Posted on: August 19, 2022
In our society, almost all topics related to sexual and reproductive systems are surrounded by secrets and myths. Most often, issues related to a woman’s health, her age, and her ability to bear children are taboo – they are not discussed. The same situation has developed around the topic of menopause – many myths and various scary pseudo-facts about menopause make women wait for this period with fear.
The first manifestations of menopause, as well as any other changes in well-being and health, should be treated very carefully. “Turning a blind eye” to the first symptoms of menopause, women lose the opportunity to maintain their health and quality of life at the usual level.
In this article, together with the specialists of Atlanta Liposuction Specialty Clinic, we will find out what the climax is, whether is it so scary, and whether is it possible to delay its onset.
Climax (or menopause) is a period in a woman’s life when her reproductive functions are exhausted: the eggs run out, and the ovaries no longer have follicles that synthesize estrogen. As a rule, at this time, a “substitute” for estrogen – the hormone estriol – begins to be produced in adipose tissue. It is because of it that a woman often gains weight during the climacteric period.
These processes do not develop all at once — the functions of the ovaries fade gradually, over five to six years. The climax starts about two years before the last menstruation and ends three to four years after.
Given the length of time the process takes, experts conventionally divide it into several stages. Each of them has its symptoms and predictors.
Gynecologists do not have a single opinion of at what age a woman’s menopause begins. Most often, the process becomes obvious at the age of 45, but the first harbingers can appear both earlier – before the age of forty, and later – after the age of fifty.
In the period of premenopause, the process of dying off the reproductive function of the ovaries begins. At this time, the cycle may go astray, periods become irregular, and the interval between their arrival may change.
Among the frequent symptoms of the initial stage of menopause, we can highlight:
This period is characterized by the active dying of ovarian functions. Menstrual periods may continue, but become less and less regular their abundance changes, and bleeding gradually ceases. Most often it happens between the ages of 48 and 53.
This period is characterized by an aggravation of all symptoms that accompany premenopause and their strengthening by new ones. As a rule, menopause is most often accompanied by :
The postmenopausal period begins a year after the last menstrual bleeding and lasts until the end of a woman’s life. As a rule, at this stage, most of the unpleasant “companions” of menopause disappear, but age-related changes begin to be felt more strongly. During this period, a woman should pay special attention to her health, as the risk of developing diseases of the heart and endocrine system, diabetes, and obesity are greater than ever.
As we mentioned earlier, the symptoms of menopause can vary depending on the stage of the climacteric process in which the woman’s body is. However, gynecologists distinguish several general signs that accompany all stages of menopause:
The symptoms that accompany the initial stages of the climacteric state can be found to one degree or another in other health problems. It is this fact that makes timely detection of the state of climax impossible at home. Therefore, after the age of forty, a woman needs to visit an endocrinologist twice a year in order not to miss the beginning of this process.
There are several “markers” that help specialists detect menopause:
The climacteric state can also be easily confused with acute stress. To reveal the truth, it is necessary to pass an analysis of the content of cortisol and prolactin. High levels of these “stress hormones” in the blood can cause menopause-like conditions.
Correct medical care depends on the stage at which menopause was detected. At the stage of premenopause, a gynecologist may recommend taking phytoestrogens and antigenotoxic therapy to correct the condition. However, at the immediate stage of menopause, specialists often turn to hormone replacement therapy, if there are no contraindications for this. Such therapy will help to level the state of health, remove several undesirable symptoms and significantly improve the quality of life of a woman.
At the postmenopausal stage, specialists use special vitamins, minerals, and supportive therapy that help control age-related structural changes in the body and fight the aging process.
Like other taboo topics in our society, many moments related to climacteric processes are shrouded in fear, mystery, and myth. We propose to discuss the most common of them.
Regardless of the stage of the life cycle, the organism is at, the quality of life can and should be maintained at an appropriate level. Timely diagnosis and competent, individually selected therapy will help to make menopause not the end, but the real start of a full life.