Let me start by saying sweats, flushes, flashes, whatever you want to call these side-effects of menopause, can last through to your 80s. You didn’t want to hear that, but it’s true. At 73 I still have hot flushes and they’re as bad now as back in my 50s.
Why? The menopause just doesn’t know when to quit. When I hear men talking about Male Menopause (not the capitalisation!) I want to scream. They obviously don’t know or don’t understand or haven’t bothered to find out what the actual word MENOPAUSE means. They don’t have dictionaries or even Google.
Menopause Symptoms That Persist
In the interests of clarity, clicking here will take you to a list of menopause symptoms (or challenges) which may still hold true even if you’re way past what you consider the right date, such as hot flashes, night sweats, mood changes, vaginal dryness, difficulty sleeping, irritability and other mood changes, urinary problems.
Fortunately, most of these symptoms/conditions will not be experienced by the average woman. In fact, 20% of women (the lucky few), will experience no side effects at all.
The good news is that nearly all of these are treatable, and you can either choose standard modern medical treatments such as Hormone Replacement Therapy, or you can choose to delve into the mysteries of some of the natural and/or traditional medicine methods available. These are always my personal choice. I prefer using an Oestrogen cream to taking HRT!
Available Treatment Options
As the title of this article includes issues, having established that these or any other symptoms are apparently just part of the ageing process (Do you like that? Just part of the ageing process!), it seems common sense to proffer a few remedies.
You can try any of the following, and I suggest you do your own research. We are all unique and what works for one may not work for another:
- HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) – the jury is still out on this but if it works for you, then do what you must.
- Bioidentical hormones have been around since the mid-90s. Click here for more information
- Herbal and homeopathic remedies (traditional medicine) – their efficacy depends on you, the practitioner and what you’re given. Like everything else really.
- Flaxseed oil
- Marine phytoplankton
- Evening Primrose oil
- Royal Jelly and/or bee pollen
- Calcium (with magnesium and vitamin D). Even if they don’t help your menopause symptoms, you should be taking all three anyway.
- Black Cohosh
- Pasque Flower
- Tang Kuei – the Chinese call this the Queen of Herbs, and they have been using it for women’s ailments for around 2,000 years.
- Herbal solutions specifically for women. Turn to your local health food store, homeopath, naturopath, etc.
- Progesterone creams – apply a small amount, usually to the inside of the thigh.
- Zinc
- Vitamins C, E and B6
- Vitamin K
If you’d like to know more about any of these specific items, please let us know and we’ll help all we can.
Give Your Body Time
Whichever of these you choose, be persistent; try for 2 -3 months rather than taking something for a couple of weeks and throwing your hands in the air, saying, “Another one that doesn’t work!” It sometimes takes a little time before you experience relief from the symptoms and/or conditions, especially with some of the natural and traditional medicine products.
Don’t forget to check-in on your mindset and attitude! We can set up all sorts of physical scenarios without trying, and we sometimes forget the power of our minds.
Please, check some or all of these out and let us know which is of the greatest benefit. We’d love to hear how they worked for you. Take care and be safe.
Are you experiencing any menopause symptoms at your age? If so, which ones? How are you handling them? Do you prefer natural or pharmacological treatments?