menopause

Menopause- How to help yourself by Cathy Morris-Adams

It’s summer at last and we are looking forward to balmy warm days. However, there is a significant proportion of the population who will be dreading it- menopausal women whose hot flushes are exacerbated by the summer weather.

If you are one such lady, don’t panic and go charging of to your GP for HRT as there is a lot you can do for yourself and there are natural treatments that can really help you to sail through this period of your life and come out rejuvenated at the other end.

The things that you can start doing for yourself straight way are exercise and change of diet. Increasing foods that contain phyto- oestrogens (soya products are rich in these) and reducing the protein in your diet, may check osteoporosis. By taking Vit E and avoiding hot spicy food and red wine, you may reduce hot flushes and by drinking fewer caffeine- rich drinks, you can reduce anxiety and palpitations.

Weight bearing exercise, such as walking or jogging, is great for maintaining the health of your bones and swimming and yoga will maintain joint mobility.

During the menopause, the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which control the menstrual cycle, are produced in lower quantities until periods stop altogether.

The conventional view of the menopause is that it is like a disease that needs to be treated. By replacing the ‘lost’ hormones, using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the form of pills, patches or creams, the medical profession believes it offers one simple answer to the problems women face. But natural methods of treatment, which work on a much deeper level are available too.

We now know that replacing the missing hormones is not a risk free option. Artificially replacing oestrogen and progesterone in a constant dose is like driving a car in one gear; you may have more energy but there are serious long-term implications for health. New clinical guidance recommends GPs offer HRT in only the worst cases and for a period of only five years. Both the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Medical Association discourage GPs from prescribing HRT to prevent osteoporosis.

If you do not wish to live with the side effects of orthodox treatment such as HRT, then homeopathic treatment is an ideal alternative. It is especially beneficial as it also prepares women emotionally for the changes and it has no side effects.

The menopause is the change of life that signals the end of childbearing years. For many women this also corresponds with other changes, such as children leaving home. As homeopathy works on all levels, not just the physical, it prepares the woman emotionally for this change by helping her deal with symptoms such as poor memory, poor concentration, tearfulness, anxiety and loss of interest in sex and many more individual symptoms.

On a physical level homeopathy greatly alleviates the typical menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats and vaginal dryness.

The menopause is an important natural stage of life, which if addressed properly, can help women to move onto their next stage energised and ready to engage in new opportunities that come about at that time in their life.

For more information or to book an appointment with Homeopath Cathy Morris-Adams RSHom, please call Pithers Yard Clinic, Castle Cary on 01963 350 405.