Symptoms and treatment of severe menopause

Every woman, not paying attention to what she already is for forty-five, feels herself in this period of time full of energy, cheerful, young and beautiful. But, when the skin became saggy, flabby, wrinkles became more noticeable, the hair thinner, thinner and faded, the weight is growing rapidly, even if the nutrition is correct, menstrual cycles are not regular - signs of menopause.

[1], [2]

Causes of the severe menopause

Estrogens affect the work not only of reproductive function and mammary glands, but also practically on all systems of the body: cardiovascular, nervous, respiratory, urinary. The activity of hormones affects the density of bones, the elasticity of the vessels, the state of the mucous membranes and skin. Most women are not very difficult to experience menopausal manifestations (moderately expressed and do not cause discomfort).

 Pathological manifestations of menopause are: pronounced climacteric syndrome and early menopause.

[3], [4]

Pathogenesis

Many menopause is associated with the autumn of life, withering and the road leading to old age. In translation from Greek, "climax" means a ladder or "step". This is indeed a very difficult period in the life of a woman. Many perceive the climacteric period, as a personal catastrophe, the collapse of women's happiness and a sense of irreversibility of the past. But there are women who calmly, without undue drama, perceive the coming changes, confidently look to the future and try to use the created situation for self-improvement and self-realization. Ladies, tragically perceiving menopause tolerate it more difficult. Negative spills out in excessive irritability, hysterics, depressed mood and depression. The same ladies who calmly relate to the new stage of life, have fewer health problems.

It is impossible to tell with accuracy, when the woman will come the climacteric period, and how it will proceed. But every lady "for forty" needs to prepare for the fact that it can be expected by rather unpleasant symptoms, and sometimes symptoms of severe menopause: "hot flashes", causeless irritability, insomnia, headaches, pressure jumps. They are caused by hormonal changes: the gradual extinction of the ovaries, age changes in the centers of the hypothalamus.

Menopause is a normal physiological condition, in which the ability to procreate is lost. Ovaries produce estrogens and gestagens less, eggs are less common, and menstruation gradually stops.

There are three phases of menopause: premenopause, menopause and postmenopause. In the premenopausal period (38-45 years), the menstrual cycle is broken (lengthening the time between the onset of menstruation), the ovaries decrease in size, the number of follicles in them gradually decreases, leading to the extinction of their hormonal activity. The volume of menstrual flow decreases, ovulation gradually stops. Very clearly in this phase of the menopause, psychoemotional instability (sharp mood swings, irritability, tearfulness) is manifested. The phase takes about 4-7 years.

Physiological menopause (46-52 years) is characterized by the absence of natural menstruation for 12 months (amenorrhea) and the completion of the hormonal function of the ovaries. Menopause can be premature (36-39 years), early (40-44 years) and artificial (as a result of surgical interventions - removal of the uterus or ovaries). In surgical menopause, a pharmacological correction of the hormonal background is necessary.

Postmenopause replaces menopause and lasts until the very last days of a woman.

[5], [6], [7], [8], [9]

Symptoms of the severe menopause

Climacteric syndrome - a marked symptom of moderate and severe severity, which interfere with the normal life of women.

Gynecologists identify the following symptoms of severe menopause:

• excessively strong "hot flashes" of heat;
• chills;
• intense headaches;
• excessive sweating;
• nervousness;
• forgetfulness;
• distraction;
• drowsiness or insomnia;
• weakness;
• depression.

Sometimes these manifestations are so pronounced that they interfere with normal work activity, lead to a significant deterioration in overall health and require medical care.

One of the varieties of pathological menopause is the early menopause, occurring at the age of 35-40 years. The main sign is lengthening of the menstrual cycle. Delays occur first for a week, and then longer. Intervals can be delayed up to several months.

Along with violations of the menstrual cycle, women notice severe symptoms of menopause. The most common: "hot flashes" of heat, excessive sweating, sudden changes in mood, suffers from work capacity, there is insomnia or drowsiness. On the part of the genitourinary system, common complaints are dryness of the vagina, problems in sexual life, partial incontinence during sneezing and coughing. Later, cardiovascular diseases, osteoporosis and problems with the nervous system begin. In women with pathological premature menopause, early skin aging, the appearance of deep facial wrinkles on the face, pigmentation, loss of elasticity and change in the shape of the breast, the accumulation of excess cellulite deposits on the buttocks, hips and abdomen. The sensitivity to insulin decreases, which is fraught with the development of type II diabetes.

Diagnostics of the severe menopause

The determination of the hormonal balance will reveal the cause of the change in the duration of the cycle. It is possible to assign additional examinations. Early amenorrhea may be a sign of premature ovarian failure, with no complete depletion of egg stocks. To determine the cause of the early menopause, it is required to determine the levels of FSH and LH. The early onset of the climacteric period may be associated with surgical intervention (ovarian removal or chemotherapy course). To cause premature onset of menopause and severe symptoms with it can genetically determined heredity or Turner's syndrome, and among the reasons not the least is the anomalous acceleration of girls.

Before the beginning of treatment it is necessary to conduct ultrasound, cytological examination, mammography, etc.

[10], [11], [12], [13], [14], [15]

Treatment of the severe menopause

The complex of therapeutic measures is based on the study of the hormonal background of a woman and the appointment of hormone replacement therapy. Do not engage in self-medication and feel embarrassed, you should immediately contact a specialist for an individual plan of hormonal correction. Problems associated with severe manifestations of menopause are dealt with by gynecologists-endocrinologists.

Assign drugs hormone replacement therapy (HRT) - analogues of sex hormones - estrogens and progestogens. Medications quickly eliminate most of the symptoms of severe menopause.

There are many myths associated with taking hormonal drugs. If for any reason a woman refuses to admit, the specialist can offer her other methods of treatment. These include: reception of phytohormones, homeopathy, medicamental non-hormonal therapy, exercise, proper nutrition, intake of antioxidants, vitamins and biologically active additives. But in each individual case, the tactics of therapy are chosen by the doctor. A complex of hormonal and non-hormonal drugs can be used. There are enough combinations of two or three different types of treatment. But all drugs are selected individually.

Treatment with phytopreparations

Non-hormonal drugs are prescribed in the presence of contraindications to HRT or the woman's refusal from it. Non-hormonal phytopreparations in case of severe symptoms of menopause allow the body to cope with the adaptation period, which is manifested due to the reduction or completion of ovarian function.

Long since hormone replacement properties known Cimicifuga. The plant has an estrogen-like effect, selectively acts on the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland. It is prescribed for dysmenorrhea, to restore the regularity of the menstrual cycle. If the patient's complaints relate to manifestations of varying degrees of mastopathy, the doctor may also prescribe a drug containing cimisifugia (climadinone).

Contraindication to the use of drugs, which contain a ravenile cyst, is the individual intolerance of the components.

For treatment of menstrual disorders, mastopathy and alleviation of severe symptoms of menopause, the drug mastodinone is used. In its composition cyclamen, igantsiya, peppery, lily tiger, iris multicolored, stalker, etc.

Mastodinone helps normalize the level of gonadotropic hormones, stabilizes the balance of estrogens and progesterone. Rare when using mastodinone allergic reaction. The drug is contraindicated in malignant neoplasms of the mammary glands, during pregnancy and lactation.

For the treatment of psychoemotional disorders in severe symptoms of menopause prescribed infusions, tinctures, decoctions from the root odolyana, hawthorn, sage.

Various herbal preparations are used which include: elder flowers, chamomile fruits, tricolor violet grass, weed grass, root of rakita, bark of buckthorn, root of liquorice, flowers of mallow forest and holly crouches. Recommended use of medicines krasavki and uterine horns (bellataminal, belloid, novo-passit). Long since the treatment of depressive conditions with severe symptoms of climax, a healthy herb is used.

Plant and homeopathic preparations are a substitute for drug therapy. The use of various medicinal products of plant origin and homeopathy in therapy has a number of advantages that include: quality, effectiveness, good tolerability, practical absence of side effects and a small list of contraindications. Optimum combination of phytopreparations and hormone-containing medications, but the appointment of all drugs requires a thorough examination, a doctor's consultation - a gynecologist-endocrinologist.

The presence of symptoms of severe menopause is a serious reason for concern and treatment to a gynecologist. An experienced specialist will carefully collect anamnesis, examine the hormonal background and prescribe an individual treatment. The result of the therapy should be to eliminate the discomfort caused by hormonal disorders. Used: hormonal drugs, phytohormones, dietary supplements, vitamin complexes, sedative collections of herbs or ready-made dosage forms of sedatives.