A menopause symptom

One menopause symptom is night sweats or nocturnal hydrosis due to hot flashes which can start at pre-menopause or perimenopause. Commonly attributed to the changes in the bodies' temperature during a hot flash, sweats at night are also know as bed sweats. Understanding how to fight the unwelcome sweat cycle we can eventually get a full, dry, night  of sleep. This page will help you to understand why night sweats occur with menopause. 

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Definition of Menopause and some menopause symptom

Menopause (also known as the "Change of life" or climacteric) is a stage of the human female reproductive cycle that occurs as the ovaries stop producing estrogen, causing the reproductive system to gradually shut down. As the body adapts to the changing levels of natural hormones, vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and palpitations, psychological symptoms such as increased depression, anxiety, irritability, mood swings and lack of concentration, and atrophic symptoms such as vaginal dryness and urgency of urination appear. Together with these symptoms, the woman may also have increasingly scanty and erratic menstrual periods.

Technically, menopause refers to the ceasing of menses; whereas the gradual process through which this occurs, which typically takes a year but may last as little as six months or more than five years, is known as climacteric. Popular use, however, replaces climacteric with menopause. Menopause can either be natural or surgically induced. A natural or physiological menopause refers to the ceasing of menses that is a part of a woman's normal ageing process. However, a surgically induced menopause refers to the ceasing of menses for reasons such as because the woman has had a previous hysterectomy.

Informative Sites Safe Menopause Solutions Everything Menopause Women's Menopause Health Menopause Symptoms & Perimenopause

The average onset of menopause is 50.5 years, but some women enter menopause at a younger age, especially if they have suffered from cancer or another serious illness and undergone chemotherapy. Premature menopause (or Premature Ovarian Failure) is defined as menopause occurring before the age of 40, and occurs in 1% of women. Other causes of premature menopause include autoimmune disorders like thyroid disease or diabetes mellitus. Premature menopause is diagnosed by measuring the levels of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH); the levels of these hormones will be higher if menopause has occurred.

Post-menopausal women, especially Europeans, are at increased risk of osteoporosis.

Menopause is rare in animal species. One possible explanation for its evolution in humans is the grandmother hypothesis.

Treatment of menoapuse and menopause symptom

Medical treatments for each menopausal symptom have been developed. Most notably, Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT), has been used to reduce the weakening of bones (known as osteoporosis) and the risk of heart disease after menopause. However, some women have resisted the implication that menopause is a disorder, seeing it as a natural stage of life. There has also been scientific controversy over whether the benefits of HRT outweigh the risks. Specifically, recent studies have suggested that HRT may increase women's risk for Alzheimer's disease, breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.

Fact Sheet  of menopause symptom

from fact-sheets.com

Hormones, Change and menopause symptom

A woman’s body changes throughout her lifetime. Many of those changes are due to varying hormone levels that happen at different stages in life.

Puberty often starts when a girl is about 12 years old. Her body changes—breasts and pubic hair develop, monthly periods begin.

Menopausal transition, commonly called perimenopause, is the time when a woman’s body is closer to menopause. At this time, a woman’s periods may become less regular, and she may start to feel menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes and night sweats. Perimenopause usually begins about 2 to 4 years before the last menstrual period. It lasts for about 1 year after your last period.

Menopause is marked by a woman’s last menstrual period. You cannot know for sure what is your last period until you have been period free for 1 full year.

Postmenopause follows menopause and lasts the rest of your life. Pregnancy is no longer possible. There may be some symptoms, such as vaginal dryness, which may continue long after you have passed through menopause and every menopause symptom.

What Are the Signs of Menopause and various menopause symptom?

Changing hormone levels can cause a variety of menopause symptom that may last from a few months to a few years or longer. Some women have slight discomfort or worse. Others have little or no trouble. If any of these changes bother you, check with your doctor. The most common symptoms are:

Changes in periods. One of the first menopause symptom may be a change in a woman’s periods. Many women become less regular; some have a lighter flow than normal; others have a heavier flow and may bleed a lot for many days. Periods may come less than 3 weeks apart or last more than a week. There may be spotting between periods. Women who have had problems with heavy menstrual periods and cramps will find relief from these symptoms when menopause starts.

Hot flashes. A hot flash is a menopause symptom that gives a sudden feeling of heat in the upper part or all of your body. Your face and neck become flushed. Red blotches may appear on your chest, back, and arms. Heavy sweating and cold shivering can follow. Flashes can be as mild as a light blush or severe enough to wake you from a sound sleep (called night sweats). Most flashes last between 30 seconds and 5 minutes.

Problems with the menopause symptom of vagina and bladder. The genital area can get drier and thinner as estrogen levels change. This dryness may make sexual intercourse painful. Vaginal infections can become more common. Some women have more urinary tract infections. Other problems can make it hard to hold urine long enough to get to the bathroom. Some women find that urine leaks during exercise, sneezing, coughing, laughing, or running.

The menopause symptom of loss or gain in Sex. Some women find that their feelings about sex change with menopause. Some have changes to the vagina, such as dryness, that makes sexual intercourse painful. Others feel freer and sexier after menopause — relieved that pregnancy is no longer a worry. Until you have had 1 full year without a period, you should still use birth control if you do not want to become pregnant another menopause symptom. After menopause a woman can still get sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as HIV/AIDS or gonorrhea. If you are worried about STDs, make sure your partner uses a condom each time you have sex.

Sleep problems is a menopause symptom. Some women find they have a hard time getting a good night’s sleep – they may not fall asleep easily or may wake too early. They may need to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and then find they aren’t able to fall back to sleep. Hot flashes also may cause some women to wake up.

Mood changes is a menopause symptom. There may be a relationship between changes in estrogen levels and a woman’s mood. Shifts in mood may also be caused by stress, family changes such as children leaving home, or feeling tired. Depression is NOT a symptom of menopause.

Changes in your body is a menopause symptom. Some women find that their bodies change around the time of menopause. With age, waists thicken, muscle mass is lost, fat tissue may increase, skin may get thinner. Other women have memory problems, or joint and muscle stiffness

and pain is a menopause symptom. With regular exercise and attention to diet, many of these changes may be eased or prevented.

What About menopause symptom tied to my Heart and Bones?

You may not even notice two important changes that happen with menopause.

•  Loss of bone tissue is a menopause symptom and can weaken your bones and cause osteoporosis.

•  Heart disease is a menopause symptom and a risk may grow, due to age-related increases in weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels.

The menopause symptom Osteoporosis. To maintain strong bones, the body is always breaking down old bone and replacing it with new healthy bone. For women, the loss of estrogen around the time of menopause causes more bone to be lost than is replaced. If too much bone is lost, bones become thin and weak and can break easily. Many people do not know they have weak bones until they break a wrist, hip, or spine bone (vertebrae). Doctors can test bone density (bone densitometry) to find out if you are at risk of osteoporosis. You can lower your risk of bone loss and osteoporosis by making changes to your lifestyle — regular weight-bearing exercise and getting plenty of calcium and vitamin D can help. There are also drugs available that prevent bone loss. Talk to your doctor to find out what is best for you.

The menopause symptom of Heart disease. Younger women have a lower risk of heart disease than do men of the same age. But after menopause, a woman’s risk of heart disease is almost the same as a man’s. In fact, heart disease is the major cause of death in women, killing more women than lung or breast cancer. It’s important to know your blood pressure, and levels of cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides, and fasting blood glucose. You can lower your chance of heart disease by eating a healthy diet, not smoking, losing weight, and exercising regularly. There are also drugs that can help. Talk to your doctor to be sure you are doing everything possible to protect your heart.

How Can I Stay Healthy Throughout Menopause and each menopause symptom?

To stay healthy you can make some changes in the way you live. For example:

• Don’t smoke.

• Eat a healthy diet that is low in fat and cholesterol and moderate in total fat. Your diet should aim to be high in fiber and include fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain foods. It should also be well balanced in vitamins and minerals, including calcium.

• Lose weight if you are overweight.

• Take part in weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, jogging, running, or dancing, at least 3 days each week.

• Take medicine to lower your blood pressure if your doctor prescribes it for you.

• For vaginal discomfort, use a water-based vaginal lubricant (not petroleum jelly) or an estrogen cream.

• If you frequently feel an urgent need to urinate, ask your doctor about techniques such as pelvic muscle exercises, biofeedback, and bladder training that can help you improve muscle control.

• Be sure to get regular pelvic and breast exams, Pap tests, and mammograms. Contact your doctor right away if you notice a lump in your breast.

• If you are having hot flashes, keep a diary to track when they happen. You may be able to use this information to help find out what triggers them.

Try these tips to help manage hot flashes:

• When a hot flash starts, go somewhere cool.

• If hot flashes wake you at night, try sleeping in a cool room or use a Bedfan.

• Dress in layers that you can take off if you get too warm.

• Use sheets and clothing that let your skin “breathe.”

•  Have a cold drink (water or juice) at the beginning of a flash.

What About Hormone Replacement? SEE this

In perimenopause, your doctor might suggest birth control pills especially if you are having problems with very heavy, frequent or unpredictable menstrual periods. This medication will make your periods more regular. It may also help with symptoms like hot flashes. However, birth control pills can hide the arrival of menopause. If you think you might have reached menopause, you can stop taking the pill for a while and see if you start having regular periods again. But if you were using birth control pills to prevent pregnancy, you should remember to use another type of contraceptive until you have gone 12 months without a period.

In menopause, your doctor might suggest taking estrogen and progesterone, known as hormone replacement therapy or HRT. HRT involves taking estrogen plus progestin. Estrogen alone, or ERT, is for women who have had the uterus removed. Estrogen plus progestin is for women with a uterus. Progestin, when used with estrogen, helps reduce the risk of uterine cancer. These hormones can be taken in a variety of forms such as pills, skin patches, creams, or vaginal inserts, depending on a woman’s needs.

HRT or ERT may relieve menopause-related symptoms, such as hot flashes, and reduce loss of bone. However, HRT has risks. It should not be used for long-term prevention of heart disease. Taking HRT increases, rather than reduces, the risk for heart disease and stroke. It also increases the risk of breast cancer and blood clots. But it appears to decrease the risk of colon cancer. Scientists are still studying the effects of HRT — the final answers are not yet available. Talk to your doctor about taking estrogen/progestin

or about other treatments (for example, biofeedback) that may ease menopausal symptoms.

What About Phytoestrogens?

Phytoestrogens are estrogen-like substances found in cereals, vegetables, legumes (beans), and some herbs. They may work in the body like a weak form of estrogen. Some may lower cholesterol levels. Soy, wild yams, and herbs such as black cohosh and dong quai, contain phytoestrogens and may relieve some symptoms of menopause. The government does not regulate phytoestrogens. Scientists are studying some of these plant estrogens to find out if they really work and are safe.

Be sure to tell your doctor if you decide to eat more foods with phytoestrogens. Any food or over-the-counter product that you use for its drug-like effects could interact with other prescribed drugs or cause an overdose.

How Do I Decide What to Do to fight the menopause symptom

Talk to your doctor to decide how to best manage your menopause. Think about your symptoms and how much they bother you. You also need to consider your medical history – your risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. Remember that your decisions are never final. You can, and should, review them with your doctor every year during your checkup. You can see a gynecologist, geriatrician, general practitioner, or internist.

For your grandmother and great-grandmother, life expectancy was shorter. Reaching menopause often meant that their life was nearing an end. But this is no longer true. Today women are living longer — on average, until age 78. By making wise decisions about menopause and a healthy lifestyle, you can make the most of the 20, 30, or more years you have ahead!

One last note on menopause symptom

Breast cancer survivors who took hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to relieve menopausal symptoms had more than three times as many breast cancer recurrences as survivors who did not take HRT, a new study from Sweden has found. The study - which was stopped ahead of schedule because of these findings - was the first randomized clinical trial to examine the effect of HRT in women with breast cancer.

Source

The Lancet (published online February 3, 2004, and in the February 7, 2004, print edition).

Background

Improved survival among women with breast cancer has meant that more breast cancer survivors are going through menopause, which for some women causes severe symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and loss of sexual desire. For many years, HRT (usually a combination of the hormones estrogen and progestin) was widely prescribed to women to relieve these menopausal symptoms. It was also thought that HRT might reduce the risk of breast cancer, heart disease, and other conditions.

However, in July 2002, a large randomized clinical trial of estrogen and progestin in healthy postmenopausal women (part of the Women's Health Initiative) was stopped early when researchers found that women who took the hormones had an increased risk of developing breast cancer and heart disease. (For more information, see Digest Page: Menopausal Hormone Use.)

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has since recommended that women discuss with their doctors whether the benefits of taking estrogen and progestin outweigh the risks and that, if used, the hormones should be taken "at the lowest doses for the shortest duration to reach treatment goals.

The effects of HRT on women who had already had breast cancer had not been studied in a randomized controlled trial, considered the “gold standard” in medical research. Because more than half of breast cancers are fueled by estrogen, some researchers worried that use of the hormone could stimulate recurrence of the disease. However, studies that simply observed breast cancer survivors for several years concluded that the risk of cancer recurring in HRT users was low.

The Study

In 1997, Swedish researchers began a randomized trial to determine whether a two-year course of HRT for menopausal symptoms was safe for women who had been treated for breast cancer. A total of 434 study participants were randomly assigned to receive either HRT or non-hormonal treatment for their menopausal symptoms. The research team was led by Lars Holmberg, M.D., of University Hospital in Uppsala, Sweden.

Results

The researchers intended to follow the women for a median of five years. However, after a median follow-up of just over two years, they found that 26 women in the HRT group - but only seven in the non-HRT group - had had a recurrence of breast cancer. They terminated the study, concluding that even short-term use of HRT posed an “unacceptably high risk” of breast cancer recurrence.

Limitations

The study fell far short of its recruitment goal, enrolling just 434 women instead of 1,300 as originally planned. In addition, the study was not blinded or placebo-controlled, two characteristics that are generally considered to strengthen the findings of a clinical trial.

Comments

“In and of itself, this study would not be strong enough to provide conclusive evidence that breast cancer survivors should avoid HRT,” said JoAnne Zujewski, M.D., a medical oncologist who specializes in breast cancer at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.

“However, these results are consistent with those of other studies, including the Women’s Health Initiative study,” Zujewski added. “As a practical matter, given what we already know about the serious risks and extremely limited benefits of HRT, these findings can be considered definitive.”

Zujewski’s comments are supported by an editorial accompanying the study report, which says that the “conclusion that even short-term use of hormone therapy poses an unacceptably high risk of breast cancer can now reasonably guide clinical practice for women with breast cancer.” The editorial is written by Rowan T. Chlebowski, M.D., of the Harbor-UCLA Research and Education Institute in Torrance, California, and Nananda Col, M.D. of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

The study also demonstrates the importance of testing treatments in randomized clinical trials, Zujewski said. “You cannot draw definitive conclusions from observational studies. Definitive conclusions come from randomized studies.”