Menopause Affects Women Differently

Menopause Affects Women Differently.
Women bothered by sensual flashes or other belongings of menopause have a number of treatment options - hormonal or not, according to updated guidelines from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. It's estimated that anywhere from 50 percent to 82 percent of women thriving through menopause have simmering flashes - sudden feelings of extreme impetuosity in the upper body - and night sweats. For many, the symptoms are frequent and severe enough to cause beauty sleep problems and disrupt their daily lives.

And the duration of the misery can last from a couple years to more than a decade, says the college, the nation's unrivalled group of ob/gyns. "Menopausal symptoms are common, and can be very bothersome to women," said Dr Clarisa Gracia, who helped correspond the new guidelines. "Women should be aware that effective treatments are available to address these symptoms". The guidelines, published in the January problem of Obstetrics andamp; Gynecology, reinforce some longstanding advice: Hormone therapy, with estrogen unassisted or estrogen plus progestin, is the most effective way to cool hot flashes.

But they also offer out the growing evidence that some antidepressants can help an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. In studies, unhappy doses of antidepressants such as venlafaxine (Effexor) and fluoxetine (Prozac) have helped rescue hot flashes in some women. And two other drugs - the anti-seizure sedative gabapentin and the blood pressure medication clonidine - can be effective, according to the guidelines.

So far, though, only one non-hormonal deaden is actually approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating bright flashes: a low-dose version of the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil). And experts said that while there is witness some hormone alternatives ease hot flashes, none works as well as estrogen and estrogen-progestin. "Unfortunately, many providers are nervous to prescribe hormones.

And a lot of the time, women are fearful," said Dr Patricia Sulak, an ob/gyn at Scott andamp; White Hospital in Temple, Texas, who was not knotty in letters the new guidelines. Years ago, doctors routinely prescribed hormone replacement remedy after menopause to lower women's risk of heart disease, among other things. But in 2002, a big US trial called the Women's Health Initiative found that women given estrogen-progestin pills in point of fact had slightly increased risks of blood clots, heart attack and breast cancer. "Use of hormones plummeted" after that.

But check out since then has suggested that hormone therapy is safer for comparatively younger women who start using it soon after menopause, the report notes. Women in that landmark study were in their initially 60s, on average - whereas US women typically hit menopause at around age 51. Experts now clout that women should not take hormones to prevent any chronic ills. But when it comes to flatulence flashes, hormone therapy remains the most effective option.

Another ob/gyn agreed that doctors and women way are often reluctant to consider hormones. "Since the Women's Health Initiative, we've been get off on little fishes swimming upstream," said Dr Jill Rabin, of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY To servant abbreviate any risks it's important to keep the hormone dose at the lowest level needed to from a woman's symptoms. "I'm an estrogen minimalist.

I'm going to start you at a low dose, and that's enough for most women". Women who should not endeavour hormones include those who've ever had breast cancer or a blood clot. Hot flashes and night-time sweats are the most common menopause complaint. But vaginal dryness and torture during sex are also issues for many women. The guidelines say that estrogen applied straight to the vagina - in the form of creams, tablets or rings - is effective.

So "Very little" of that estrogen gets into the bloodstream so the gamble of side effects is considered small. And just this year, the FDA approved a untrained option for treating painful sex in postmenopausal women. It's a bolus called ospemifene (Osphena), and it has estrogen-like effects on the lining of the vagina. As for "natural" remedies, such as soy and bad cohosh, studies have failed to prove they're competent for hot flashes and night sweats, the guidelines say.

However, Rabin said that some women who check out supplements do feel better - even if it's by a "placebo effect". There are some "common sense" tactics any lady-love can use to help ease hot flashes, the guidelines say. Those include dressing in layers, keeping the thermostat moderate at home and drinking cool beverages. But for women who miss more than that, Gracia advised talking to your doctor about the benefits and risks of all your options erection. "Therapy should be individualized, since one group therapy may not be optimal for all women".