One of the main stigmas for menopause is that it will not begin until a woman reaches her early 50s. While it is true that some women will head into menopause around age 50, 51 or 52, most women are in their late 40s and sometimes earlier. Another thing people believe that is simply not true is that menopause lasts around a year.
Oh, women would be jumping up and down rejoicing if there were the case but unfortunately, it is not! Typically, menopause will last anywhere from three to ten years, sometimes less and unfortunately, sometimes more. Keep in mind that does not automatically mean she will have all the symptoms or difficult symptoms the entire time, although she could. In most cases, the menopause will start out gradually and then reach a few years when everything is challenging but with the right treatment, the symptoms do not have to be overpowering.
Probably one of the most unsettling stigmas for menopause is that the woman simply needs to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and everything will be fine. For years, women around the world were taking HRT and actually had fewer symptoms but as more and more in-depth studies have been performed it has come out in the past few years that HRT is actually very dangerous.
Although there might be some cases when HRT is prescribed, these studies show us that HRT can actually lead to a number of cancers. Therefore, while HRT is certainly one option for treating the symptoms of menopause, it generally would be the last option to consider. Instead, new drugs and natural remedies have been used, most with great success.
Now, speaking of dangerous, another stigma for menopause is that once a women starts in to the years of menopause, she can no longer become pregnant. You would be amazed at how many "menopausal" babies there are running around the world. The truth here is that during peri-menopause, the years when the woman still ovulates and has a period, she can still become pregnant.
Although the level of estrogen hormone is decreasing, many times a high enough level exists that pregnancy happens. Therefore, if you are finished having your family or do not want children at all, do not assume that because you are in the menopausal years, you are safe. In this case, you would need to keep taking birth control or use other forms of protection to ensure you are not surprised nine months later with a little bundle of joy.
For some reason, there is also the stigma for menopause that this is somehow connected to the "empty nest syndrome" when all the children are finally out of the house.
The belief here is that the depression associated with menopause is the depression of the children no longer being around and the woman becoming older. The bottom line is that menopause does produce depression in some women. However, the only connection would be that the depression already begin experienced may be temporarily magnified because of the children leaving but nothing more.
Finally, a disconcerting stigma for menopause is that this natural process of a woman's life does not have any consequences or does not need to be treated, that it will simply go away in time. Well, when the body stops producing normal amounts of the hormone estrogen, many things change.
For starters, this places the woman at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, heart disease, tooth loss, vaginal and/or urethral atrophy, Parkinson's disease, impaired vision, some forms of cancer, and diabetes.
Oh, women would be jumping up and down rejoicing if there were the case but unfortunately, it is not! Typically, menopause will last anywhere from three to ten years, sometimes less and unfortunately, sometimes more. Keep in mind that does not automatically mean she will have all the symptoms or difficult symptoms the entire time, although she could. In most cases, the menopause will start out gradually and then reach a few years when everything is challenging but with the right treatment, the symptoms do not have to be overpowering.
Probably one of the most unsettling stigmas for menopause is that the woman simply needs to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and everything will be fine. For years, women around the world were taking HRT and actually had fewer symptoms but as more and more in-depth studies have been performed it has come out in the past few years that HRT is actually very dangerous.
Although there might be some cases when HRT is prescribed, these studies show us that HRT can actually lead to a number of cancers. Therefore, while HRT is certainly one option for treating the symptoms of menopause, it generally would be the last option to consider. Instead, new drugs and natural remedies have been used, most with great success.
Now, speaking of dangerous, another stigma for menopause is that once a women starts in to the years of menopause, she can no longer become pregnant. You would be amazed at how many "menopausal" babies there are running around the world. The truth here is that during peri-menopause, the years when the woman still ovulates and has a period, she can still become pregnant.
Although the level of estrogen hormone is decreasing, many times a high enough level exists that pregnancy happens. Therefore, if you are finished having your family or do not want children at all, do not assume that because you are in the menopausal years, you are safe. In this case, you would need to keep taking birth control or use other forms of protection to ensure you are not surprised nine months later with a little bundle of joy.
For some reason, there is also the stigma for menopause that this is somehow connected to the "empty nest syndrome" when all the children are finally out of the house.
The belief here is that the depression associated with menopause is the depression of the children no longer being around and the woman becoming older. The bottom line is that menopause does produce depression in some women. However, the only connection would be that the depression already begin experienced may be temporarily magnified because of the children leaving but nothing more.
Finally, a disconcerting stigma for menopause is that this natural process of a woman's life does not have any consequences or does not need to be treated, that it will simply go away in time. Well, when the body stops producing normal amounts of the hormone estrogen, many things change.
For starters, this places the woman at greater risk for Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis or osteoarthritis, heart disease, tooth loss, vaginal and/or urethral atrophy, Parkinson's disease, impaired vision, some forms of cancer, and diabetes.
