What is the menopause?

While menopause is actually the point at which periods (menstruation) stop, it is usually taken to mean the whole ‘change of life’, that is, all the changes that take place before, during and after the last period. From the time the periods start to about 50 years, women have a regular cycle of the female hormones, oestrogen and progesterone. This changes during menopause – the ovaries become less efficient and produce less of these hormones so periods become heavy and irregular. Eventually, the ovaries cease to function and periods stop altogether.

Many women have very little trouble during menopause and enjoy the freedom from periods. Others, however, go through anything from moderate discomfort to a very unpleasant experience indeed.

What are the health risks are associated with the menopause?

The menopause can be very uncomfortable but the symptoms are not life threatening. However, women nowadays have a life expectancy of about 80 years, which can lead to problems after the menopause. Lower oestrogen levels over many years raise a woman’s risk for several health problems such as osteoporosis (brittle bones), heart disease and stroke. Heart disease in particular, is the leading cause of death for women over fifty. Even when these problems don’t kill, they will reduce the quality of life for both the sufferer and their families.

What are the symptoms of the menopause?

Nearly all the symptoms of the menopause are due to falling oestrogen levels and a lot of them have ‘knock-on’ effects, for example, hot flushes cause night sweats which upsets sleep, leading to depression which further upsets sleep and so on.

Symptoms may include:

• Difficulty sleeping
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Irritability
• Poor concentration
• Poor memory
• Loss of interest in sex
• Irregular periods
• Hot flushes (also called flashes) and night sweats
• Other symptoms
• Headaches
• Joint and muscle pain
• Changes of skin and hair
• Dry vagina, causing pain during sex
• Palpitations
• Urinary problems
• Weight gain