Peri-menopause and Menopause

I am writing this article for all of you ladies who are desperately seeking some answers to the hormonal imbalances that are causing problems in your life such as peri menopause and menopause.  As I have met so many women who are entering the phase called peri-menopause and menopause, I thought it would be a good idea to tell you how much better you can be and how I may be able to help you to overcome the mental and physical issues that can make you feel so unwell.

Peri-menopause

This is the stage when the ovaries gradually begin to produce less oestrogen and lasts up until menopause, the point when the ovaries stop releasing eggs.

Firstly, let us deal with the symptoms of Peri menopause.  This stage begins several years before menopause.  It can start typically in your mid 40’s, but sometimes earlier in certain women due a number of health issues such as autoimmune diseases, surgery or your genetic inheritance. For example, your mother may have experienced an early menopause.

Some of the symptoms you may be suffering apart from include unusual tiredness or lethargy are:

• There may be a feeling of indifference to life or depression.  For example “I can’t be bothered with anything”.  “What’s the point?” “The family, housework, or my job is driving me crazy”
• “I don’t have any patience these days and fly off the handle at the smallest thing”
• Many women say that they are sure their husbands will find someone else unless they can resolve these emotional problems.
• It can be very confusing as you start to feel that you are not the reasonably happy, easy going person that you used to be and you don’t know what to do about it.
• Other physical symptoms of this stage of life include irregular periods.  The periods can be too far apart or sometimes occur too closely together. They may become extremely heavy or very light with perhaps just one day of bleeding.  There may be blood spotting between periods as well.  There are all sorts of hormonal changes going on and some women experience a few of these changes whilst others suffer from most of them.
• There may be a loss of libido, (not interested in having sexual relations), or vaginal dryness due to the lower levels of oestrogen that your body is now producing.

Do I Have Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease?

Another very common symptom can be feelings of mental fogginess, haziness, or lapses in memory.
It seems that you keep forgetting things.  Why am I going into the laundry?  What was I going to do in there?

A lot of women say that they are afraid they are getting early onset Alzheimer’s disease. Generally this is not the case.  It is just the crazy hormonal imbalances affecting your brain!
Generally, this is caused by the drop in the levels of Oestrogen.

Some of the symptoms are:

• Forgetting the names of people that you have known for a long time.  It can be a sudden momentary inability to recall their name.
• Starting a sentence or story and forgetting what the subject was about in the first place!
• Forgetting things, such as just having made your self a cup of tea.  You see it on the kitchen bench and wonder who made it?  It must have been you as no one else is home!  Also, why is the electric jug in the fridge?  It must have been your husband.  Just wait until you can tell him off!!  He says he hasn’t touched it.  Now you are really worried.
• You may find that you have difficulty spelling words that were never a problem for you before or going back to resume reading a book that you haven’t finished yet and not recalling what you have already read.

Then there are the HOT Flushes!!!

HOT FLUSHES DRIVE US CRAZY.

COMMONLY KNOWN AS “POWER SURGES”!

Hot flushes can be experienced in the Peri Menopause and Menopausal stages and many of the following symptoms will also apply to both stages.

Most of my clients experiences hot flushes of varying intensity and frequency.  Some are just intense heat with no sweat but others are hot flushes with drenching sweats and both can make life unbearable.  The constant removal of clothing to cool down and then putting it all back on again because you are too cold makes deciding what to wear a whole new ball game.

You never had to think about what to wear before!  Now it is time for a new wardrobe!  Maybe jackets with a shirt, or a cardigan or vest that can be taken off quickly and then put back on again.  Shortly after you have taken off the excess garment you are too cold and so the cycle goes on. Dressing and undressing.  Woe betide wearing a jumper by itself! You can’t take it off if you are at work so you have to suffer through the wretched flushes and can’t wait to get home to undress!

Forget wearing all of those lovely blouses made from synthetic material that you didn’t have to iron but now make you feel that you are encased in Glad Wrap.  You are now looking for cotton and natural fibres that breathe.  What do you mean?  Hardly anyone sells cotton these days!

During the night when you are asleep suddenly, you wake up.  Why? Because you are soooo hot! There you are flinging off the covers to the dismay of your freezing partner, who may have been sleeping soundly on a cold winter’s night…..  Not anymore!  You leap out of bed, often waking him up and, if you have drenching sweats, look for another nightdress or some clothing to replace the soaked articles.  Then it all happens again, maybe after an hour or two.  Consequently you are not getting much sleep or you may actually retire to the couch or spare bed so that your partner can get some sleep.  It’s even worse on a hot summer’s night. You have the fan strategically aimed at you and can’t sleep without it.

Other Symptoms

THYROID GLAND

Many of my clients complain of itchy skin or crawling, prickling sensations in the skin.

Sometimes these sensations can be associated with changes in the function of the Thyroid Gland along with some of the other symptoms I have mentioned, so I suggest that clients ask their Doctor to check their thyroid via a Thyroid Function test to rule out any problems in this area. This time of life can be a trigger for Thyroid gland changes.

Other problems associated with a Thyroid gland that is not functioning properly, depending on whether it is under or overactive, can be numerous.  Just to give a few examples.  Heart palpitations, hair loss, tiredness or hyperactivity.  Changes in body temperature.  Weight gain or loss, anxiety, muscle aches……..  The list goes on.

PANIC ATTACKS

Quite a few of my clients suddenly start suffering from strange symptoms of anxiety or full scale panic attacks.  This is not unusual.  Hormones are very powerful and, if out of balance, can cause all sorts of emotional problems. Sudden heart palpitations and shortness of breath may make you feel that you are about to have a heart attack.  You may also start to suffer from feelings of claustrophobia.  (Feeling confined or stifled in certain situations) and just wanting to get out of the place you are in as soon as possible into some fresh air or space.

Just think of some of the problems you may have had with pre-menstrual symptoms a few days before your periods or how puberty affected you?

A lot of the mothers that I consult with in my practice tell me that their once angelic daughters have turned into demons once they reached puberty! This is another one of my favourite areas of treatment.  Your little darlings can return to being relatively normal with the correct Homoeopathic medicine.

Of course, they will never be the same again as life is always about change….and boys…..and mobile phones…..and parties……and the latest fashions!

Menopause

Officially, menopause is said have arrived when you have not had a menstrual period for 12 months.  This can sometimes be confusing as many women may suddenly have another period even though 12 months have passed, so they are still peri-menopausal.  Once the periods have completely stopped for 12 months or longer, you are in the menopausal stage.

Menopause can bring many problems as well.  There is a misconception that once your periods stop all of the annoying symptoms will go away.  Not so!  The hot flushes can carry on for quite some time along with the mood changes and depression.

Many women really start to feel a sense of loss.  Loss of their youth with this new stage of life and they are not so sure that they want these further changes.  The signs of ageing can seem to be more obvious now with the lack of the hormone Oestrogen.  Skin starts to become more wrinkled and saggy and new lines seem to suddenly appear overnight!

Many of my clients at this age have daughters in their early 20’s and this can make them even more aware of losing their youthful looks.

Searching for Help

A lot of my clients come to me after searching for help from their doctors and not being happy with the results.  This doesn’t mean that all women who go to doctors for hormonal problems don’t get relief.  A lot of them do, but most of the ladies I see don’t want to have the pill, hormone replacement therapy or anti-depressants prescribed for them.

A lot of my clients have tried these Pharmaceutical drugs and have not experienced any relief, plus they are quite often worried about the short or long term side effects of taking these medications.

Hormone replacement therapy has a list of possible side effects to frighten off anyone who reads the enclosed pamphlet that comes with the medication.  Is it really worth it if you can obtain a drug free solution?

Quite often, after a few months of trying to cope with all of these symptoms and asking their friends for advice, I get a ‘phone call from a desperate woman.

The conversation usually goes a bit like this.  “My friend told me that you may be able to help women who have my kind of symptoms.  Is that true?”

My answer is that your condition is the kind of condition that I may be able to treat but I will need to see you and find out what is going on specifically with you as there is no “ONE” Homoeopathic medicine that is prescribed for hormonal problems.

How Can I Help You?

Firstly, we need to have a consultation and talk about the symptoms that you are experiencing, both mentally and physically and how you have changed since these hormonal problems began.

Your first consultation will involve a very thorough discussion about how you really feel.

Nothing is unusual, so if you are worried that some of your feelings or symptoms are “weird”, they are not!  It is very important that you feel that you are being understood and can talk freely about your symptoms.

I will also ask you about your previous health history.  For example, any illnesses that you have had in the past and what you were like as a child. The reasons for these questions are to give me a broader picture of your general state of health as well as your present condition. It’s a bit like a time line showing me where you have come from and where you are now.

I will also ask you to bring along any previous reports and blood tests from your Doctor and any Pharmaceutical medicines that you are taking.

Once I am happy that I have gathered all of your information and understood it, I will prescribe a Homoeopathic medicine that is specific for your present state of mental and physical health.  The dosage and frequency about taking your medicine will be explained to you.

Once you start on this treatment you should notice a gradual and increased feeling of wellbeing.  I will be monitoring your progress carefully throughout your treatment and adjusting your dosage of medicine when necessary.

Sometimes my clients ask me. “Do I have to take these drops for the rest of my life?”

The answer is no.  Your treatment needs to continue until you are feeling better and free of the symptoms that were making you feel so awful.  This could be a few weeks or months depending on the individual, but as long as you are improving mentally and physically, it is worth it.

So now you know that there is hope for you.  You are not going crazy and you can recover from these hormonal imbalances.