Family Health Zone

Why Exercise is Important During Menopause

We all should know by now that getting enough exercise is a vital part of staying healthy. What you may not know is that the older you get, the more important it is for you to work out regularly. As your body starts to change, you not only may experience hot flashes and mood swings, you’re also at a higher risk for dangerous diseases. The good news is that many menopausal symptoms can be helped or even stopped through regular physical activity.

One of the biggest concerns for women approaching menopause is the loss of bone mass. This can lead to osteoporosis and other serious consequences. Many doctors suggest getting plenty of calcium to help prevent bone deterioration, but this is just the first step. Getting regular, weight-bearing exercise is also essential for maintaining good bone health. If you’re not in very good shape, walking and other light exercise, can be enough to get started. You should eventually work yourself up to some resistance training. This is the best way to slow or even stop loss of bone mass. You might also want to consider adding flexibility training because having a limber body may actually prevent serious injuries.

Along with osteoporosis, women who have reached the age of menopause are also at an increased risk of developing heart disease. Many women assume that only men are at risk, but heart disease is the top killer of women as well as men. Additionally, some women are less likely to think that they’re having a heart attack, so they don’t get treatment as quickly. Regular aerobic exercise can do wonders for keeping your heart in good shape. Even if you aren’t going through menopause yet, getting regular exercise is a great way to keep your heart healthy for a long time.

Another common symptom of menopause is mood swings. As estrogen levels fluctuate, so do your emotions. And unlike mood changes due to your menstrual cycle, menopausal mood fluctuations are much less predictable. Exercise can work to ease symptoms of depression, decrease the mood fluctuations including irritability. Exercise helps you to be more emotionally stable so you can worry more about the other important things in your life.

With the onset of menopause, many women gain weight. While it’s usually not a substantial amount, it can increase the risk of certain weight related diseases. Regular exercise can help you keep your weight in check, reducing the risk of serious health problems in the future.

If your biggest concern about menopause is the immediate physical symptoms, exercise is a great cure for that too. Many women notice a decrease in hot flashes and other physical symptoms when they go on a regular exercise program.

Sure, exercise takes some planning and work, but your health is worth is, so go out and get moving.

Menopause and Migraine Headaches

Many women know the harsh reality of migraine headaches. You’re moving along with your day and  doing just fine. You’re keeping on schedule and handling the daily dose of stress. Then suddenly, it hits. You're feeling pain and a sensitivity to light and sound. And these are just a few of the symptoms that may knock you off your feet. You're experiencing the onset of a migraine headache!

While some migraines may only last a few hours, others can continue for days, completely disrupting your life. If you’re getting older, you may start to experience migraines for the first time, or find they are increasing. Before you start to panic that something major-league is wrong, you should consider that your migraines may actually be linked to your menopause.

So why do women entering menopause experience more migraines?

The most common cause of migraines is the fluctuating levels of hormones in the body. Many women with migraines may notice that they occur at certain times during the month. This is because their migraines are related to their estrogen levels. Menopause causes bigger changes and may result in more frequent or severe migraines. Your doctor can probably help you treat these with lifestyle changes and herbal remedies. Be careful when starting hormone replacement therapy because it may actually worsen your migraines. Make sure you discuss this with your doctor.

Not all migraines are caused by fluctuating hormones. A fewer number of women have migraines triggered by an increased emotional state or getting stressed out. Once these women reach menopause, they’ll probably find themselves more emotional and even more stressed out. The cure for these migraines may be to simply relax; take a bath, meditate, or use aromatherapy. Once you unwind, your migraine may get better.

If you’re approaching the age of 50, and you begin to get migraines, you’re more likely to be entering menopause rather than have another more serious problem, but you should still consult a doctor. A very few number of migraines are caused by other serious health problems. The sooner these health problems are identified and treated, the better of you’ll be. Even if it’s not a serious problem, your doctor may recommend treatment to prevent many of the diseases associated with menopause, like osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases.

If you have experienced migraines most of your life, especially if they coincide with your menstrual cycle, there is some good news for you. The stage where your period starts changing and your migraines worsen is actually called perimenopause. Menopause doesn’t officially start until a year after your last period. Once you actually reach menopause, your symptoms are likely to decrease. While doctors are not quite sure why, this may be related to menopause or may simply be because migraine symptoms naturally decrease with time. An interesting, but possibly painful statistic is that most women who experience early menopause due to removal of the ovaries, experience an increase in migraines. This is one of the many reasons doctors prefer to allow menopause to occur naturally if at all possible.

While migraines that coincide with menopausal symptoms may be horrible, they are also likely to be treatable. You should visit your doctor if you have the onset of, or changes in your migraine symptoms. They have several options available today for helping you get back to your normal daily life.

How To Recognize the Early Menopausal Symptoms

Having trouble sleeping at night? Waking up in a sweat? Are you depressed or irritable? Are you thinking that you may have a sleep disorder. Well ... maybe ... But ... You could be entering menopause.

What most people refer to as menopause is actually a premenopausal stage called perimenopause, which marks the interval in which your body begins its transition into menopause. Perimenopause encompasses the years leading up to menopause — anywhere from two to eight years — plus the first year after your final period. It's a natural part of aging that signals the ending of your reproductive years.

Actual menopause doesn’t start until a year after your last period. During menopause, your body is much more susceptible to serious problems such as cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. In order to properly prevent serious conditions during menopause, it is helpful to recognize symptoms of  perimenopause so you can start treatment and stop some of the problems before they begin.

Here are some of the common and not so common symptoms of menopause:

• Physical Symptoms.
  • Hot flashes. These are probably the most common physical symptom of menopause. They occur when you feel like it is terribly hot when the room is actually at a reasonable temperature.
  • Night sweats. This is simply a hot flash that occurs during the night. Nights sweats can generally wake you from a sound sleep (often covered in sweat).
  • Heart palpitations. These are more rare and serious than other symptoms. You should go to a doctor if you experience any heart related problems.
  • Other symptoms. Some other symptoms may include incontinence (inability to control urination), dry skin, and hair loss.

• Changes in the Menstrual Cycle. This is usually the first sign that you’re entering perimenopause, although menstrual changes can be caused my other problems or even just stress. You may experience a lighter or much heavier flow, early, late or irregularly spaced periods. You may even miss a few.

• Changes in Mood. You may find yourself experiencing various emotional changes ranging from increased irritability, anxiety or simple mood swings, to more serious problems such as depression.

• Changes in Sleep Patterns. Even if you’ve always been a good sleeper, you may stop being able to fall asleep at night or wake up repeatedly and not get back to sleep. Sleep problems can also be caused by other perimenopausal symptoms such as depression and night sweats.

• Sexual Changes. Many women in perimenopause have a decrease in sex drive. You may also notice other symptoms including vaginal dryness.

While these are not the only symptoms of early menopause, they are the most common. If you have are experiencing these symptoms, it is recommended you visit your doctor. This way, you can not only treat any symptoms that are too severe, but also take steps, such as dietary changes, to prevent complications.