how to live better at this stage?

A menopause It is a date that marks the end of menstruation in a woman’s body for a year in a row. Despite many taboos and myths on this topic, it is important to clarify the existing care and treatments for this phase.

A few years before a woman enters menopause, her body already suffers physical, social and psychological impacts. The period leading up to menopause is called climacteric and starts around the age of 45. During this period, women undergo biological transformations due to the drop in endogenous production of estrogen, androgen, and progestagen due to ovarian failure.

These hormones are directly linked to female sexual development, enabling women to become fertile and normal levels of these hormones maintain sexual desire, bone mineral production, memory, sleep, protection against cardiovascular diseases, maintenance of collagen, skin and mucous membranes and vaginal lubrication.

As these hormones decrease significantly in menopause, women begin to suffer from hot flashes (or cold), skin aging and dryness, vaginal dryness and atrophy, urinary incontinence, bone weakening, memory problems, irritability, insomnia, weight and consequently increased risk of cardiovascular diseases such as diabetes and hypertension.

Unfortunately, many health professionals still disregard patients’ complaints when they receive them in their office. Many even discourage them from taking hormone replacement, based on scientific articles with many biases.

_{Woman uses fan to cool off (Photo: reproduction/Collection of JK Estética Avançada)}

A frequent question asked by women is in relation to the symptomatology. Many think that the fact that they feel absolutely nothing in menopause means that they should not replace it. However, this idea is wrong, since replacement is capable, not only of preventing osteoporosis in the long term, but also Alzheimer’s disease. Therefore, even if she has no symptoms, if there is no contraindication, she should seek help and perform the replacement.

A research team developed by the University of East Anglia, England, analyzed data from an ongoing brain health study of the European Consortium for the Prevention of Alzheimer’s Dementia. In all, the brains of 1,906 people (including 1,178 women) aged over 50 in 10 countries who did not have dementia when they joined the project were analyzed.

Participants underwent cognitive tests and MRI scans and brain volumes. From this, it was possible to see that women who underwent replacement therapy for estrogen lost in menopause – a treatment commonly used to control the symptoms of this period of hormonal changes in the woman’s body – had better neurological health indices, such as better memory. , better cognitive function and larger brain volumes over time.

There are very few contraindications for performing hormone replacement therapy. The main one is the woman having undergone previous treatment for breast cancer. If she has a history of breast cancer in her family (mother, sisters, aunts), she should carry out a genetic investigation with her mastologist to assess the risks and benefits of having the replacement.

Not least, sexual function also declines with advancing menopausal status. The most frequently reported symptoms include decreased libido (40–55%), poor lubrication (25–30%) and pain with intercourse (12–45%), one of the complications of genitourinary syndrome of menopause, which is when there is dryness vaginal and the woman finds it difficult to have intercourse, it can hurt, hurt and even lose urine at this stage.

Treatment should be individualized, taking into account the severity of symptoms, potential adverse effects, and personal preferences. The route of choice that can be oral, transdermal or through
Subcutaneous implants and must be individualized for each case.

_{Woman cools off with a fan in the heat (Photo: reproduction/JK Estética Avançada collection)}

Therefore, to live better during and after menopause, it is necessary to face this moment in a woman’s life with more zeal and care and less neglect. Up-to-date professionals can responsibly perform hormone replacement for women, providing them with quality of life in what corresponds to about a third (1/3) of their lives. Therefore, with the increase in life expectancy, well-being is the best proposal for the modern woman.

Anamarya Rocha
Gynecologist and sexologist, specialist in endocrine gynecology.

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Featured Photo: Woman holding a flower. Reproduction/Collection of JK Aesthetics Advanced