MENOPAUSE : 9 MISCONCEPTIONS AND MYTHS ONE SHOULD KNOW

After the release of Padman, people have started talking openly about menstruation, whereas earlier they were even afraid to mention about this. Like menstruation, “Menopause” too as a word seems to be scary to most of the women due to the myths associated with it making it a nightmare to most of them. Like puberty, Menopause is also a stage of life that needs to be welcomed wholeheartedly keeping aside all the misconceptions. This is the time when you can say goodbye to all those menstrual hassles. Most of the women experience it between the age of 45 and 55 years but fewer may experience it in their late 30s as well. The way your period starts, it does not stop so instantly.

Here are the 9 misconceptions and myths about menopause every woman should know that can help you to lead a healthy life post-menopause.

1. Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH) is required to be diagnosed for woman with menopausal symptom 

For the woman exceeding the age of 45, such investigation is not at all necessary. However, if the age of the woman is less than 45, FSH may be required to diagnose menopause but other tests are not required. The woman with more severe symptoms can be benefitted this way by starting their treatment earlier.

2. Period will one day suddenly get stopped

Barring few exceptions, the general norm for a menopause is that the function of your ovary will start fluctuating. Sometimes your ovary will start under-work and sometimes it may overwork. With the fluctuating in your ovary function, the hormonal level of your body will also fluctuate turning the variations into your periods as too heavy, too light, too close or too far. The average age of a woman entering into a menopause stage is 51.

3. Excessive weight gain post-menopause

As there are tremendous hormonal changes that your body goes through while menopause, your metabolism rate may also dip. But you can keep a check on your weight by limiting the intake of carbohydrates in your diet and enhancing the intensity of exercises. It is highly recommended to lose some pounds if you are over-weight to attain a better health in your postmenopausal years.

4. Hormonal replacement is dangerous

The replacement of estrogen loss is proved to be a great benefit but as the estrogen is pro-inflammatory, the hormone replacement is a matter of concern. Hormonal replacement is not recommended for the women having high cholesterol, obesity, high blood pressure or those who are in the late 50s as the presence of plaque in your vessels may clot you arteries thus creating a heart trouble. But if you are at an age varying from 46 to 52 and experiencing the slowing down with your periods, you may be referred as a good candidate for hormonal replacements.

5. Hot flashes are experienced by all the women at menopause

While in some women the hot flashes last for few years including few having the same lifelong, there are fair chances of around 17% that a woman will not experience the same. You can have an idea about your menopause by inquiring your mother’s menopausal experience.

6. Your sex drive will come to an end with menopause

Due to drop in estrogen levels, you may experience the vaginal dryness making sex – an uncomfortable issue. As far as sex-desire is concerned, few women may experience a dip in libido while in most of the cases it is not an issue at all. You may use natural lubricants like coconut oil or may use the prescribed ones from your doctor to make your intercourse more comfortable.

7. Compounding Pharmacy is better to go with over FDA approved

Synthetic hormones are an effective way to replace hormonal loss as these are synthesized to be molecularly identical to specific human hormones. But be it FDA approved or the compounded ones, all kind of hormones are associated with risk. Moreover, under custom-blended hormones, the level varies from batch to batch while FDA approved ones are more consistent and tested for safety.

8. Menopause will lead to overactive bladder to let you make use of adult diapers

You urethra become more prominent as your bladder tissue thins during menopause. This may result in controlling your pee especially when you run, cough or even sneeze. But it can be relieved with the help of Vaginal estrogen that can firm your thinned tissues. Kegel exercise is also of great help and the researchers from Turkey proved that the women doing 10 sets of Kegel exercise help improving these urinary symptoms.

9. Menopause is a dreading issue

Like puberty, menopause is also a phase of life which come with a relief that ‘Gosh, it’s over’. It’s not an end, in fact, a beginning of a phase of life where the botherations of a period are no more. A healthy lifestyle can definitely terminate the post-menopausal hassles. Moreover, women experiencing menstrual abnormalities attain a great relief at this phase.

So, you will breeze through with menopause with the minimal fuss if you have an adequate knowledge about it. If you are well-prepared, you will have a healthy lifestyle post-menopause as well!