Menopause, or change of life as it is commonly known, is as it implies, that time in a woman's life when her life changes. It does not happen suddenly but gradual at about forty-five. By fifty or thereabouts it should be over. Emotionally it is a roller coaster ride, it is a time of upheaval and uncontrolled bouts of anger and tears and hot flashes.

What is happening is a change in the usual amount of regulating hormones that prepares a woman's body for motherhood. Some women seem to have more problems with menopause than others and this has to do with their overall makeup. In many cases latent diseases will kick in and add to the discomfort and it is not uncommon for bipolar and other emotionally based illnesses to make their appearance during this time.

Treat each symptom as it arises since each is a reaction against what is taking place in your body as it normalizes itself. The most readily heard complaint is that of hot flashes. It is as it says, sudden onsets of a heat that engulfs your whole body and makes you throw off the covers at night and to turn on the air conditioner or grab a fan. There is no way of avoiding this time of one's life but understanding what is going on will help.

I call this system overload. You are not giving your body enough rest and are eating too much, not taking in enough fluids, possibly. Your body is trying to balance itself and by understanding this you will not rock the boat' by adding undue stress.

Until the last few years estrogen therapy was given. These alleviated most of the aggravations of menopause and kept women looking and acting younger. Yet we learned it is not nice to even attempt to fool Mother Nature; nor will it work. The many heart attacks that happened when women attempted to bypass this winding down phase of life were not the fault of nature but of the unnatural desire of women to remain young. Now, when estrogen is given to menopausal women, it is given cautiously and for only a short time.

Listen to your body. What the body is saying is you are maturing and your baby factory is closing down and you will no longer need this hormone; therefore gradually it will cease. It stops it abruptly would certainly be catastrophic; it is also saying that although this is uncomfortable it is not a disease process and this cessation is quite normal. Understand its symptoms and do not panic are written in small print and women going through menopause should read them carefully.

The symptoms

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