Symptoms of menopause in women after age 50

Symptoms of menopause in women after 50 years appear gradually and make one think that involutionary processes are taking place in the body. This is the period when a woman loses her reproductive function, and as sad as it sounds – she ages. These changes occur primarily with the reproductive system, but since it is continuously connected with the normal functioning of other organs, these changes affect the entire body. The hormonal background of the female body is very diverse and ensures not only the functioning of the female genital organs, but also affects metabolism. Therefore, hormonal changes during menopause lead to changes in metabolism.

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Peculiarities of menopause in women after 50 years

Throughout her life, any woman goes through several stages of body development. First, the girl is in the neonatal period, when all systems and organs develop and begin to contact the external environment. During this period, the ovaries already contain all the eggs, which are in a "dormant" position. Next comes the period of childhood, then the period of sexual development, during which all secondary sexual characteristics develop and the girl matures to continue the race. Then comes the period of sexual maturity, which lasts about thirty years. Everything ends with menopause - involution of the reproductive system. This is a physiological process, but it has its own characteristics that must be known in order to regulate the state of the body and know exactly when something is wrong.

The climacteric period is conventionally divided into:

1. premenopause – the period from 45 years to the onset of menopause;
2. menopause – the period of the last menstruation, average age is about fifty years;
3. postmenopause – the period from the last menstruation until the end of a woman’s life.

All these periods are characterized by successive changes in the body.

Premenopause is characterized by:

• Involution of the highest regulatory center – the hypothalamus, which is characterized by a gradual decrease in the sensitivity of the hypothalamus to the influence of estrogens, which disrupts its regulatory function according to the principle of feedback regulation.
• The level of pituitary hormones increases - follicle-stimulating and luteinizing, which can further contribute to the development of various benign processes in the uterus in the form of myoma, fibromyoma.
• The adrenal glands increase the production of adrenaline and noradrenaline due to disruptions in the normal regulation of the function of peripheral organs by the hypothalamus.
• The number of sensitive special receptors to estrogens decreases in the ovary and uterus, which contributes to the disruption of regulation of these organs.
• The most specific changes occur in the ovaries in the form of follicular atresia, membrane destruction, oocyte death and preservation of only the stroma, which contributes to a decrease in the amount of secreted estrogen. This in turn disrupts the feedback with the hypothalamus, which further increases the changes.
• There is insufficient stimulation of the pituitary gland and the secretion of follicle-stimulating and luteinizing hormones is disrupted, which leads to an anovulatory cycle without the release of an egg.

As a consequence of all these processes, there is not enough concentration of hormones and their alternation for the onset of the next normal menstruation, and menstruation does not occur - this is the period of menopause.

Read also: The first symptoms of menopause

Postmenopause is characterized by a complete absence of menstruation. And the role of hormone synthesis is taken over by the adrenal glands and adipose tissue, but this is not enough to compensate for the estrogen deficiency, then the production of androgens increases in parallel.

The first signs of menopause in women may not necessarily be the absence of menstruation, since this process is gradual. The first symptoms are often vasomotor and emotional-psychological in nature. The woman is concerned about irritability, mood swings, depression, decreased sexual desire, insomnia, fatigue.

Read also: How to improve your mood?

Also, vegetative manifestations can often be attacks of sweating, fever, headache and palpitations. These are, as a rule, the first clinical signs of the onset of premenopause, and later - changes in the ovaries and uterus develop and menopause occurs with a gradual cessation of menstruation.

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Mental changes during menopause in women after 50 years

Throughout her life, a woman has a specific hormonal background, which is determined by the concentration of the main female sex hormones - estrogens and gestagens (progesterone). These hormones do not strictly specifically affect the female genitals, but they also affect the mental state, regulating the processes of inhibition and excitation in the central nervous system.

Firstly, with the onset of menopause comes the feeling of aging of the body and the woman realizes this, which is the basis for other psychological changes. Against the background of a decrease in estrogens, there is a violation of the regulation of the processes of transmission of nerve impulses. At the same time, mood changes are often observed, which can often change - in the form of irritability or lability of the psyche, depressive thoughts, restlessness, tension. There is also increased fatigue, sleep disorders such as insomnia or drowsiness, impaired performance and daily activity. A decrease in sexual desire and vasomotor manifestations are expressed.

The feeling of a heart stopping or, on the contrary, increased heartbeat, sweating, lability of blood pressure - all this is associated with mental changes, since the conduction of nerve impulses and the regulation of excitation and inhibition processes in the central nervous system are disrupted.

All these mental changes even more disrupt the morphological and functional state of the female reproductive system, since the emotional and functional state are closely interrelated. Therefore, psychotherapeutic treatment is very important in the complex treatment of such conditions.

Hormonal and functional changes in the body during menopause

All changes in a woman's body during menopause after 50 years are associated with a violation of the amount of hormones and their insufficient function. Normally, estrogens and progesterone regulate the nervous system, bone tissue, cardiovascular system and mineral metabolism processes. During menopause, the level of estrogens drops, their regulatory effect on the tone of the brain vessels and peripheral tissues decreases, which in turn contributes to the disruption of the adrenal glands. High levels of catecholamines contribute to changes in pressure, cause palpitations and vegetative reactions in the form of a feeling of sweating, a feeling of facial heat.

Extraovarian sources of estrogen synthesis begin to activate in the body - this is adipose tissue, as well as the adrenal cortex, which causes increased synthesis of androgens, leptin, mineralocorticoids. They have other undesirable effects in the form of obesity, masculinization, decreased libido, as well as water and sodium retention, which affects the development of hypertension.

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• 5 Ways to Increase Female Libido
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Such hormonal changes lead to disruptions in the functioning of internal organs.

The cardiovascular system suffers due to hypercatecholaminemia, which is characterized by arrhythmias in the form of interruptions in the work of the heart, paroxysmal tachycardia. The processes of regulation of vascular tone are disrupted, which contributes to periods of spasm of peripheral vessels, an increase in peripheral resistance and an increase in arterial pressure. Also, arterial hypertension is promoted by sodium and water retention and an increase in the volume of circulating blood.

Hormonal imbalance during menopause causes metabolic disorders in the form of hypercholesterolemia and dyslipidemia. This is an unfavorable sign and therefore ischemic heart disease and angina often develop during this period.

Another serious disorder occurs with bone tissue. A decrease in estrogen levels contributes to the removal of calcium from bones, disruption of its absorption in the intestines and the development of osteoporosis. This causes clinical manifestations in the form of pain in the legs, fatigue, muscle twitching.

Later changes in the internal organs during menopause are trophic changes in the urethra, which contribute to a burning sensation and frequent urination. Dry skin of the genitals, itching, and discomfort during sexual intercourse also occur. This contributes to the frequent development of urogenital infections, since the barrier function of vaginal mucus is disrupted.

The general condition of the body is suppressed, cell differentiation processes are reduced and skin aging occurs, wrinkles appear, nails and hair become dry and brittle, and hair loss occurs.

All these changes in organs and systems are interconnected and predictable, therefore, to correct such conditions and prevent serious complications, it is recommended to carry out treatment with hormonal drugs. Different complex drugs are used, individually selected.

Symptoms of menopause in women after 50 years indicate the aging of the body, and no matter how undesirable this process is, it is irreversible. Since a sharp hormonal decline disrupts the work of all internal organs and affects metabolism, it is necessary to consult a gynecologist when the first symptoms of menopause appear. Then it is possible to correct hormonal imbalances by taking a combination of hormonal drugs, which will contribute to a gradual drop in hormones without abrupt changes in the work of organs and systems.