As a normal part of aging, menopause often affects women in their 40s and 50s. The natural biological process often comes with physical and emotional symptoms such as sleep disruption, poor emotional health, lower energy levels, hot flashes, weight gain, slowed metabolism, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, and night sweats. Often, menopausal symptoms are not severe and do not require treatment. But, if you experience disruptive symptoms, you may need to seek Mount Pleasant menopause solutions. Menopause occurs due to a significant reduction in the production of reproductive hormones such as estrogen.
Although that process happens naturally, it may also result from a cancer treatment or surgical procedure to remove the uterus or ovaries. Subsequently, below are the common menopausal symptoms and their treatment options.
- Hot flashes
When you have a hot flash, you feel a sudden warmth in the upper body, which is often concentrated in your face, chest, and neck. The skin area affected by hot flashes may become red as if you are blushing.
A hot flash may cause you to sweat, and when you lose excess body heat, you may feel chilled afterward.
You can reduce or eliminate hot flashes by keeping your bedroom environment cool for sleeping, wearing loose-fitting sleeping clothes, and avoiding intake of caffeine and alcohol.
- Decreased sex drive
The decreased estrogen production during menopause often lowers your sexual desire, as you find it difficult to feel aroused.
Moreover, menopause can make you experience vaginal dryness, which causes painful sex and a lack of interest in sex.
You can have comfortable and enjoyable intercourse by engaging in foreplay, which gives you sufficient time for your vagina to be lubricated naturally, making you feel aroused. Also, you can use a vaginal lubricant to lubricate your vagina.
Moreover, have sex and masturbate more often to help boost the flow of blood to your vagina. You may have more desire to have sex after menopause because you do not have to worry about the risk of getting pregnant.
However, because you do not need to rely on birth control methods to prevent pregnancy, remember you are still at risk of sexually transmitted infections and diseases. Therefore, if you have sex with different partners regularly, always use condoms.
- Mood changes
Apart from other factors, the fluctuating levels of estrogen and progesterone can cause inadequate serotonin creation and release.
Serotonin is a chemical that nerve cells produce. The chemical carries messages or signals between nerve cells in your brain and throughout the body. Thus serotonin plays a vital role in different functions such as digestion, sleep, nausea, wound healing, blood clotting, sexual desire, and bone health.
You can relieve your fluctuating levels of irritation, fatigue, anxiety, and sadness associated with menopause by staying physically active, performing stress reduction and relaxation techniques, using antidepressants, and eating healthily.
Your health provider may also recommend other treatments for relieving menopausal symptoms, such as hormone therapy, homeopathy, herbal solutions, and acupuncture. For instance, hormone replacement therapy is a medication that can replenish your body with healthy levels of female reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone.
Contact Menopause Solutions today to schedule an appointment with a menopause and gynecology specialist.
