Menopause health science content

Menopause is not a physiological stage that “passes through”, nor is it an “emotional disease” that everyone ridicules. It is essentially a systemic change caused by female ovarian function decline and sex hormone fluctuations or decreases. The average age of menopause for Chinese women is 49.5 years old, with 80% of women will experience varying degrees of uncomfortable symptoms during perimenopause (also commonly known as menopause), and 20% of them will have symptoms that seriously affect their daily work and life. There is no need to bear it hard or be overly anxious. Scientific intervention can completely make it through smoothly.

I just met a 52-year-old Aunt Zhang in the clinic last week. She has been suffering from hot flashes and night sweats for almost half a year. Her husband at home said that she is "older and has many things to do." Her daughter also said that her temper has become worse and worse recently. She also feels that this is a hurdle that every woman has to go through, and she will get over it. As a result, she has only been able to sleep for two or three hours a day for half a month. She feels dizzy and flustered, and her blood pressure fluctuates high and low, which is why she panics. When she came to register, her hormone levels were checked and she found that the follicle-stimulating hormone level had risen to 80IU/L, which is a typical postmenopausal hormone level. After the evaluation, there were no contraindications. She was prescribed low-dose estrogen and progesterone compound tablets, which she only took for two weeks. She came for a follow-up visit last week and said she could sleep through the night, and the number of hot flashes had dropped from more than a dozen times a day to two or three times. Even her wife said her temper was much better.

In fact, there are always two voices regarding whether to intervene during menopause. Many elders belong to the "natural school" and feel that the older generation has never heard of any menopausal intervention, so shouldn't they get over it well? There are also people who are afraid that taking hormones will have side effects and may lead to cancer, so they would rather take it than take the medicine. This concern is not completely unreasonable. In the early years, there were studies abroad on the use of high-dose hormone replacement in elderly women, and it was indeed found that it would increase the risk of thrombosis and breast cancer. However, those were plans decades ago. Nowadays, low-dose, natural or nearly natural sex hormones are used clinically. Moreover, it is only recommended to be used before the age of 60 and within the window period of 10 years after menopause. There are clear contraindications and screenings, and the risk has been reduced to very low. On the contrary, long-term insomnia and emotional instability will increase the risk of hypertension, diabetes, and osteoporosis, which is not worth the gain.

Don’t worry, many people’s understanding of menopause is still limited to the label of “losing their temper”. In fact, its symptoms can go to places you don’t expect. Not long ago, there was a 48-year-old sister who suffered from joint pain for three months. She went to the orthopedic department for X-rays and rheumatism tests, but there was no problem. Finally, she was transferred to our department. When asked about the symptoms of hot flashes and menstrual disorders, a hormone test revealed that it was accelerated bone loss caused by the decrease in estrogen. The bone density had reached the level of low bone mass. She was given calcium and vitamin D supplements and a small dose of hormones, and the joint pain was relieved within a month. There are also people with repeated urinary tract infections and vaginal dryness. When ordinary inflammation does not improve after more than half a year of treatment, it is actually atrophy of the urogenital tract mucosa caused by a decrease in estrogen. Topical estrogen ointment can take effect in a few days.

I usually tell people who come for consultation that there is really no need to worry about whether to take hormones at first. If you adjust the small habits in your life first, many people's symptoms can be alleviated by half. Don’t just eat plain porridge with pickles, drink enough 300ml of pure milk every day, eat one pound of vegetables and half a pound of fruit, and eat soy products three or four times a week. Soy isoflavones are natural phytoestrogens. Although their effects are weak, they are safe and are especially useful for mild to moderate hot flashes. Instead of staying at home and watching short videos every day, take three or four days a week to go out for a 40-minute walk, square dance, or play badminton with friends. Exercise can promote the secretion of endorphins, help stabilize your mood, and delay bone loss. It is much more effective than eating a lot of "ovary maintenance" health products that cost thousands of dollars.

Of course, not everyone needs to take medication. If you only have occasional hot flashes or mood swings that don’t affect your eating and sleeping, you can just make adjustments yourself. But if you have more than ten hot flashes a day, can’t sleep all night, are in such a bad mood that you don’t want to talk to anyone, or have even been diagnosed with osteoporosis or recurrent genitourinary tract infections, then don’t take it for granted. Go to a regular hospital’s gynecological endocrinology or menopausal specialty clinic to register for a comprehensive assessment first. If there are no contraindications, low-dose hormone supplementation is currently recognized as the most effective way to relieve symptoms worldwide. If there are really contraindications to the use of hormones, such as a family history of breast cancer, active liver disease, or a high risk of thrombosis, it is not impossible. Now there are specialized non-hormone regulating drugs, as well as acupuncture and syndrome differentiation and treatment of traditional Chinese medicine. Many people have used it with good results. You don’t have to stick to one method, the one that suits you is the best.

By the way, one more thing to remind everyone, don’t buy the three-no health care products sold by micro-businesses and beauty salons that claim to “reverse menopause” and “delay ovarian aging”. Many of them secretly add large doses of estrogen. After taking them, hot flashes will disappear quickly. However, long-term consumption without monitoring will increase the risk of endometrial cancer and breast cancer. It is really not worth the gain.

Recently, I have met several women in their early 40s who suffer from menstrual irregularities and hot flashes. Most of them are due to staying up late all year round, being under high work pressure, and some are dieting for a long time to lose weight, causing their ovarian function to decline prematurely. So don’t think that menopause is something you should worry about only when you are fifty. When you are young, you should have a regular schedule, stay up late late at night, don’t go on a diet to lose weight, and maintain a proper weight. This is better than any prevention.

In fact, to put it bluntly, menopause is a signal sent by your body, telling you that you have been busy with work and family in the first half of your life, and that you should pay more attention to yourself in the second half of your life. There is no need to think that menopause is a shameful thing. If you feel uncomfortable, just speak out and your family members should be more tolerant. Whether it is asking a doctor to make adjustments or slowly adjusting your life by yourself, living this period of life comfortably is more important than anything else.