Menopause- Cherish those days religiously!!

“She was feeling so lonely, in secured, feels to cry for small triggers!!!Sleep deprived nights are her companion now. Feels so hot all over the body often, Sometimes she doesn’t know what’s the reason for that heavy heart and those anxious situations!!Lot of responsibilities over her head! But no one is there to support even her own body also! Feels weakness and exertion for small tasks. Fed up with the heavy flow of those red stream of nectar, hugging her often without any prior information!!On her menarche she didn’t experience that stomach cramps, but now on all of a sudden she is feeling frustrated with all these episodes”

This is the story of a young woman close to her 40’s visited our hospital, with a highly confused and disappointed mind. Majority of the women are going through many of these symptoms during their menopausal phase. Why ladies over 40 years becoming the victims of these issues? Let’s understand few factors about menopause.

Menopause is the cessation of menstruation permanently. It usually happens between 40-50 years.

Studies shows all these symptoms will start approximately 10years before the menopausal age. This phase is called as perimenopause. As you all know, Oestrogen and Progesterone are the two female hormones which is responsible for menstruation and pregnancy in females. As age progresses above 35 years, slowly the secretion of these hormones reduces and as a result lot of changes will happen to females physically, `mentally and emotionally. Due to this hormonal fluctuations, the muscle mass and strength declines which results in joint and muscular pains.

The common issues which women are facing during menopause are:

Hot flashes: A feeling of heat sensation all over the body sometimes along with sweating also.

Vaginal dryness :Vaginal dryness is the lack of lubrication in the vaginal area and this will make the sexual intercourse painful.

Relaxation of pelvic muscles: Relaxation of pelvic muscles will cause urinary incontinence and protrusion of uterus into the vagina.

Muscular pain: As menopause attains there will be a loss of muscle mass which will lead to weakness of body.

Hair fall: The hormonal fluctuations during the menopausal period will cause thinning of scalp hair and growth of facial hair

Mental disturbances: Majority of the women will have mental disturbances such as anxiety, depression and mood swings.

How to manage all these issues and make menopausal phase more enjoyable and relaxing?

Diet: Majority of the women will give less priority towards the self care.After marriage all of a sudden many responsibilities of the family will be carried on her head. In all these struggles to meet both the ends of life, the first less priority will be towards her nutrition. There will be many days that she would be skipping her break fast, there will be many days that she would be eating a lot of junk to reduce her stress levels, there will be days that she would be starving..

As she is moving towards her menopausal phase a balanced nutritious diet which includes carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals is very much important to cop up with all these hormonal fluctuations and to maintain the good health. There is a good requirement of protein in the diet in order to increase the muscle mass and strength.

Exercise

Exercise is the key being it yoga, gym, swimming, cycling etc. proper work out can manage lot of hormonal fluctuations in the women’s body. It will help to build the muscle mass which will give proper strength to the muscle so that the pains and aches can be prevented well through establishing a good blood circulation and muscular functioning.

Ayurvedic panchakarma therapies

According to Ayurveda, during the menopause there will be imbalance of Vata, Pitta,and Kapha dosha especially pitta and Vata vitiation will be more .So Ayurvedic panchakarma therapies will help to balance these doshas which will bring a good equilibrium in the body and this will help to improve the strength in women physically and mentally.

Yoga pranayama and meditation

A very effective tool to manage all the mental and physical discomforts during menopause through effective hormonal regulation in the body. So during the menopausal phase every women must indulge in yoga ,pranayama and meditation regularly.

So, cheer up dear ladies; your celebration is just started. Enjoy each and every moment of this phase.