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A Path to Peace & Power With Yoga
The Baby Boomers are hitting 50, and in a big way! In the next 10 to 15 years, about 40 million American women will go through menopause. When thousands of people voice concerns about social or political issues, its news. When millions of women are going through menopause at the same time its a sociological hot flash! What might be the effects of such an unprecedented shift? Hang on, guys, its a country of powerful menopausal women on the move!
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Some women add relief from hot flashes, insomnia and the like to the list of benefits that regular exercise brings.
As her body adapts to the changes of menopause, 52-year-old Nancy Bouché has good days and bad. But one thing is for sure — since starting Pilates three years ago, she has more energy, less stress and a striking drop in hot flashes. “I used to have them every day,” she says, “and now I can go for weeks without having any.”Bouché, an executive assistant at Nickelodeon Animation, is a testament to the power of exercise over menopausal symptoms. That link has been noted by fitness instructors and trainers who have seen the effect on the hot flashes, insomnia, joint aches and weight gain often accompanying this phase of a woman’s life.
But it’s only now starting to get a closer look from researchers and from many women looking for natural ways to ease the symptoms of menopause. Fueling the scrutiny are recent questions about the safety of hormone replacement therapy and a National Institutes of Health panel calling for menopause to be “demedicalized.”
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Well women, here we go again…Estrogen Therapy (ET) Confusion!
July 2002 brought a confusing mass of media reports for the public and the physicians, owing to publication of the results of the “Women’s Health Initiative” (WHI).
First of all, it’s interesting to notice what we ALREADY knew before the recent, highly publicized Women’s Health Initiative:
Hormone therapy (HT) probably does not protect against heart disease or stroke, contrary to what many researchers used to think several years ago.
Hormone therapy (HT) probably does protect against colon cancer and hip fractures, but scientists were not really positive prior to WHI.
Hormone therapy (HT), particular Estrogen/Progesterone Therapy (EPT), over the longer term probably increased the risk of breast cancer (but only after 5 years of continuous treatment), and the progesterone that is used with estrogen is probably bad for the breast also.
Hormone therapy (HT) increases the risk of vein clots in the legs and lungs.
Read the current updates here
New Haven, Conn. — Long-term hormone therapy used earlier in menopause is associated with fewer wrinkles and less skin rigidity in postmenopausal women, Yale School of Medicine researchers report in the August issue of Fertility and Sterility.
“These benefits were seen in women who had consistently used hormone therapy and had been in menopause for at least five years,” said Hugh S. Taylor, M.D., associate professor in the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility in the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences at Yale School of Medicine.
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In its wisdom, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declared September to be National Menopause Awareness Month. The 37.5 million women heading into menopause or already there – along with the 20 million women expected to go through it in the next decade – may choose to rejoice or despair about the month-long designation, depending on how the day is going when they hear the news.
Certainly, some women may want more information on menopause, a natural part of aging that occurs in women between the ages of 40 and 59. Three new books address the topic, as does an FDA web site at www.fda.gov/womens/menopause. Here are brief summaries of the new books, as well as mention of an older book on perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause.
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PS AL Gittleman is the woman who wrote the Fat Flush Plan – a great book for losing weight.
Menopause is a time to change lifestyles and pay greater attention to diet so that one ages gracefully without the burden of chronic health problems.
Okay, so you’re past the age of 40 and you are experiencing symptoms of menopause. You’re irritable. You experience hot flushes. And sexual activity—you want none of it…You must not think that your life is over at menopause. This is actually a life of freedom that has come when you are still physically strong. Use this information on post menopausal therapy… and rediscover yourself. Say no to estrogen Administration of estrogen as post menopausal therapy was advocated until two to three years ago. But it is not in favour anymore as it is discovered that protracted Cathyistration of estrogen may cause a marginal increase in heart attacks, incidence of breast cancer and even uterine cancer.
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The AC’s blowing at full speed, the fan is pointed directly at you, the windows are open and still you’re sweating, miserably hot, and about to scream at the next person that even looks at you the wrong way. Think you’re alone?
You’re not, although there are some women who don’t seem to experience the most trying symptom of menopause: the hot flash.
“Western women consider hot flashes as a universal symptom of menopause, yet cross-cultural studies have found that neither Greek women nor Mayan women have hot flashes, and that there is only a small number of Japanese women who report hot flashes,” revealed author, pharmacist, former UTech lecturer and herbal consultant Diane Robertson, whose work in herbal medicine has earned her numerous international accolades including an honorary doctorate from the Open International University in India.In fact, added Robertson, the Japanese do not even have a word or phrase to describe hot flashes, so alien is the concept to their culture.
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Bianca Kennedy’s hot flashes were so insufferable that she was willing to risk a host of complications, including infection and seizures, to have a long hypodermic needle plunged into her neck.The procedure, called a stellate ganglion block, is normally used to alleviate severe pain caused by overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. But since last year, a northwest suburban doctor has been offering it to women for relief of menopause symptoms.
Experts say putting the technique to this use is risky and untested–one researcher called it “a crock.” But Kennedy says it is the only remedy that has ever worked for her.”I would have 20 to 25 hot flashes a day,” said Kennedy, 39, who was thrown into premature menopause following breast cancer. “Once, when I was visiting family in Texas, I had to move to a hotel because I couldn’t get the air conditioning cold enough. It was just brutal. . . . I felt like I was going to explode, and this is the only thing that has actually helped.”
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NEXT MONTH, I’ll be 43, and already I’m showing signs of a midlife crisis. Since turning 40, I’ve set up a gym at home, employed a personal trainer, bought a Porsche, started riding a motorbike, run a marathon and taken a sabbatical from my medical practice. And I’m not alone.
According to a recent survey by Virgin, half of all 35-64 year olds resort to a personal trainer at some stage. One in four will take a sabbatical from their career to contemplate their future, and up to a third will turn to Botox or plastic surgery in an attempt to turn back the clock. Last year British men in their forties spent £2 billion on cosmetics and fitness products – from moisturisers to exercise bikes – to help them retain their youth.
Is there more to our behaviour than a simple crisis of confidence? Are middle-aged men simply going through the male equivalent of the female menopause – the andropause – and, if so, could hormone supplements be the answer?
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Consumer Reports’ survey of 34,000 readers finds hands-on treatments most successful; for menopause symptoms, alternatives provide little relief.
Yonkers, N.Y. – Consumer Reports – August 2005 Issue – infoZine – - Alternative medicine is no longer truly alternative. A Consumer Reports survey of more than 34,000 readers reveals that many people have tried it, and more and more doctors are recommending it. Readers gave the highest marks to hands-on treatments, which worked better than conventional treatments for conditions such as back pain and arthritis. Chiropractic was ranked ahead of all conventional treatments, including prescription drugs, by readers with back pain.
(Readers said it also provided relief for neck pain, but neck manipulation can be risky and is not recommended by CR.) Deep-tissue massage was found to be especially effective in treating osteoarthritis and fibromyalgia. While readers suffering from back pain deemed acupuncture and acupressure less effective than chiropractic and massage, one-fourth of readers who had tried these therapies said they helped them feel much better. Of all the hands-on alternative therapies, acupuncture has the most scientific support.
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Menopause Articles | admin August 31, 2005 | 
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