Vaginal Dryness or Urinary Incontinence
Vaginal dryness or pain with intercourse is very upsetting for women who experience it during menopause. These symptoms can disrupt your sex life, which may affect your relationships. Incontinence is embarrassing and disheartening for women. Both symptoms can be caused by the change in vaginal and urethral tissue that occurs when estrogen drops.
- Vaginal estrogen can be a lifesaver for women who notice vaginal or urinary changes. When applied in the vagina, estrogen does not affect your system the way estrogen pills or patches do, and the effect is right there where it is needed. If you use local estrogen for vaginal symptoms, it may take 3 or 4 weeks to see the effect.
- Lubricant is important if you are noticing vaginal dryness. Because your vaginal wall is becoming thinner, it is easier to tear or damage. Using lots of vaginal lubricant during sex will help prevent damage. Water based lubricants feel natural and wash off easily. Silicone based lubricants last longer, but more women report being sensitive or allergic to them.
- Yam cream contains a phytoestrogen that, like other estrogen creams, can work locally to help with symptoms.
- Vitamin E and Flaxseed oil can sometimes offer some relief from vaginal and urinary symptoms. Usually women take them as oral supplements, but there are creams that contain them as well to be applied directly to the vagina.
- Kegel exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles can improve sensation during intercourse and can reduce urinary incontinence. If you do them several times a day you will probably see results in 2-4 weeks.
Weight Gain
Any time women tend to gain weight, it can be distressing to them. Since metabolism slows down as you age, menopause is a common time to begin adding pounds. This is frustrating because it comes at just the time when you are wanting to preserve your youth, and when your health risks begin to climb. Weight loss in menopause requires the same approaches that it does at other times in your life, but don’t set unreasonable goals for your target weight. You are not twenty anymore, and no one expects you to be. (Why would you even want to be??)
- Weight training not only helps you get stronger, it has the benefits of increasing androgen levels for better libido, stepping up your resting metabolism and preventing osteoporosis. Even if you’ve never tried strength training or weight training before, consider it now!
- Walking is good for just about everything that ails you in menopause. It is easy on your joints, requires no special equipment except good shoes, and it burns calories reliably. Try varying your walking speed to improve the calorie burn, with spurts of power walking along with brisk walking. It not only burns more calories, it revs up your metabolism and builds bone mass.
- Diet is always important, and never more than in menopause. If you want to lose or maintain weight, look for a diet that includes all food groups and is made for the “real world.” Successful weight loss diets are not the ones that require a lot of specialized foods, but ones that work with everyday foods and situations. Now is a good time to realize that you don’t need as many calories as you used to, and revamp your ideas about how much food is “enough.”
- Stress management. When you are stressed, you release hormones like cortisol that tell your body to hang onto fat. This may have served our prehistoric ancestors when they had to travel around all winter looking for food, but it only raises your risk factors for heart disease and stroke. So keep the stress down and your body will turn off its “keep-the-fat” button.
- More fruits and veggies will add fiber to your diet and give you many antioxidants and micronutrients that you need. Try to get five servings a day of the most colorful fruits and vegetables.
Menopause is a time of many changes and of rapid hormone shifts. When it’s over you still want to be healthy and cheerful as you head into the next phase of your life. Don’t ignore your symptoms if they seem to be disrupting your life – read, do research and talk to your medical provider. Make a plan for getting through the worst of it in ways that will preserve your health and your relationships. Keep your perspective and sense of humor as you wrestle and cope with the challenges – this, too, shall pass.
Sources:
National Institute on Aging, Menopause: One Woman's Story, Every Woman's Story, National Institutes of Health,NIH Publication No. 01-3886 Feb. 2001. 10 Oct. 2007.
North American Menopause Society, (NAMS), Menopause Guidebook: Helping Women Make Informed Healthcare Decisions Around Menopause and Beyond, 6th Edition , North American Menopause Society, 2006. 10 Oct. 2007.
The National Women’s Health Information Center, Menopause and Menopause Treatments, FAQ,U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, March, 2006. 14 Oct. 2007.
