MENOPAUSE is defined as the point in a woman’s life when the menstrual period gradually decreases and eventually ceases.
First, let’s acknowledge that, both because of unwelcome symptoms and emotional changes, menopause is not something a woman looks forward to.
Commonly known symptoms of perimenopause and menopause include hot flashes, mood swings, weight gain, night sweats, and difficulty sleeping. Such things can be very disruptive, of course, whether they are occasional or frequent.
And symptoms can vary greatly from one woman to another: Some women may experience a wide variety of menopausal symptoms; others, nothing at all.
No two women have exactly the same experience!
Fortunately, Essential Oils are a natural support that can relieve many of the symptoms occurring during menopause. In this class, we will be discussing common menopause symptoms and some that are less well known.
First, let’s learn a little about menopause itself.
A woman has reached menopause when twelve consecutive months have passed without a menstrual period. Most women begin menopause in their forties or fifties and the average age is fifty-one years. Menopause starting before the age of forty is considered premature while forty to forty-five years is deemed to be early menopause. Some women can experience sudden menopause earlier than forty years due to medical treatment or surgery.
Menopause is a hormonal event whereby fertility declines as the levels of the hormones oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone fluctuate and steadily decrease over months or years.
Menopause has three stages: perimenopause, menopausem, and postmenopause.
Perimenopause is the transition leading up to menopause and can last anywhere from four to six years. As hormone levels fluctuate, sometimes erratically, periods may be lighter or heavier and can become irregular. Menopausal symptoms can occur during these years and many women experience emotional changes and other effects.
The hormone estrogen acts, not just in the reproductive organs, but in many areas of the body, including the vagina, uterus, skin, bowel, liver, heart, blood, brain, and throughout most of the body. It also helps maintain muscle tone, protects the bones, and supports healthy endometrium (lining of the uterus), cervix, and breast ducts.
Progesterone levels also decrease in perimenopause and this female hormone is only produced when ovulation occurs. This hormone prepares the uterus for pregnancy. It thickens the mucus in the cervix, reduces vaginal acidity, and stimulates milk cells in breast tissue. As ovulation decreases and eventually stops in menopause, progesterone levels dramatically drop.
Testosterone is more commonly known as a male hormone, but it is also an important hormone in women in terms of its role in bone and muscle strength, emotional well-being, and female sexual desire and arousal. This hormone decreases gradually with age.
Menopause is twelve months since the last (final) menstrual period and postmenopause is when no periods have occurred for more than twelve months.
QUESTION – WHAT WAS ONE THING ABOUT MENOPAUSE NOTED ABOVE THAT YOU DID NOT KNOW?
