By Valerie Omicioli, M.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences
Certified Menopause Practitioner
Editor’s Note: Dr. Omicioli will speak about hormonal disorders at a free seminar entitled Women’s Health Issues: Truths and Treatments on Thursday, March 11 at Beth El Congregation in Baltimore.
In the 1940s, menopause was viewed as a hormone deficiency state. It was felt that women should take replacement therapy, similar to other hormonal disorders (such as thyroid disease). As our knowledge about menopause and aging expands, there is greater recognition of menopause as a natural life transition — the cessation of menstrual periods — which results in markedly lower levels of estrogen and progesterone.
For some women, this is a relatively smooth transition, with few symptoms. However, fifty to seventy percent of women experience symptoms of hot flashes, warm flushes, sleep disruption, mood changes, musculoskeletal pain, and sexual problems. These symptoms can be mild and more of a nuisance or they can be severe, affecting their quality of life.
If your symptoms are mild, some simple things can help:
- Dress in layers, so you can remove a sweater.
- Wear natural fabrics, such as cotton, which allow moisture to evaporate.
- Limit spicy foods or alcohol, which can increase hot flashes.
- Sleep with the window open or with a fan blowing cool air.
- Exercise to combat weight gain and mild depression.
Some women are helped by soy supplements or herbal products such as black cohash or red clover. However, if you don’t notice improvement within 4-6 weeks, there’s no benefit to continuing for longer periods of time.
Hormone therapy is still the most effective treatment for menopausal symptoms. However, like all medical therapies, each patient must balance their individual medical problems, family history and symptoms against the risks of taking hormone therapy. As an increasing number of women turn to the Internet for medical information, care must be taken to avoid medical marketing with unproven claims of safety or effectiveness.
For those women whose symptoms disrupt their quality of life, a careful medical evaluation and discussion about hormone risks and benefits, different formulations (bio-identical and conventional hormones), mode of hormone delivery (pill, lotion, gel, spray, patch, ring) as well as non-hormonal prescription therapies, alternative therapies and lifestyle changes will help guide medical decision making.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
You skim over the diet issue with regard to menopause. Don’t you think that there is more to diet than just limiting spicy foods and alcohol?
Do you have any thoughts on other diet changes?
Hotflash:
Thanks for your comment. Here is Dr. Omicioli’s response:
A healthy diet that includes fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils and limits red meat, saturated fat, and processed foods is a good idea at any age. Some menopausal women try to increase the amount of soy in their diets through drinking soy milk, eating tofu, soy yogurt, tempe (fermented soy), edamame, or dried soy nuts. Scientific studies on the effectiveness of these foods do not support a major improvement in menopause symptoms. There is, however, no harm in trying these healthy foods and continuing them if you find it’s beneficial for you.