Menopause Affects Women Differently

Menopause Affects Women Differently.
Women bothered by blether flashes or other crap 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 effective through menopause have recent flashes - sudden feelings of extreme intensity in the upper body - and night sweats. For many, the symptoms are frequent and severe enough to cause repose 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 influential group of ob/gyns. "Menopausal symptoms are common, and can be very bothersome to women," said Dr Clarisa Gracia, who helped put in writing the new guidelines. "Women should grasp that effective treatments are available to address these symptoms". The guidelines, published in the January outlet of Obstetrics andamp; Gynecology, reinforce some longstanding advice: Hormone therapy, with estrogen by oneself or estrogen plus progestin, is the most effective way to cool hot flashes.

But they also advance 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, down doses of antidepressants such as venlafaxine (Effexor) and fluoxetine (Prozac) have helped spell hot flashes in some women. And two other drugs - the anti-seizure cure gabapentin and the blood pressure medication clonidine - can be effective, according to the guidelines.

So far, though, only one non-hormonal anaesthetize is actually approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for treating brilliant flashes: a low-dose version of the antidepressant paroxetine (Paxil). And experts said that while there is manifest some hormone alternatives ease hot flashes, none works as well as estrogen and estrogen-progestin. "Unfortunately, many providers are white-livered 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 affected in calligraphy the new guidelines. Years ago, doctors routinely prescribed hormone replacement analysis after menopause to lower women's risk of heart disease, among other things. But in 2002, a colossal US trial called the Women's Health Initiative found that women given estrogen-progestin pills really had slightly increased risks of blood clots, heart attack and breast cancer. "Use of hormones plummeted" after that.

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

Another ob/gyn agreed that doctors and women resembling are often reluctant to consider hormones. "Since the Women's Health Initiative, we've been match little fishes swimming upstream," said Dr Jill Rabin, of Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, NY To hand reduce any risks it's important to keep the hormone dose at the lowest level needed to assist 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 shot hormones include those who've ever had breast cancer or a blood clot. Hot flashes and twilight sweats are the most common menopause complaint. But vaginal dryness and anguish 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 hazard of side effects is considered small. And just this year, the FDA approved a budding option for treating painful sex in postmenopausal women. It's a crank called ospemifene (Osphena), and it has estrogen-like effects on the lining of the vagina. As for "natural" remedies, such as soy and angry cohosh, studies have failed to prove they're impressive for hot flashes and night sweats, the guidelines say.

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