QUESTION: It's a terrible time of life for me.
What happens to women at menopause?
ANSWER: In one form or another, many other readers ask this question of me. Menopause is a time of many changes in a woman's body, and the changes result in psychological and physical changes.
Menopause for many women takes place over several years, so that the changes may be slow in occurring.
Changes in life circumstances may coincide with the changes of menopause, so it may be difficult to determine what causes what.
Children grow up and move away, parents die, women and their spouses retire, and all the changes that go along with growing older usually occur during menopause. The physical changes of menopause are many.
The ovaries slow their functioning and eventually stop producing estrogen.
The lack of estrogen creates the "hot flashes" common to menopause, as well as drying of the vaginal tissue, which makes sexual intercourse uncomfortable.
Women are usually protected from coronary artery disease while they are producing estrogen, but menopause robs them of this protection.
Estrogen also protects bones from becoming brittle, so that osteoporosis affects 25 to 50 percent of women at menopause. Women vary greatly in how their bodies respond to menopause.
Some women merely stop menstruating, while others have symptoms that disable them.
Most women report that they fall somewhere in between these two extremes.
Many women complain of anxiety, depression, nervousness, difficulty sleeping and headaches. The distress of menopause can be treated safely with hormone replacement. In particular, hormones can relieve hot flashes and vaginal dryness while preventing osteoporosis.
There has been some concern that hormonal replacement can increase a woman's risk for cancer, but these concerns are largely unfounded.
Careful evaluation prior to treatment, including Pap smear and mammogram, and frequent checkups during treatment will ensure that the hormone treatment is without complication.
The material contained here is "FOR INFORMATION ONLY" and should not replace the counsel and advice of your personal physician.
Promptly consulting your doctor is the best path to a quick and successful resolution of any medical problem.
