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Menopause is part of a woman’s life. If you recognize signs early and take precautions, you can prevent illnesses and long-term consequences.
Frankfurt – For some women it starts earlier, for others later. While in previous generations little thought was given to the “new phase of life” of women before the age of 50, the topic of menopause receives significantly more attention in the 30s. This is also due to more health research and many more professionals dealing with the significant physical changes and the changes in hormones before, during and after menopause. Among other things, there are symptoms that are often not recognized.
Non-specific symptoms can indicate menopause
According to the, the word “menopause” means German Menopause Society eV the last menstruation in a woman’s life without removing the uterus and without taking hormones. The expert network with more than 2,500 members meets annually in Frankfurt for a congress and finds that eight out of ten women are affected by symptoms. The official time of menopause can only be determined retrospectively, as it is only assumed that twelve months after the last bleeding was actually the last bleeding. However, the symptoms that triggered the process appeared much earlier – and sometimes clearly.
The most well-known symptoms include hot flashes and sweating that are independent of temperature. But mood swings, including depression, tiredness, exhaustion and lack of motivation, are also signs for those affected that something is changing hormonally in their body. Physically, there are numerous symptoms that can also be associated with other illnesses and are therefore often overlooked as signs of the onset of menopause. It has just been discovered that the new Corona variant also shows new symptoms.
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For example, when hair loss becomes permanent, water retention or weight gain becomes uncontrolled, and difficulty concentrating limits everyday life, women are sometimes misdiagnosed or their symptoms are not taken seriously, says gynecologist Dr. Judith Bildau. She practices as a doctor in Rome and Tuscany and, with Dr. Sheila de Liz the first European online clinic for menopausal women. Doctors report in their blogs about desperate patients who suffer from insomnia and are severely limited in their careers as a result. Migraines and tinnitus can also indicate menopause.
Menopause: how to prevent it and how to treat it?
The Federal Ministry of Health states that German women reach menopause at the age of 51 on average. From the mid-40s onwards, the estrogen level usually drops, the bleeding becomes more irregular and eventually stops completely. Gynecologist Bildau knows from her everyday life that signs can also appear very early. She explains that it is “premature menopause” when ovarian activity occurs before the age of 40. Around one percent of women in this country no longer have menstruation at all. This can be genetic or influenced by lifestyle factors.
US actress Naomi Watts reports on her experiences with menopause as an ambassador for the International Menopause Society (IMS). © JOEY ANDREW/IMAGO
Since more and more women are affected by early symptoms, experts believe that it is important for gynecologists to educate themselves in order to be able to help patients promptly. Ideally, you should start in your mid-30s. In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Menopause Society (IMS) designated October 18 as World Menopause Day and October as a month to devote special attention to the issue. US actresses like Naomi Watts (56) are ambassadors.
There are currently around nine million women between the ages of 40 and 55 in Germany going through menopause. If the hormonal change occurs in the 30s, the long-lasting progesterone and later estrogen deficiency has a negative effect on the bone and vascular structure of the body – damage such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases are the result. Hormone replacement therapy is often recommended. However, it has fallen into disrepute due to the risk of secondary illnesses.
The symptoms of menopause and ADHD are sometimes similar
Symptoms of menopause are often also classic symptoms of ADHD. Falling estrogen levels before menopause affect brain structure, connectivity, and metabolism. This can lead to symptoms similar to those of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Women would then complain about “brain fog,” which makes remembering, planning and switching between tasks increasingly difficult. If these symptoms worsen with the onset of menopause in ADHD patients, they should definitely talk to the doctor about them.
Hormone therapy during menopause can cause serious complications
A 35-year American study by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) from 1991 examined, among other things, the effect of these hormones on women’s health. In 2017, according to initial findings, it was decided that estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal women should not necessarily be treated with hormones. Long-term combined therapy was found to increase the incidence of breast cancer, venous thromboembolism, coronary artery disease, dementia, stroke, gallbladder disease and urinary incontinence. Similar side effects have been observed with estrogen monotherapy.
Also Dr. Judith Bildau would not advise every woman to take bioidentical hormones, even if they are now very different from the synthetic hormones of the past. Bioidentical hormones are based on the body’s own hormones and are obtained from the yam root. They contain the active ingredient diosgenin. However, the US study also made it clear that there are patients who are dependent on estrogen replacement, for example after chemotherapy or radiation therapy or after surgical removal of the ovaries. Additionally, their results only related to oral or vaginal preparations, not topical hormonal creams applied to the skin.
Hormonal medications that work throughout the body are also available as patches, nasal sprays, tablets, and injectable solutions. According to Dr. It only forms unreliably into the skin. She therefore recommends taking capsules containing the active ingredient orally. It is an important antagonist of estrogen in combined hormone therapy and offers the only way to protect against cervical cancer. A study has now shown that fatigue can be a symptom of a disease that affects around 20 million Germans. (Illness)
