The Message

To every women, who is in her forties, mother Nature sends an important message. It reads: "My Loveliest Creation on earth, your procreative period is now coming to an end. You must happily prepare yourself to deal with this new change in your life. I have given you the fortitude to bear this change. As a matured women, you have to redefine your role and responsibilities towards your own life, the lives of your family members, and above all, the society you live in". Amen!

In fact, Menopause in a women marks the beginning of what in Hindu Shashtras is termed as Vanprastha Ashram, the third stage in the lives of human beings during which they are supposed to return to the world, if not more, than at least, all what they had received from it in their first two ashramas- the Bramcharya (adolesence) and the Grahstha (adult).

What is
Menopause?

The word menopause comes from the Greek words - meno, meaning the month and pausis, the halt. Thus, menopause simply means the end of the life cycle of monthly menstrual periods the start in women with puberty. Natural Menopause which occurs between the ages of 45 and 55(the average being 50)happens because the ovaries stop producing sufficient hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Surgical menopause happens through the removal of the ovaries necessitated by some disease or if a women undergoes a hysterectomy operation.

Why
This Happens?

Ladies, to understand it, you have to first understand the functions of your reproductive organ called Ovaries. Every women has pair of this female go and located in the pelvis, on either side of the uterus. These ovaries, about the size and shape of an almond produces eggs or ova and female hormones. During the monthly menstrual cycle, these eggs travel from the ovary to the uterus through the fallopian tube making women fertile for pregnancy.

The female hormones secreted through the ovaries determine the development of body characteristics such as breast, body shape, skin and hair. Among these hormones, has already been stated above estrogen and progesterone are the most important. On the onset of menopause, nature does not want that your ovaries should continue to produce at all or sufficient amount of these hormones. Needless to say that lack of these hormones creates the problems associated with menopause.

Natural menopause is not a sudden event in women' life , it is a process that starts around the age of 45 characterizing the irregularity in the menstrual cycle. It completes with the complete stoppage of menstruation ending her reproductive years. Natural Menopause, as the very name suggests, is a natural biological process in a women's life. And Nature does no wrong. If SHE has designed the women's body in such a way that it stops automatically the production of certain hormones- estrogen and progesterone- when she reaches her mid-forties. SHE must have also endowed the women with the ability to cope with it.

 Strangely however, as per the Indian Menopause Society, an overwhelming percentage (88 percent) menopause women fail to remain 'normal' during the initial period of onsetting of the menopause. They may suffer what is called Hot Flashes, Night Sweats, Chilly Feeling, Excitability , Easy Fatigue, Depression, Crying Spells, Sleeplessness, palpitation, Dizziness, Headache, Numbness, tingling, backache, besides the vaginal atrophy-thinning and drying of the vaginal lining leading to vaginal itching, frequent urinary tract infection and pain during and after sexual intercourse. In some women, it also causes "Mood Swings" making it difficult for them to cope with the normal stresses of life, eventually leading to the loss of self-esteem. The duration and the intensity of these menopausal problems differs from person to person

Your Options

Friends, against the nature's design, you have the following two options:

Welcome, this inevitability with an open mind. Read and interpret the nature's message carefully. If you are mentally prepared for it, you may overcome your menopause problems.

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is your other option. Fortunately, today the advance in medical science has made it possible to replace the loss of estrogen and other hormones caused by menopause. 

Consult your Doctor, he/she will advise you accordingly