Facts about menopause

The stage when women stop having their menstrual periods is called by the name menopause. Menopause is not an illness or a disease, but only a transition from one stage of life to another stage. Women must take care of their health especially at this stage to avoid health complications later on.The symptoms associated with menopause can be varied ranging from low bone density, mood upswings, higher blood cholesterol levels and so on. People in this stage are also more prone towards heart attacks and strokes. When menopause happens, there is a steady decline in the number of eggs that can function normally inside the ovaries. The average eggs borne by a girl at the time of her first menstrual cycle is about 400,000 eggs. During the time of menopause, it drastically reduces to 10,000 eggs.

The growth of eggs is a result of follicle stimulating hormone or FSH. The eggs become resistant to FSH as menopause stage occurs and this is the reason why ovaries produce less of estrogen. Many parts of the body are affected by estrogen namely heart, blood vessels, breasts, bone, skin, uterus, urinary system and brain etc. Many signs related with menopause take place because of this loss of estrogen. The ovaries also start reducing their production of testosterone, a hormone which plays an important part in leading to sex drive or libido.

Menopause cannot be called a disease. It also has no definitive treatment or cure. You can undergo treatment to get relieved of hot flashes and other severe symptoms associated with menopause which may be a cause for worry. Your doctor may be able to put you on some prescription drugs to control or prevent high cholesterol or osteoporosis which can accompany menopause.

Many people do not opt for any medication or treatment to tide over their menopausal years. However, some women resort to opting for treatments when their symptoms impede with their normal day to day functioning. They must also pay more attention to keeping themselves active at this stage through some form of regular exercise to tide over problems pertaining to their health.