Hot flashes are the most common perimenopausal symptoms in our culture, occurring in about 70 to 85% of all perimenopausal women.
They can be very mild or so severe that they result in sleep deprivation and subsequent depression. There are many approaches to cooling hot flashes.
A 2% progesterone skin cream works in about 85% of perimenopausal women: as little as 1/4 teaspoon rubbed into the skin once per day may provide relief.
In addition, meditation and relaxation techniques have been successfully used to cool hot flashes in 90% of women, without any hormonal therapy at all.
Many women also find relief when they improve their diets. Acupuncture is also very effective.
Night Sweats
Night sweats are on a continuum with hot flashes. Traditional Chinese medicine tells us, that three to four AM is the most common time for night sweats,
which may wake you up drenched in perspiration.
Heart Palpitations
Like hot flashes palpitations can range from mild to severe. They are the result of imbalances between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system
and are often related to fear and anxiety.
Migraine Headaches
Imbalanced hormone levels contribute to so-called menstrual migraine during perimenopause and menopause. This type of headache usually comes just before your period,
when both estrogen and progesterone levels can fall dramatically. Hundreds of women have been able to recover from menstrual and menopausal migraines through the use of 2% progesterone cream.
Apply 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon on your skin daily for the two weeks prior to your period, or three weeks out of every month if you are no longer having periods.
Breast Swelling and Tenderness
During perimenopause you may notice that your breasts feel tender or swollen much more often. This is far more common when a woman is experiencing estrogen dominance.
Relief can often be achieved by following an optimum diet insuring an adequate intake of B Vitamins and Omega-3 fats such as EPA and DHA (100-200mg once or twice per day),
stopping caffeine.
Heavy Menstrual Periods
When estrogen levels are high or even normal but progesterone levels are too low, from lack of ovulation, the monthly estrogen driven buildup of the uterine lining ( the endometrium) continues unopposed.
When it finally breaks down, the result can be erratic, heavy bleeding that can go on for days at a time. The problem can become so troublesome that some women resort to hysterectomy as a solution, but
because heavy bleeding often results as a woman approaches menopause, hysterectomy is rarely necessary. Since the problem is often worse in women who have too much body fat (fat produces estrogen),
mild exercise and diet often help. Alternatives such acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine are also often helpful. In severe cases, the lining of the uterus can be cauterized by lazer surgery in a procedure
known as endometrial ablation.
Irregular or Erratic Periods
If you can live with erratic periods for awhile, the problem will go away. It's really not abnormal. Natural progesterone skin cream or the herb Chaste Berrywill help regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis
to produce more progesterone.
Fibroids
About 40% of women develop benign fibroid growths in the uterus during perimenopause. Their growth is stimulated by estrogen, and they can become quite large. Fibroids shrink dramatically after menopause and,
like heavy bleeding, do not usually require surgery or other treatments, especially if they don't produce symptoms. Some fibroids, however, can vause heavy bleeding, depending upon their position in the pelvis.
Weight loss, acupuncture, herbs, dietary change, and natural progesterone are all effective alternatives in many cases.
Loss of Sexual Desire
The first things that need to be checked in a woman with loss of sexual desire is her hormone levels. For reasons that aren't clear, some women experience a drop in their testosterone levels during menopause.
Adrenal exhaustion can be another factor. If these levels are low, supplementation with small amounts of testosterone will restore libido to normal levels.
Vaginal Dryness and/or Painful Intercourse
The lining of the outer one third of the urethra and the lining of the vagina are estrogen sensitive. Sysmptoms mat arise from a lack of estrogen, as well as from decreases in muscle tone and subsequent blood supply in the
uro-genital area. Topical estrogen cream, Vitamin E suppositories, and increasing intake of phytoestrogens such as soy can be very helpful.
Urinary Symptoms
Recurrent urinary tract infections or urinary stress incontinence may occur because of the timming of the estrogen-dependant lining of the outer urethra. Urinary symptoms often resolve through the use of a small dab of estrogen cream applied locally.
Kagel exercises can also increase blood flow to the area and help with stress incontinence.
Skin
The collagen layer of our skin becomes thinner as our hormone levels fall. A wide variety of highly effective skin treatments is now available that help build collagen, resurface the skin, and prevent wrinkles. Systemic hormones; foods rich in phytoestrogens,
such as soy: and anti-oxidant supplements such as Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Glutathione, and Proanthocyanidins ( from grape seeds or pine bark ) also help build collagen and rejuvenate the skin.
Bone Loss
For many women, bone loss through the insidious process known as osteoporosis begins as early as age thirty or even earlier. Because of chronic dieting, under-eating, over-exercising, lack of nutrients, or anorexia, many women do not reach the peak bone density
they should when they are in their teens, twenties and thirties. So, when a woman turns forty and her hormonal levels begin to shift, her bone density may already be compromised. When estrogen, progesterone, and androgen levels start to shift, the collagen matrix
that forms the foundation of healthy bone may start to weaken, especially when a woman's nutrition and exercise regimens are lacking. You can maitain the collagen matrix in your bones and also help rebuild healthy bone in a variety of ways, which include getting
adequate phytohormones from foods such as soy, from herbs, hormone replacement, and calcium and magnesium supplements, and by doing mild exercise.
Insomnia
Many women wouldn't have insomnia if it weren't for their night sweats and hot flashes. For others, anxiety keeps them from sleeping soundly. If your sleep problems are related to hot flashes, they'll often resolve with hot-flash treatment. If they are due to anxiety,
you may need to make some changes in your life that the anxiety is bringing to your attention. Other sleep problems may be related to the fact that perimenopause, like adolescence, is a time of transition is sleep patterns. Some of us, like teenagers, will suddenly
start requiring much greater amounts of sleep than before. Typically, this changes again after menopause, when we need less sleep than during our twenties and thirties. Some women find day-time naps help during the transition.
Fuzzy Thinking
Many women report a feeling of forgetfulness and " cotton head " during perimenopause. It is not unusual to have trouble concentrating or to do things like putting the portable phone in the refrigerator. The same thing often happens post-partum when a woman comes home with a new baby
and suddenly feels incapable of balancing her cheque book. The difference between the post-partum period and perimenopause is that during perimenopause you're giving birth to yourself. It often feels as though the logical side of the brain goes to sleep for awhile as a way to force us
to become more intuitive and more in tune with our emotions and inner wisdom. Herbs such as Ginkgo and St John's Wort can help keep your mind clear. The main thing to remember is that you are not getting alzheimer's, you are just re-wiring your brain for a whole new way of thinking.
How Long Will my Symptoms Last ?
Many women believe that the symptoms they are experiencing are what menopause and life will feel like from this day forward. The truth is that those symptoms, when present, are labour-pains, as it were part of our adaptation to the hormonal changes that take place as our biological focus switches from procreation to personal growth. In other words, the symptoms of the climacteric are temporary. How long they will last depends on a number of factors, including the type of menopause a woman is experiencing, what else is going on in her life at the time, and the ability of her body and soul to support her through this period of transtion. In this culture the symptoms of perimenopause, in a natural transition, lasts anywhere from 5 to 10 years, with a gradual crescendo in the beginning, a peak as the woman approaches the mid point of the transition, and the a gradual decrescendo towards the end as the body learns to live in harmony with it's new hormonal support system.
Because all perimenopausal symptoms are interrelated, the treatment of one symptom may alleviate other symptoms as well. Since so many different treatments are effective, an individual woman will want to choose the ones that appeal to her most. Many women select several different treatments at the
same time. An example of this would be taking conventional hormone replacement along with a soy product and a good multi-vitamin, and adding an exercise program. The bottom line is this : there is no need to suffer through perimenopause. Choose the treatments that speak to you. Experiment.
Your body is constantly changing, you can't really make a mistake.
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