For women who have struggled with the symptoms of menopause but are fearful of taking risky hormone pills, there is at last a bit of hope.
Hormone skin patches and gels, it seems, are far less likely than pills to cause dangerous blood clots.

At least that was the finding from a recently published French study.
Patches and gels are already known to be effective for relieving the hot flashes and sleep-interrupting night sweats that plague many women. No one knows whether they will prove safer than pills in terms of breast cancer, heart attack or stroke risk. A large study currently under way may answer that.

But if they do, it may soften some of the backlash against hormones since a landmark study in 2002 frightened many women away from their use. Critics of that study have long contended that it is the type of estrogen or progestin, the dosage, and the method of taking the hormones that may affect the health risks.

All Natural Menopause Relief
There are the hot flashes.
"It's like somebody's just opened up your own little personal sauna!" says Angela Sauve, a Breast cancer survivor.
And the mood swings.
"It just feels like intense heat radiating out," says another woman, going through menopause.
And depression.
"I was crying all the time, sobbing, and really couldn't tell you why," says Pam Coffman, who is pre menopausal.
Symptoms of menopause can be harsh! And with hormone replacement therapy's health risks, women aren't left with many options.

Current studies being conducted on the effects of menopause patches and gels versus oral hormone-replacement therapy, though still inconclusive, seem to find the patches and gels have much fewer health risks than oral hormone-replacement medications.

The results of an ongoing study being conducted by French researchers has found that postmenopausal women taking an oral estrogen hormone have a 4.2 times greater risk of blood clots than those who are not on estrogen-replacement medications.
Women who use the patch have been found to have a risk of 0.9 times that of women who are not on any hormonal replacement medication, according to the French study.

Many women discontinued using oral hormone-replacement medications after a study published in 2002 showed higher rates of stroke among women taking estrogen and higher rates of both stroke and breast cancer among women taking a combination of estrogen and progestin.
Research conducted so far indicates that women taking hormone skin patches and gels are at far less risk than those taking hormones orally.

However, although the evidence is mounting in favor of patches and gels, the proof is not yet conclusive.

Menopause is defined as absence of menstrual periods for 12 months. The menopausal transition starts with varying menstrual cycle length and ends with the final menstrual period. Perimenopause means "around the time of menopause." It is not officially a medical term, but is sometimes used to explain certain aspects of the menopause transition in lay terms. Postmenopause is the entire period of time that comes after the last menstrual period.
Menopause is the time in a woman's life when the function of the ovaries ceases. The ovary, or female gonad, is one of a pair of reproductive glands in women. They are located in the pelvis, one on each side of the uterus. Each ovary is about the size and shape of an almond. The ovaries produce eggs (ova) and female hormones such as estrogen. During each monthly menstrual cycle, an egg is released from one ovary. The egg travels from the ovary through a Fallopian tube to the uterus.

Complications

Cardiovascular disease. At the same time your estrogen levels decline, your risk of cardiovascular disease increases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women as well as in men. Yet you can do a great deal to reduce your risk of heart disease.

These risk-reduction steps include stopping smoking, reducing high blood pressure, getting regular aerobic exercise and eating a diet low in saturated fats and plentiful in whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Osteoporosis. During the first few years after menopause, you may lose bone density at a rapid rate, increasing your risk of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis causes bones to become brittle and weak, leading to an increased risk of fractures. Postmenopausal women are especially susceptible to fractures of the hip, wrist and spine.

That's why it's especially important during this time to get adequate calcium — 1,500 milligrams daily — and vitamin D — 400 to 800 international units daily. It's also important to exercise regularly. Strength training and weight-bearing activities such as walking and jogging are especially beneficial in keeping your bones strong.
Urinary incontinence. As the tissues of your vagina and urethra lose their elasticity, you may experience a frequent, sudden, strong urge to urinate (urge incontinence) or incontinence with coughing, laughing or lifting (stress incontinence).

Weight gain. Many women gain weight during the menopausal transition. You may need to eat less — perhaps as many as 200 to 400 fewer calories a day — and exercise more, just to maintain your current weight.

The clinical features of menopause are caused by the lessening in the amount of estrogen in the woman's body.Vasomotor instability
hot flashes, hot flushes, including night sweats
sleep disturbances
Urogenital atrophy
dyspareunia
itching
dryness
bleeding
urinary frequency
urinary urgency
urinary incontinence
Skeletal
osteoporosis
joint, muscle pain
back pain
Skin, soft tissue
breast atrophy
skin thinning
decreased elasticity
Psychological
mood disturbance
irritability
fatigue
decreased libido
memory loss
depression

living with menopause

Menopause usually starts around age 51 but can begin as early as 30 or as late as the mid-50s.
During menopause, estrogen decreases, which can lead to many changes in your body. You may find it harder to fall asleep, or stay asleep. You may be irritable. You may find yourself gaining weight around your waist that is impossible to lose. You may have "hot flashes," a warm feeling that spreads up your neck and face.
To stay healthy during this time, the U.S. National Institutes of Health's National Institute on Aging recommends you:
Eat a healthy diet, with lots of fruits and vegetables.
Don't smoke.
Make sure you get enough calcium and Vitamin D.
Learn what your healthy weight is, and try to stay there.
Do weight-bearing exercises.
-- Deborah DiSesa Hirsch

loving the change!

You can keep your skin radiant—First, if you smoke, here’s another reason to quit. Smoking damages your skin and most smokers see wrinkles earlier in life. (Smokers will also enter menopause earlier.) Make sure you use a face cleanser that is cream based, since soap or gel cleansers tend to dry out middle-age skin. Exfoliate once a week and mask once a week (not on the same day). Finally, supplement with omega 3 fats like flaxseed oil, cod liver oil and/or primrose oil. Vitamins C and E are also very important, as is coenzyme Q10. Water and fiber are also very important for your skin and body.

Keeping your mind sharp and heart strong— The more the link between estrogen and cardiovascular disease is investigated, the more apparent it becomes that the cardiovascular protection estrogen has been thought to offer may not apply to everyone, and in fact, should not be given to women with a history of cardiovascular disease. As for the mind, it is difficult to determine if a woman’s feelings of “scatteredness and forgetfulness” are caused by hormones as opposed to stress or aging. It is still unknown whether there is any connection between estrogen and Alzheimer’s, but it does appear that a minimum amount of estrogens are essential for certain memory functions. Also, good health habits have been tied to improved memory function. Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day, supplement with B-vitamins, E and zinc, and get plenty of antioxidants such as vitamin C. Ginkgo Biloba can also help, but it’s important to choose a reliable brand and look for standardized extracts.Whether you are symptomatic or not, menopause is a great reminder to take a serious look at your health. As modern medicine has now extended our life span to almost twice what it used to be, our bodies undergo profound physiologic changes. The importance of the mind-body connection cannot be underestimated, and choosing to deal with what ails you is a big first step. Find an approach to menopausal symptoms that you are comfortable with and works for you, and you can begin to spend this time focusing on the positive aspects of this transitional time, instead of suffering unnecessarily. This is an opportunity to make adjustments that could ensure that the years to come are most enjoyable. You’ve earned it.

Embracing the change

There is usually more than a hormonal shift—Often there is an accompanying emotional shift. As Christiane Northrup, MD points out; it is characteristic of women to focus much of their energy during the child-bearing years on caring for others. As they move toward menopause, the focus commonly turns inwards to caring for themselves. Women often re-evaluate their lives and their relationships, looking for the understanding, support and the encouragement they feel they’ve been giving others for so many years. Make sure that you are not asking someone to read your mind, but rather take care in how you express yourself. If need be, consult a therapist.

Diet, making the best of the four-letter word – You may feel that your eating habits have not changed or that you’re even eating less, but find yourself gaining weight. In mid-life women experience a 10-15% metabolic rate slowdown, their bodies become more efficient at storing energy as fat, and as estrogen levels fall, appetite increases. After menopause this weight usually goes away as metabolism re-stabilizes, but in the meantime, keeping blood sugar level during the day by eating small meals tends to help most menopausal women. The key is not to overeat at night as metabolism peaks earlier in the day, and to cut down on carbohydrates, and have protein with each meal.

Exercise makes every list —Regular aerobic exercise can help ease menopausal symptoms, maintain or optimize heart heath and maintain metabolic rate. A program of weight or resistance training will help maintain bone strength. There are so many different ways to exercise nowadays; from tai-chi to spin, the key is to find one or two that you enjoy.

Hormones and the Libido—A deficiency in estrogen or progesterone can cause changes such as vaginal dryness and thinning of the vaginal wall, making sex less pleasurable and even painful. Testosterone levels also fall during the menopausal transition and can contribute to a decreased sex drive, decreased energy and a decreased “overall sense of well-being.” Most physicians will prescribe an estriol cream for the vaginal dryness and thinning of the wall. Similarly if low testosterone levels are detected, supplementation to normal levels is easy to achieve. Additionally, the combination of the herbs black cohosh and chaste tree berry found in Oöna will also help with vaginal dryness and thinning vaginal walls.

Symptoms

The clinical features of menopause are caused by the lessening in the amount of estrogen in the woman's body.Vasomotor instability
hot flashes, hot flushes, including night sweats
sleep disturbances
Urogenital atrophy
dyspareunia
itching
dryness
bleeding
urinary frequency
urinary urgency
urinary incontinence
Skeletal
osteoporosis
joint, muscle pain
back pain
Skin, soft tissue
breast atrophy
skin thinning
decreased elasticity
Psychological
mood disturbance
irritability
fatigue
decreased libido
memory loss
depression

tips to get through menopause

There’s no reason to suffer —If you are a woman, most likely you will spend a third of your life perimenopausal or post-menopausal. Considering how much you’ve been through in your life, there is no reason to “tough out” the discomforts of menopause. Americans think it is normal and responsible to take various medicines for arthritis pain, cardiac and vascular disease, and diabetes. So why not also evaluate and/or treat the symptoms and changes that come with menopause? There are plenty of options available now besides hormone replacement therapy (HRT), and physicians are now embracing integrated medicine to accomplish what works best for each individual woman, whether it includes HRT or not. One of the newer products they are recommending is Oöna, an herbal supplement that combines black cohosh and chaste tree berry.

There is no “right” way, just “your” way—You may believe that HRT is either the “fountain of youth” or the “fountain of evil.” Truthfully, it’s neither. Become informed about all the options available and consult your doctor. With an open mind and effective communication, you and your doctor will find what works best for you. There are several integrated approaches including conventional pharmaceutical preparations, herbs, acupuncture, and meditation, etc. that many women have had success with.

Update your Vitamin Regime -- If you have been taking the same multivitamin for years, now is the time to review the label. Women in midlife have different needs and should take at least 400 IUs of vitamin E (take these in 200 IU intervals), 400 mcg of folic acid, 100 mg of vitamin B6, 1250-1500 mg of calcium with 500 mg of magnesium, 200-1200 IUs of vitamin D, and 1,000-5000 mg of vitamin C with Rose Hips. Omega 3 essential fatty acids are also very important and can be found in cod liver oil pills and flaxseed.

Hormones are affected by stress and what we eat— As production of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone by the ovaries declines, the adrenal glands, muscles and brain begin to produce an increasing percentage of the body’s androgen hormones and convert them to weaker estrogens. A healthy diet and positive attitude have been shown to help this conversion. Also, symptoms of menopause are known to have “triggers” such as alcohol, caffeine, sugar and spicy foods, which you should eliminate or cut back on. Starches should come from darker whole breads, grains and vegetables. It’s also a good idea to eliminate, or deal with, as much stress as possible since most women feel either a greater number of menopausal symptoms or feel them with greater intensity when they are under stress.

Nutritional Guidelines

What are some basic dietary guidelines?

Eat a variety of foods to get all the nutrients you need. Since women's diets are often low in iron and calcium, follow these guidelines:
Get enough calcium. Eating and drinking 2 to 4 servings of dairy products and calcium-rich foods a day will help ensure that you are getting enough calcium in your daily diet. Calcium is found in dairy products, clams, sardines, broccoli and legumes.
Pump up your iron intake. Eating at least 3 servings of iron-rich foods a day will help ensure that you are getting enough iron in your daily diet. Iron is found in lean red meat, poultry, fish, eggs, leafy green vegetables, nuts and enriched grain products
Get enough fiber. Help yourself to foods high in fiber such as whole-grain breads, cereals, pasta, rice, fresh fruits and vegetables.
Eat fruits and vegetables. Include at least 2 to 4 servings of fruits and 3 to 5 servings of vegetables in your daily diet.
Read labels. Use the package label information to help you to make the best selections for a healthy lifestyle.
Drink plenty of water. Drink at least eight 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
Maintain a healthy weight. Lose weight if you are overweight by cutting down on portion sizes and reducing foods high in fat, not by skipping meals. A registered dietitian or your doctor can help you determine your ideal body weight.
Reduce foods high in fat. Fat should provide 30 percent or less of your total daily calories. Also, limit saturated fat to less than 10 percent of your total daily calories. Saturated fat raises cholesterol and increases your risk of heart disease. Saturated fat is found in fatty meats, whole milk, ice cream and cheese. Limit cholesterol intake to 300 milligrams (mg) or less per day.
Use sugar and salt in moderation. Too much sodium in the diet is linked to high blood pressure. Also, go easy on smoked, salt-cured and charbroiled foods -- these foods contain high levels of nitrates, which have been linked to cancer.
Limit alcohol intake. Women should limit their consumption of alcohol to one or fewer drinks per day (3 to5 drinks per week maximum).