Anne Hope and Alison Theaker, Live Life for Me, www.livelifeforme.org
Menopause has garnered a huge amount of interest recently. But, sadly it is often characterised as a grim process to be endured. Consequently many women feel very concerned, feel they have few choices but to medicate when they may prefer not to, and very often just dread it.
Our experience is this is not the case. Yes it is a time of change, but it is a natural process that you can positively influence by taking important steps, allowing you to pass through the menopause with ease. It’s also worth remembering that 25% of women have no symptoms at all during this time.
PLANNING
The menopause is a transition from one normal healthy state to another normal healthy. Knowing yourself and your hormones can make this transition go more smoothly
In general the more level and healthy your hormones are, the better you will transition through menopause. If you are struggling with difficult, painful or irregular periods it is a good idea to try to sort these out as the chaotic nature of hormones at menopause can make this a more difficult time than is necessary.
The key to passing easily through this time of change is hormonal balance. The body is changing the way it balances and can have chaotic days or periods of time, but it is always trying to achieve balance. Spotting early symptoms and getting them balanced will help things run smoothly.
It is not unusual for women to experience menopause like their maternal relatives. So find out the experience of your mother, aunts, sisters, cousins – what kind of age, what symptoms and how long they took to pass through this stage is useful knowledge to have. You can then be on the look out for early indications.
There are many natural approaches to help balancing hormones, which some people prefer to try first. These include herbal supplements, vitamin and mineral supplements, homeopathy, acupuncture, Bush flower remedies and diet among other things. Doing some research into what you prefer, what may have worked for you in the past, other people’s thoughts and views is a good idea. It is better not to wait until a “crisis” of melting hot flushes or anxiety when it is harder to spend time and energy trying to sort it. Information is power.
SYMPTOMS
Contrary to popular belief, the menstrual bleed is often one of the later symptoms. Mental and emotional changes may be early symptoms which in a busy life can be harder to spot.
These can include:
Increased anxiety
Depression or mood swings
Increased PMS
Foggy brain, memory not very sharp
Exhaustion
Later symptoms can be :
Difficulty sleeping
Hot flushes
Change in bleed, which can increase dramatically
Weight gain
It is worth pursuing natural ways of addressing these as they will encourage the body to pass through the menopause, and the more balanced the hormones, the fewer the symptoms.
HRT
HRT is usually given for a limited time and has both risks and benefits. Unexpected changes in health, such as a blood clot, will mean that HRT has to be withdrawn, and if you are reliant on this to relieve symptoms your menopause symptoms will return.
Your body will still need to pass through menopause, and it won’t do this while the body is using HRT. One of Anne’s patient ‘s in her late 70s when taken off HRT, immediately had hot flushes again!
Learning more about yourself and your body, what sort of alternative approaches work for you, and what dietary changes and supplements make you feel good, has a positive knock on impact for control of your longer term health. If you have chosen HRT as the best option for you, always have a Plan B to fall back on if you change your mind or something happens which means you are unable to take it.
BONE HEALTH
Many women worry about their bones becoming thin and brittle. Its true oestrogen has a protective effect on bones, but the good news is that adding weight bearing exercises really helps. By causing the muscles and tendons to pull on the bones stimulates the bone cell growth. Even if you aren’t a gym bunny you can do things that help, like walking. Balancing on one leg for a couple of minutes at a time – you can even do this while cleaning your teeth or waiting for the kettle to boil – also helps bone health. Yoga postures such as the “plank” or “warrior” or a sequence such as the “salute to the sun” are very useful. If you aren’t familiar with yoga there are many online classes
Adding impact into weight bearing exercise has been shown to be even better. Jogging is also an option, although make sure you have correct shoes. Join a low cost running group for beginners if you are just thinking about starting out now. Bouncing on a mini trampoline at home is excellent for bones. If you like going to the gym, the use of dumbbells and multigyms increases weight impact to exercise ratio and help build healthy bones.
The key thing with exercise is to pick something that you like doing and can incorporate into your life. Perhaps a sport that you previously enjoyed and that you can return to. Don’t set yourself up to fail.
Contrary to popular belief we don’t always need calcium – our diet is calcium rich. The difficulty is absorbing calcium. Our bodies need Vitamin D to absorb calcium so a Vitamin D supplement is a good idea. Vitamin E, Vitamin K, magnesium and boron are also useful, and many companies sell this as a combination mix
FEAR OF CHANGE.
There is a famous saying “there is nothing to fear but fear itself”. There are a lot of negative stereotypes about ageing. Many women fear they are “losing themselves”. You have little choice about the fact that this is happening. However, you do actually have a lot of choice about how you approach the experience and thrive through it.
There is a sense of clarity and purpose that comes with menopause as oestrogen changes. Hormonally, you return to the person you were before the veil of hormones descended. It’s like you are a child, but with 40 years experience! This can be an extremely creative time of life.
It’s true, as oestrogen reduces it can make you less forgiving, but this can give rise to better decision making and more willingness to try new things for yourself. Alison took up belly-dancing, put on art exhibitions then started an MPhil research project on women entrepreneurs.
If you are struggling, don’t think it is inevitable – seek help.
Some great areas of help are:
Counselling,
Homeopathy
Hypnotherapy
EFT (emotional freedom technique)
Yoga
Mindfulness & meditation
Menopause is an exciting journey and reaching the other side should be a great landing. Let’s not settle for less!
Our resources include a video course for women and another explaining what men need to know. The links on our website will allow you to preview the first section for free
– www.livelifeforme.org
Anne’s book, Menopause Survive and Thrive gives a great overview of what alternatives are available to cope with symptoms… available from www.amazon.co.uk
If you need some support and a real break, try our luxury retreat at the wonderful Bedruthan Hotel in Cornwall, 15-17 March, 2024
– www.livelifeforme.org/workshops
And if you would like to see our regular musings on life before, during and after the menopause, catch up with our Tales from the Shed on our LinkedIn page www.linkedin.com/company/live-life-for-me
