Any woman who is undergoing menopause will have given at least some thought to menopause treatments if she is having the sort of symptoms that are having a negative impact on her day to day functioning.
However every woman doesn’t need treatments for menopause. Many women tend to have mild symptoms that need no treatment. Yet others find that home remedies and simple lifestyle modifications to include more exercise and a healthier diet can effectively control symptoms. For some women menopause treatments may not be indicated either.
Consider your symptoms and their severity
Are your symptoms severe enough to warrant treatment? If you have severe hot flashes, night sweats and problems relating to sleep disturbances, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help.
HRT can also lower a woman’s risk of colon cancer and osteoporosis. However it is also true the HRT is known to increase breast and ovarian cancer risk and that it could also increase risk of stroke, dementia, heart disease and blood clots.
So it is imperative for women to consider whether the possible benefits outweigh the possible risks of HRT.
For very severe symptoms, the possible risks could be outweighed by the benefits and the relief that a woman may gain from treatment. Also if a woman is seen to be at high risk of osteoporosis, she should consider HRT because it is quite likely the possible negative impacts outweigh the probable benefits.
Consider self help and home remedies
It is possible for women to make very real changes in their lives by lifestyle alterations: regular exercise can help to keep in control the weight gain that is one of the symptoms of menopause. The exercise can also act as a mood elevator and stress buster, helping combat another of the symptoms of menopause; anxiety, depression and generally feeling low.
Dietary modifications can also help very significantly, in helping to control symptoms. If a woman can identify that certain foods and situations are triggering hot flashes for instance, she can try and avoid them.
For some women hot flashes may be triggered by spicy foods for instance, so avoiding specific foods may help lower intensity and frequency of hot flashes.
Giving up smoking and reducing alcohol and caffeine intake are also known to help lessen menopause symptoms.
Menopause treatments for other symptoms such as vaginal dryness could include using over the counter vaginal lubricants.
Consider alternative menopause treatments
Many women find that they derive significant benefit from herbal remedies such as Black Cohosh, because this is thought it mimic the action of estrogen in the body. Dietary soy is also seen to help.
In addition women find that mind-body treatments such as yoga, meditation, visualization techniques, tai chi, massage, and so on can help to control many of the symptoms and can be very effective menopause treatments. What you should also consider is your own feelings in the matter.
If you feel that the possible risks outweigh the probable benefits then HRT may not be for you. However if you are fed up of your symptoms and dearly want relief then you should consider this as well.
