cigarettes or any type of caffeine out of your life. This kind of change in your diet will help you stay fit and your chances of diabetes and high blood pressure drops! Yeah also do avoid sugar as much as possible!

Do some exercise/yoga: I have read somewhere that exercising not only helps you stay lean but it also helps all forms of stress. Exercising helps improve metabolism and because of intense physical activity(like running on treadmill or jogging) you are able to sleep better. As insomnia is one of the symptoms of menopause , exercising will surely help you.

Interact with children or pets: If you have grandchildren that’s great! Else you can just go in park, watch kids, interact with them. Kids make you forget all your worries and maybe you can learn some new games. If you own a pet it’s awesome. Playing with pets, just cuddling them or having them sit by your side as you watch your favourite TV shows is a great therapy. Dog therapy is a medically approved solution to many of your physical and mental distress.
It can help you with:

• Lowering your blood pressure
• Cardiovascular disease
• Inducing calmness
• Lowers depression and anxiety
• You don’t feel lonely and isolated

Meditate: Yes I know everyone keeps pressing on this but it is beneficial for your mind and body. Breathing exercises helps regulate your heart rate and blood flow in veins. It helps a lot in calming the mind. But do it right. Take the help of some professional tutor or follow famous you-tubers. It is a slow process and requires patience but helps a lot in the long run.

Live, love, laugh!

Last but not least, stay positive: A positive aspect to things changing in your life will help see the brighter side in tough times like menopause. You have sent your children to college and you have earned and saved enough by now. This leaves you with enough time to spend on yourself. Indulge in beauty regime. Take care of your hair, skin and overall health. As I will end this by saying,
‘this is a bright phase, only made cloudy by self doubts and some inevitable days.’

Author: Staness Jacobs
Author Bio: Staness Jacobs lives in New York, USA with her husband, and sharing important information to women can achieve and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Reasons Why Menopause is Not A Pause to Your Happiness

The phase of menopause is a nightmare for many women. As soon as a woman reaches the age of 45 she starts facing scary health-related issues. She faces issues of irregular periods, mood swings, physical lethargy, inability to get intimate with her husband and what not. This sure is a life-changing phase of a woman's life when not only her reproductive organs become barren but also a lot of hormonal changes begin to haunt her days and nights. Not only this life after menopause(meaning the next 3-5 years) is full of mental and physical ailments.

Some women take the help of medicines like antidepressants and mood tranquilizer but that only helps for a temporary period of time. Talking and opening up to your better half or taking the help of a professional counselor helps a lot. Talk about your mood swings and how you feel. Don’t feel embarrassed about the changes in your body and also the frequent mood swings from which you suffer. Husbands are the one who won’t even realize what’s happening to their wives! They need to understand why you feel low some day and don’t want to do the household chores or look after his ailing parents.

If you are having a rough time dealing with your menopause symptoms don’t be depressed and just bury yourself in your mobile phones and laptops! Start finding ways to distract yourself!

Go out on a camping trip or shop from that favourite mall of yours. Life after menopause doesn’t have to be a bane! Ask your husband to come with you.

Going to evening dates, just dressing up, having wine in your favourite restaurant will lighten your mood. Your husband will also feel at peace with you!

Let’s know the terms

Perimenopause and Postmenopause is two terms that are good to have knowledge about. Perimenopause is the time just before the menopause and is characterized by mood swings, irregular periods, heavy flow, panic attack. Women become less tolerant during this period and get angry at little things. On the other hand postmenopause is the time after menopause characterized by depression, tension and increased stress. This occurs due to the sudden slip in the level of estrogen(hormones that are responsible for reproductive function in women) in the body.

The symptoms and their treatment

1.For hot flashes- Wearing light breathable clothes, drinking lots of water, regulating air conditioning temperatures and installing a bedroom fan might help. Refrain from eating hot spicy food, oily food and any food that has the tendency of releasing heat. Take shower if possible.

2.For mood swings and depression: There are ways to deal with this. You should focus on making some lifestyle changes rather than taking medications. Sleep well and focus less time on mobile phones and laptops. Exercise regularly as it has been scientifically proven that physical exercise diverts the mind from stress and helps you sleep better and lead a peaceful life altogether. Also, eat healthy food like lots of vegetables and juicy fruits.

3.Dealing with weight gain: To deal with these unforeseen conditions you may want to join a gym or go for weight training depending on your concern. Everyone wants to maintain a lean body whatever be the age and so you should focus on exercising regularly. Also eat healthy foods which are leafy, protein and calcium-rich and are fibrous.

4. Treating insomnia: Ways to deal with this is cooling down the room temperature, taking estrogen course medically(this you should only take under medical supervision). You can also do yoga as it helps calm down the brain. You can also try sedatives and antidepressants but both should only be taken under medical support and guidance.

Life after menopause is difficult but if you take care of a few things, it can be easily faced like any other difficult phase of your life. Remember the time when you were newly married or you had your first kid! It passed away and you did pretty well there! Similarly, this phase shall too pass if you have patience and agree to deal with it positively.

How to deal with menopause and lead a healthy lifestyle?

Menopause is a word dreaded by most women in their forties when they are just about to become infertile for the rest of their life. The reproductive system is no longer going to serve the function as it used to and experiencing years of mental stress,hot flashes,insomnia, menopause and health related problems and tiredness is what triggers the dreadful bell in these women. Not only does the estrogen level drops during menopause period but the humongous amount of hormonal changes result in a myriad of physical and psychological ailments.
There are women who have reported complete normality during menopause while there are a large number of women who experience life altering,emotionally draining,persistent tendency towards hot flashes,weight gain,insomnia,urinary tract problems,memory related problems,anxiety and depression.

• Perimenopause and Postmenopause

Perimenopause and Postmenopause are two terms that is good to have knowledge about Perimenopause is the time just before the menopause and is characterized by mood swings,irregular periods,heavy flow,panic attack. Women become less tolerant during this period and get angry at little things.On the other hand postmenopause is the time after menopause characterized by depression,tension and increased stress. This occurs due to the sudden slip in the level of estrogen(hormones that are responsible for reproductive function in women) in the body.

How to deal with menopause symptoms?

• Hot flashes

This is a condition where women experience their body temperature rising beyond normal.The skin starts perspiring and becomes pinkish or red.This is often followed by rapid palpitations and anxiety. Hot flashes that occur at night are called night sweats. This is one of the most dreadful symptoms of menopause. It makes women wake up in the middle of the night sweating profusely and will increase the dread.
Wearing light breathable clothes,drinking lots of water,regulating air conditioning temperatures and installing a bedroom fan might help. Refrain from eating hot spicy food,oily food and any food that has the tendency of releasing heat.Take shower if possible.

• Mood swings and depression

Women become more erratic and short-tempered post menopause.This may be due to hormonal shift during this phase which affects women at psychological level. Mood swings may occur which leads to sudden transition in emotions. You may be happy and suddenly you see something,you start crying. There are ways to deal with this. You should focus on making some lifestyle changes rather than taking medications. Sleep well and focus less time on mobile phones and laptops. Exercise regularly as it has been scientifically proven that physical exercise diverts the mind from stress and helps you sleep better and lead a peaceful life altogether. Also eat healthy food like lots of vegetables and juicy fruits.

• Dealing with weight gain

Weight gain is another common symptom of menopause. This may be due to hormonal changes or metabolism slowing down. Whatever be the reason it is mandatory to watch for your weight gain during this phase. It may also lead to many cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis(weakening of bones).
To deal with these unforeseen conditions you may want to join a gym or go for weight training depending on your concern.Everyone wants to maintain a lean body whatever be the age and so you should focus on exercising regularly. Also eat healthy foods which are leafy,protein and calcium rich and are fibrous. Bones are prone to weakening at this age and a minor accident may lead to fracture so you should focus on your health as regular exercising not only leads to strong muscles but also strong bones.

• Treating Insomnia

Some women report difficulty falling asleep at night. This may be due to hot flashes but other than that it feels you cannot turn your brain off and cut the brain talk. Hormonal shift may lead you to wake up at the same time every night or wake up really early and not being able to sleep again.
Ways to deal with this is cooling down the room temperature,taking estrogen course medically(this you should only take under medical supervision).You can also do yoga as it helps calm down brain. You can also try sedatives and antidepressants but both should only be taken under medical support and guidance.
Experiment with a variety of options and make your life at menopause and beyond easier and enjoyable.

Menopause and Health

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Perimenopause and Menopause

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