Watch Out For The First Signs Of Early Menopause Symptoms
IT’S MORE THAN JUST HOT FLASHES AND DRY VAGINAS
According to an article in AARP, nearly 6,000 women reach menopause every day in America. The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) reports that approximately 75 percent of women experience some kind of menopausal changes and distress. And sadly, in our society close to 20 percent of these women experience levels of night sweats and hot flashes that are severe enough to interfere with nearly every significant aspect of their lives: work, relationships, and sleep. And this is an example of just two symptoms of changes - many women suffer from myriad other difficulties that impact their lives, health, and overall sense of well-being. And not only can these menopause symptoms continue for over 15 years - simply being post-menopausal increases a woman’s health risk for threatening diseases.
WOMEN’S LIFE EXPECTANCY
Adding to these challenges is the fact that a woman’s life expectancy has increased significantly in society over the last century. In 1908, on average women only lived to 51 years old - the average age of menopause onset. Whereas once women evolved to experience reproduction and then die, they are now spending a third of their lives with a postmenopausal body. During this time in a woman’s life, the loss of hormone levels impacts not only their quality of health but is directly tied to the onset of risk for disease.
THE SEVERITY OF MENOPAUSAL SYMPTOMS
Though it’s too infrequently acknowledged by medical professionals or even discussed by many women themselves, so many women suffer from significant health problems throughout menopause changes. As noted on our Women’s Health and Aging page, hormonal changes corresponding with menopause can lead to a multitude of health symptoms, including:
Brain fog, trouble with recall, or other cognitive changes
Weight gain
Changes in fat distribution, more belly fat
Changes in skin and hair
Erratic periods
Hot flashes
Night sweats
Vaginal dryness
Painful intercourse
Decreased sex drive
Difficulty with bladder control / urinary leakage
Insomnia
Low self-esteem, lack of confidence
Moodiness, depression, anxiety, or even flat mood
Changes in the threshold for stress
Osteoporosis
Heart palpitations
TALK TO THE CORRECT MEDICAL SPECIALIST
While some doctors and women are misled by information and might feel that these symptoms are “just a part of getting older” and should simply be tolerated, what is not often fully acknowledged is the impact these issues can have on a woman’s life. I was happy to see the early 2023 New York Times article titled “Women Have Been Misled About Menopause” discussing the rampant lack of care and physician training for treating menopausal symptoms.
According to a Yale University study on menopause, “moderate to severe hot flashes -- also called vasomotor symptoms (VMS) -- are not treated in most women. Women with VMS experience more than feeling hot; other frequently occurring symptoms include fatigue, sleep disturbance, depression, anxiety, and impaired short-term memory.” Dr. Philip Sarrel, Yale University emeritus professor of obstetrics, gynecology & reproductive sciences, and psychiatry, goes on to say, “Not treating these common symptoms causes many women to drop out of the labor force at a time when their careers are on the upswing. This also places demands on health care and drives up insurance costs.”
MENOPAUSE AND DISEASE RISKS
The severity and impact of associated menopause symptoms varies from woman to woman as they experience changes in their body. While women experience the symptoms of menopause differently - some experience disrupting vasomotor symptoms, challenges to relationships and even professional lives, some breeze through the changes in their bodies. Regardless of the levels of symptoms and changes that women experience, the loss of hormones in the later third of their life experience is strongly tied to the development of certain chronic health issues with their bodies.
HORMONE LEVELS AND YOUR HEALTH
Hot flashes, sleep disturbances, insomnia, and dry vaginas are significant health issues. Additionally, once ovarian hormones levels decline, women are at increased risk for developing chronic health conditions such as:
Heart disease
Cognitive decline
Osteoporosis
Changes in dentition (higher risk of losing teeth due to bone loss)
Type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance
Weight gain and obesity
Decline in visual health (i,.e. Glaucoma, dry eyes, cataracts)
UTIs and urogenital health decline
Women And Advanced Aging
The bottom line - menopause accelerates aging in women. Science and research back this information up. As quoted in the previously referenced AARP article, Lisa Mosconi, a professor of neurology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, asserts that menopause “means the loss of a key neuroprotective element in the female brain and a higher vulnerability to brain aging and Alzheimer’s disease.” The loss of ovarian hormone levels, specifically a drop in estradiol, can also bring about a rise in LDL cholesterol and inflammation - elevating the risk of heart disease. According to this article, “estrogen deficiency greatly increases mortality from cardiovascular disease… over 90% of women will die from cardiovascular disease which estrogen can prevent.” Loss of estrogen levels also affects bone density, especially for women who go through menopause changes earlier in life, putting their health at an increased risk of osteoporosis. Additionally, according to this article, “in 2020, more than 50 million women will be in a postmenopausal state, which may predispose them to type 2 diabetes.”
WHAT’S TO BE DONE
Increased attention must be placed on the significant impacts menopausal symptoms have on women’s health. Also, women need to know how to find correct advice and information concerning the changes their bodies will experience. Even if women don’t encounter some of the more threatening health issues, conditions like weight gain, night sweats, flat moods, or difficulties concentrating can make growing older increasingly difficult - and sometimes debilitating. Too many women suffer in silence without the information they need and seek menopause treatments, becoming disengaged from life and feeling guilt and a loss of control over their declining vitality.
The Medical Field And Your Health Information
As you’ll learn in Part 2 of our series on Menopause, women need to understand that a significant portion of the medical field is misinformed or ill-equipped to deal with menopause and too many women are not being heard or adequately treated. That said, there is much that can be done to address menopausal symptoms in women (see Part 3 of our Menopause series), and women need to become educated and learn to advocate for themselves. Simply put, armed with the right information and practitioners, women can seek out high-quality and comprehensive care that will help them improve their quality of life and help prevent disease.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT MENOPAUSE TREATMENTS - JUST GIVE THE OFFICE A CALL AT 425-230-5831
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