Menopause Treatments

The frequency and severity of menopausal symptoms like night sweats, hot flushes, vaginal dryness and mood swings varies woman to woman. Some women sail through it hardly experiencing anything at all, others cop the lot and then some. On top of heavier or lighter periods, it is not unusual for palpitations and joint and bone pain to signal menopause as well. Then there are psychological symptoms like difficulty sleeping and concentrating to contend with too.

You can safely say you’ve gone through menopause when you haven’t had a period for a year. Reaching that state can take just a few months right through to several years. 

If you are finding the whole menopause thing too much, some form of treatment may be in order. It is well documented that some women have a dreadful time in menopause leaving them feeling fit to kill either themselves or those around them. It’s no exaggeration that at the extreme end of the scale, life becomes incredibly challenging  so it is really important to seek help as soon as things start to feel like they are getting on top of you. Go and see your GP who in turn may refer you to a specialist. 

One of the great things about living here and now is that there are effective treatments available including:

The big range of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) treatments now available

HRT has come a long way since initially introduced into the gynaecological world. Although some initial HRT offerings received bad press after concerns of an increased breast cancer risk, many women, even at the time, jumped to defend it. Negotiating life with extreme menopausal symptoms, perpetual periods or very heavy, long periods is no joke and HRT even in its early forms, helped many women stay sane. 

These days, there is far greater scale and diversity in the range of HRT solutions available. They start with very low dosage pills, skin patches, creams and pessaries and go through to IUD’s and higher hormone replacement medications. 

Medical professionals also monitor their impact a lot more closely now. The important thing is to talk to your GP or specialist about what is going on.

Natural menopause treatments

There is a big range of natural alternatives as well. These start with rest, stress reduction, dietary changes and exercise and vitamin and mineral supplements and go through to soy based phyto-oestrogens (natural hormones) and herbal and homeopathic remedies. Some women also find physical treatments such as acupuncture, massage and reflexology help a lot.

No one remedy suits all and so you may need to try several options. The important thing is to work with your GP or specialist particularly if you are on medication.