Postmenopause is the time after you've been without a menstrual period for 12 months. During this stage, menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, get milder or go away. People in postmenopause are at increased risk for osteoporosis and heart disease.
Once in menopause (you haven't had a period for 12 months) and on into postmenopause, the symptoms may continue for an average of four to five years, but they decrease in frequency and intensity. Some women report their symptoms last longer. The most common symptoms include: Hot flashes.
Postmenopause is the time after menopause, when a woman hasn't experienced a period for over a year. Postmenopause, you will no longer have periods but some women do continue to experience symptoms of menopause.
One of the common treatment options for menopausal symptoms is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), supplementing your hormone levels to rebalance your system. However, you may prefer to move through menopause without using hormone treatments. And, women with previous hormone-dependent cancer shouldn't use HRT.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
Hot flashes and vaginal dryness are the two symptoms most frequently linked with menopause. Other symptoms associated with menopause include sleep disturbances, urinary complaints, sexual dysfunction, mood changes, and quality of life.
After Your Period Stops
“There's a window of about eight years in which women can feel those flashes and sweats,” Dr. Audlin says. Women who have reached menopause can expect menopause symptoms to become worse than they were during perimenopause, the 2- to 10-year stage leading up to the permanent end of menstruation.
Avoid alcohol, spicy foods, and caffeine. These can make menopausal symptoms worse. If you smoke, try to quit, not only for hot flashes, but for your overall health. Try to maintain a healthy weight.
Estrogen affects the hypothalamus, which regulates body temperature. Low estrogen causes hot flashes and night sweats, two annoying symptoms of menopause and perimenopause.
For women, a specific estrogen hormone called estradiol decreases at menopause helps regulate metabolism and body weight. The lower the levels of estradiol may cause weight gain. Throughout a woman's life, they may notice weight gain around their hips and thighs.
Many women also notice an increase in belly fat as they get older — even if they aren't gaining weight. This is likely due to a decreasing level of estrogen, which appears to influence where fat is distributed in the body.
Many women actually find that they lose weight by using HRT as it shifts the metabolism back into a pre-menopausal metabolic state. Progesterone can sometimes cause fluid retention which can mimic weight gain, but there are alterations that can be made to the regime to minimise this impact.
Bioidentical or "natural" hormones
Bioidentical hormones are hormone preparations made from plant sources that are promoted as being similar or identical to human hormones. Practitioners claim these hormones are a "natural" and safer alternative to standard HRT medicines.
Vitamin B12 it is used to break down estrogen so that it can be excreted from the body. As a result, women with B12 deficiency may experience infertility or irregular cycles because high estrogen levels can cause lack of ovulation, embryo implantation failure, and difficulty maintaining pregnancy.
Hormone replacement therapy is medication that contains female hormones. You take the medication to replace the estrogen that your body stops making during menopause. Hormone therapy is most often used to treat common menopausal symptoms, including hot flashes and vaginal discomfort.
It depends on your situation. Not all women need, want or are candidates for estrogen therapy. Estrogen can reduce menopausal symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats and vaginal dryness. If you have a uterus, you'll likely need to take progesterone along with the estrogen.
Because estrogen does so much in the body, imbalances can lead to a wide range of symptoms that you may not realize are connected to your hormone levels. These can include issues like: Hot flashes, flushing, and sweating at night. Weight gain.