Menopause: The Facts

myocardial infarction

Yet, in spite of all these advantages, doctors have not

come to a common opinion if all women can use hormone therapy or only those with

particular clinical indications. More than a thirty-years of using hormones

doesn't give complete confidence in the absolute safety of this method. For

example, it has been noted that women taking hormones experience breast cancer

more often. Though scientists have counted that one woman who got breast cancer

as a result of taking hormones accounts for six other women who avoided

myocardial infarction under the same circumstances, the fact remains:

Substitution hormone therapy is not absolutely safe. What's more, hormone

therapy has so many contraindications that not every woman can reach the age of

40 having the health that fits this treatment mode.

From the point of modern medicine,

artificial creation of the necessary hormones is really an intricate job, and

from the point of the body itself, it is crude and cannot completely substitute

the natural hormone cycle of a woman.

What can you do to achieve the

inevitable menopause in the best scenario - make it start later and affect your

life the least? To begin with, ask your mother when she herself faced menopause,

and ideally, her mother as well. Subtract 8-10 years from the average result of

this inquiry and you will have the age when you should take exact measures.

When your age approaches this tine

(35-38), find a good specialist who is familiar with problems of menopause

(which is still a rare thing in our country) and have a checkup. Modern

diagnostic techniques help to determine that the body has started to get ready

for menopause at the earliest stages.

Think of the question of whether to

use hormone therapy beforehand; whether you agree to the interference in your

body or not. It is important to answer this question beforehand because the

earlier the treatment is started, the firmer your perspectives are.

What else can be done? Give up smoking

at last. If you are over thirty, say no to strict diets and wasting starvations.

Take vitamin-mineral supplements, but don't rely on the products that promise

you to prolong the onset of menopause forever - this is impossible. Mainly,

watch over your health. Finally, menopause, as well as old age, is fond of those

who are not fond of themselves.

4 menopause accelerators

1. Living at a height of 3000 meters

and more above sea-level. Here menstruation stops a year and a half earlier then

menstruation of women who live at height 1000 meters below the sea-level.

2.

Unfavorable ecological situations. It hastens the beginning of menopause on

average for 2-3 years.

3.

Smoking. Women smokers say goodbye to their hormone from a year and a half to

five years earlier than nonsmokers.

4. Abrupt weight loss and

long-lasting, low-calorie diets. After you are 35-40 years old, they can provoke

premature menopause.

3 menopause deterrents

1. Contraceptive pills. Women taking

them during their lifetime usually experience menopause some years later.

2. Active sexual life. It also often

delays menopause for several years.

3. Taking care of one's health. It can

prolong life before menopause for 5 years.

However, the time of the first

menstruation and the amount of pregnancies, abortions, and sexual partners don't

influence the time of the beginning of menopause.