The path to healthy menopause

This is never a stage of life where "just endure until menopause". As long as you find the right personalized adjustment plan that suits you, more than 90% of hot flashes, insomnia, emotional irritability, bone loss and other discomforts can be effectively alleviated, and you can spend this special period comfortably.

I have met no fewer than 20 women who have endured menopausal discomforts for the longest time, and the longest they endured was eight years. In the end, they suffered from severe osteoporosis and depression. When asked, they always said, "Sisters around me have gone through this, how can they be so squeamish?" To be honest, this kind of "uniform template" patience is the biggest irresponsibility for oneself. Menopause is like an old mobile phone that has been used for more than ten years. The battery life suddenly drops quickly and occasionally freezes. This is not a signal of scrapping, but the body is reminding you: it is time to shift the priority to yourself.

Hormone replacement therapy, which everyone is most confused about right now, has different opinions from the academic community and the public. There is no need to force yourself to stand on one side. The support group is based on the general gynecological endocrinology guidelines at home and abroad: use within 10 years of menopause and the "window period" under 60 years old, exclude contraindications such as breast cancer, endometrial cancer, and active liver disease. Using natural minimum doses of estrogen and progesterone can not only quickly relieve various discomforts, but also prevent osteoporosis and reduce the incidence of cardiovascular diseases in the elderly. The overall benefits far outweigh the risks. However, there are also many people who are affected by old ideas and are afraid of gaining weight or causing cancer after eating, and would rather carry it on their own than touch it. This choice is completely worthy of respect - there is no standard answer to health plans, and the best one is the one that suits you.

Aunt Zhang downstairs is a typical conservative. She refused to open the hormone pills she prescribed for her even after they expired. After trying the home remedies of drinking thick soy milk, taking soy isoflavones, and soaking saffron for half a year, she still had hot flashes more than ten times a day. She woke up in the middle of the night sweating and had to sit in the living room for half an hour to recover. Later, she couldn't bear it anymore and went to a menopausal clinic. The doctor knew that she was against hormones, so he prescribed non-hormonal plant-based regulating drugs, combined with liver-soothing moxibustion twice a week, and asked her to play softball with the old sisters in the community every day. After more than three months, the last time I saw her carrying a picture folder to attend classes at the University for the Elderly, she said that she had a hot flash in the past half month, and she could fall asleep by touching the pillow at night. Even the bad temper she had always argued with her husband before was gone.

Don’t think that as long as you find a doctor and prescribe medicine, everything will be fine. I have seen several aunts who took the medicine according to the doctor’s instructions, but they were angry with their daughter-in-law at home every day, eating their own pickled vegetables with porridge, their blood pressure fluctuated, and hot flashes still came to their door from time to time. Let me make an interesting observation: Those menopausal women who are in the best condition do not take "menopause" seriously. There is a gynecological endocrinologist I know. When she was menopausal, she just replaced her daily latte with warm milk. After dinner, she walked with her husband for 40 minutes, and went hiking with friends in the suburbs on weekends.

Of course, I would like to remind you not to buy the "menopausal maintenance pills" or "age-reversing magic pills" that are so popular on the Internet. I once treated an aunt who took internet celebrity health products for three months, and her hot flashes and insomnia were indeed cured. However, the physical examination showed abnormal endometrial hyperplasia. After taking it for a test, I found out that a large dose of synthetic hormones was added to the health products, which meant that I had been taking unsafe drugs for a long time, which had posed a huge hidden danger. To make adjustments, first go to a gynecological endocrinology or menopausal clinic in a regular hospital for a comprehensive evaluation, check hormone levels, bone density, and the basic status of the breast and uterus, and then discuss with the doctor an acceptable plan. It is 10,000 times more reliable than buying health care products blindly.

In fact, there is no standardized menopausal health formula. Some people are suitable for low-dose hormone intervention, some people just take some plant medicine and exercise, and some people don’t need to take any medicine at all. They talk to their wives about what they have been thinking about for decades, and the conflicts at home go smoothly, and most of the uncomfortable symptoms naturally disappear. After all, I have been living for work, children, and family for most of my life. At this stage, the most important thing is to be comfortable and comfortable.