NABBW
Columnist - Menopause
| Name: |
Cathy
Taylor |
| Title: |
Writer,
Entrepreneur |
| Expertise: |
Health,
Women’s Issues, Mid-life |
| Web
Site: |
www.everythingmenopause.com
www.howtoconquermenopause.com
www.everythingandropause.com |
| Email: |
cathy@everythingmenopause.com
|
| Bio: |
 Cathy’s
passion for the internet, as well as her own transition into
peri-menopause, was the impetus to create her first website
Everything
Menopause. She writes often regarding menopause and issues
that concern women at mid-life including healing the mind,
body and emotions. You can also find some of her health-related
articles online at www.ezinearticles.com/?expert=Cathy_Taylor
Her company,
Creative Communications, has just published a useful resource
on menopause, written by a RN, entitled How
to Conquer Menopause. This information has already helped
hundreds of women cope with the uncomfortable symptoms of
menopause and learn how to put quality back into their lives.
Because
of the online demand for mid-life information from men, an
additional site was just launched called Everything
Andropause. Cathy is working closely with her associate,
Jed Diamond the author of the best-selling book Male Menopause,
to bring men help during their mid-life transition.
Her personal interests include self-help, new age, metaphysics,
yoga, exercise, ballroom dancing, singing, women’s issues,
business, entrepreneur, marketing, internet marketing, and
health-related issues (primarily alternative). Cathy has an
18-year-old son, and she claims that being a mom is by far
“the best thing I’ve ever done.” |
View
Past Articles
Menopause
and Irritability – All You Need to Know
By Cathy Taylor
Many women in
the stages of pre-menopause and menopause feel depressed and irritable.
Some researchers believe that the decrease in estrogen triggers
changes in the brain, causing depression. Others think that supplementary
symptoms you are having, such as sleep problems, hot flashes, night
sweats and fatigue are the causes of these feelings. Alternatively,
it could be a blend of hormonal changes and symptoms. However, these
symptoms can also be caused due to reasons unrelated to menopause,
though menopause is the main cause of these symptoms in a woman.
Mood changes and irritability may also be more common in women who
have had difficulty with PMS.
Menopause
and Irritability: Symptoms
The other factors that influence mood swings and irritability in
menopausal women are difficulty with memory and attention span.
Some women report difficulties with concentrating or remembering
specific words. These women may stutter and stammer over a certain
word, even though the word is on the tip of their tongue. Certain
uneasiness resides at the back of the mind, causing thoughts to
wander and curtails concentration.
A woman with
attention-deficit disorder may first realize this and go for treatment
when she reaches menopause. Declining estrogen levels have aggravated
her ability to concentrate. Insomnia, better known as sleeplessness,
is a common complaint from women in pre-menopause or menopause.
Irritability during menopause may increase due to night sweats and
disrupted sleep patterns. This is a relative condition because impaired
sleep can cause touchiness and depression and in turn, irritability
and depression can impair sleep. Reduced sleep leads to tiredness
and irritability during the day.
Menopause
and Irritability: Depression
Feeling depressed during or before menopause and feeling negative
about menopause and getting older, increases the stress, and can
result in more severe menopause symptoms. If you start smoking and
are not being physically active, unhappy in your relationship, or
unemployed, or feel the biological clock ticking away - making you
regretful that you cannot have children anymore- any of these situations
could quite naturally lead to irritability when confronted with
menopause. Timely and proper treatment can stem the problem, which
could get very serious if left untreated.
Menopause
and Irritability: How to Get Relief
There are countless ways to alleviate emotional symptoms related
to menopause and irritability. Sometimes, talking to friends and
family, or doing relaxation exercises eases the problem. However,
if symptoms really disrupt your life, talk to your doctor about
hormone replacement therapy or, if you are still menstruating, low-dose
birth control pills are an option as are a newer alternative form
of therapy called bio-identical hormones. Blues that linger and
cause fatigue, sleep problems, trouble concentrating and lack of
interest in sex may be a sign of a more serious type of depression.
Menopause
and Irritability: Talk to Your Near and Dear Ones
First, speak to a professional about any emotional problems. Discussing
your problems with anyone, a doctor, therapist, or friend, can often
bring much needed relief. At this critical juncture in a woman’s
life, supportive family and friends are even more necessary.
In some cases,
your doctor might prescribe medication. Hormone Replacement Therapy
- usually given to treat hot flashes and protect bones against osteoporosis,
may work to relieve symptoms, but don’t forget to also explore
bio-identical alternatives. Once the hot flashes and night sweats,
go away, both sleep and moods are likely to be significantly improved.
Past
Articles
June 2006: Menopause
and Blood Sugar
July 2006: Menopause
and Bioidentical Hormones: Advantages of BHRT
|
