Women use menopause as a scapegoat for common aging ailments such as sleep, memory, weight gain and hot flashes.

By Jennifer Drapkin

Men and women often confront similar problems as they grow older: weight gain, memory loss, insomnia and serious health problems like heart disease. Men pin these troubles on the passage of time. But according to recent research, women often point to menopause as their fall guy.

“Menopause is such a milestone that things get attributed to it that are really part of the [normal] aging process,” says Katherine Sharkey, a physician at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Other than bothersome hot flashes, which occur when hormonal changes confuse the brain’s temperature center, menopause is not directly responsible for medical problems or significant changes in the brain, researchers say.

Sleep: Menopausal women sleep just as soundly as other women their age, according to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Chicago. “Women in their 50s experience more disrupted sleep than women in their 20s,” says Sharkey. “But it’s not menopause, it’s aging.” More than one-third of older Americans suffer from insomnia.

Memory: Despite its bad reputation, menopause doesn’t adversely affect memory or the brain, according to a two-year study of some 700 Taiwanese women. Researchers suggest that the stresses and distractions of midlife may cause women to perceive a decline in memory power that does not really exist.

Weight Gain: Menopause may deserve blame for that extra dress size. On average, women gain 12 pounds in the eight years following menopause, expanding waistlines and raising the risk for heart disease. The change is one that women can easily monitor and offset with small changes in diet and exercise, according to a University of Pittsburgh study.

Hot Flashes: Stop smoking already! Women who haven’t kicked cigarettes are more than twice as likely as nonsmokers to experience hot flashes, and their hot flashes are more severe, according to University of Maryland researchers. The study also found a link between obesity and hot flashes.

The Lesson: Menopause can be a daunting hurdle, but it may not be as high as we think.

Estrogen replacement therapy, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and hormone replacement therapy, also known as bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, can all help relieve menopausal symptoms. However, there is much controversy surrounding whether to take them or not as there are many risks and benefits to be considered. The decision to begin pharmaceutically produces and/or chemically compound HRT can be one of the most important health care decisions a woman makes. A woman’s overall health, her personal and family medical history, her lifestyle, and her fears about hormones are all significant in making the decision to start hormone replacement therapy.

Summary of the Effects of HRT Every Women Should Know

• Some women have uncomfortable side effects when using HRT which may include tenderness in the breasts, spotting or monthly bleeding (return of the period), cramping, and bloating.

• Some women who use HRT are at higher risk for serious diseases including heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer.

• HRT using only the hormone estrogen appears to greatly increase the chances that a woman will develop cancer of the endometrium, which is the lining inside the uterus or womb.

• The hormone progestin, which is often given in combination with estrogen to protect against endometrial cancer, may cause an increased risk of breast cancer.

• Use of HRT may cause an increased risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease.

• Age appears to be an important factor when deciding if HRT should be considered.

• Women who are over 60 when they start hormone replacement therapy tend to see fewer benefits and much higher risks of certain diseases.

• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s current recommendation for women who chose to use HRT at any age to relieve moderate to severe symptoms is to use it for the shortest time needed and at the lowest dose possible.

• For many women symptoms return after treatment is stopped.

What You Should Know About Herbal Treatments for Menopause

• Herbal treatments for hot flashes, changes in mood, vaginal dryness and sleepless nights may not alleviate symptoms over night but the do work very well for many women.

• Herbs are phytohormones, or plant hormones.

• The National Cancer Institute defines the word phytoestrogen as an estrogen-like substance found in some plants and plant products. They also state that phytoestrogens may have anticancer effects.

• Phytohormones have never been implicated in cancer, blood clots, heart attack, stroke or heart disease.

• For many women herbal combinations are all they ever need to get relief without the worries and risks of HRT.

A hot flash is a sudden, intense, hot feeling on your face and upper body. Hot flashes can be accompanied by a rapid heartbeat, sweating, nausea, dizziness, anxiety, headache, weakness, or a feeling of suffocation, followed by chills. Hot flashes are caused by less estrogen circulating throughout your body. When estrogen levels drop or estrogen receptors are blocked due to certain medications, the body’s temperature control system gets confused and the result is hot flashes.

Hot flashes are a symptom of menopause. Hot flashes can be intense for some women. When menopause has been medically induced some women feel it is the culprit of the intensity.

Managing hot flashes

If you’re taking hormonal therapy and want to stop talk to your doctor. Let them know  your preferences for treatment and suggest what you would like to try. If you are considering Femmerol, direct them to the website or print out information such as the ingredient list and clinical study. Keep in mind not all doctors are aware of natural treatments and the more information you are able to give them the better they can partner with you for your symptom relief.

You can also try these tips to ease hot flashes:

• Avoid hot flash triggers such as stress, cigarettes, alcohol, caffeine, diet pills, spicy food, hot food or drink, hot tubs, saunas, hot showers, hot rooms, and hot weather.
• Reduce the fat in your diet. Over time, a low-fat diet helps some people with hot flashes. Losing excess weight helps, but losing too much weight, or being too thin, can make hot flashes worse.
• Dress in layers so you can peel off one layer after another as you get warmer.
• Don’t wear heavy or thick fabrics such as wool, synthetics, or silk. Wear loose and airy fabrics such as cotton, linen, and rayon.
• Keep ice water nearby so you can sip it to cool down. Pack a small cooler full of cold water to carry with you.
• Lower the room temperature by turning down the thermostat, turning on the air conditioner, or turning on the ceiling fan.
• Sleep in cotton pajamas or a nightgown. If you have hot flashes and perspire at night, the nightclothes are easier to change than the sheets.
• Put cotton sheets on your bed. Cotton soaks up sweat and dries quickly.
• Take a cool shower before going to bed.
• Consider techniques that may help include meditation, massage, yoga, and acupuncture.
• Be patient. Your body is going through changes. Take care of yourself, keep it natural and you’ll feel more like yourself again.