Menopause health advice

Menopause is a natural physiological stage in which women's ovarian function declines. It is not a "hypocrisy" or a "disease". There is no need to bear it or be overly anxious. The most reliable solution is "layered intervention + individualized adjustment" - those with mild symptoms can survive smoothly through lifestyle adjustments, while those with severe symptoms can use drug/non-drug intervention under professional guidance. There is no "standard answer" that suits everyone.

Last week, I met 52-year-old Sister Zhang in the outpatient clinic. She sat there for a long time holding her medical record bag and said, "Doctor, do I have a mental problem?" ”, said that in the past three months, he woke up three or four times every night with night sweats. One second, he and his wife were watching TV, and the next second, a sudden heat rushed from the chest to the top of the head. The sweat was so wet that water could be squeezed out of the collar of his pajamas. For no reason, he wanted to throw the remote control. After cursing, he hid in the toilet and cried, feeling that he had become a "trouble" for the whole family. This situation is really too common. Nearly half of menopausal women in my country will experience moderate to severe discomfort, but less than 10% will take the initiative to seek medical help. They either feel that "it will be over if they tolerate it", or they are afraid that others will say that they are "old and cranky".

Speaking of this, some people may ask, can hormone replacement therapy (MHT), which is very popular on the Internet, be used? This is indeed the most controversial point at present, and I won’t take sides: the guidelines in European and American countries are relatively radical. They believe that as long as there are no contraindications such as breast cancer, endometrial lesions, and active thrombosis, it can be used. It is even recommended as a routine intervention for menopause, and the benefits far outweigh the risks. ； Domestic clinical consensus is more cautious and usually requires a full set of breast, gynecological, and coagulation function assessments. If you have breast nodules of Category 3 or above and uterine fibroids exceeding 4 cm, it is generally not recommended. The current clear conclusion is that hormone supplementation, when used within 5 years, will not significantly increase the risk of gynecological tumors and breast tumors. If your hot flashes and insomnia are so severe that you cannot live a normal life, you can seek evaluation from a gynecological endocrinologist. There is no need to talk about "hormone" discoloration, but you must not secretly buy the so-called "ovarian maintenance supplements" and "menopausal conditioning pills" online to supplement them. Many illegal products secretly add excessive estrogen, and I have seen too many examples of endometrial hyperplasia after taking it for half a year.

In addition to the drug regimens of Western medicine, many people will also try the conditioning ideas of traditional Chinese medicine. I have come across many effective cases in this regard: When my cousin was 49 years old, she suffered from hot flashes more than ten times a day. After taking Zhibai Dihuang Pills + acupuncture twice a week for two months, the symptoms basically disappeared.； But Aunt Li in the same community had similar symptoms to her. After taking the same prescription for half a month, her mouth became dry and her insomnia became more serious. Later, she consulted a traditional Chinese medicine doctor and found out that she had kidney yang deficiency and had to take Yougui Wan. I have to remind you here, don’t listen to others and try moxibustion and scraping to treat menopause. People with yin deficiency and fire exuberance will only add fuel to the fire by moxibustion every day. Syndrome differentiation is always the prerequisite for traditional Chinese medicine treatment.

In fact, many people ignore the role of lifestyle adjustments compared to taking medicine, which is even more effective than many supplements. A 48-year-old university teacher came to me before and said that he had breast nodules and did not dare to take any medicine. He went to the park to dance for 40 minutes every evening and went hiking in the suburbs with his travel companions on weekends. He used to wake up 5 times a night. In three months, he only had to wake up once. His hot flashes dropped from more than a dozen times a day to two or three times. Oh, by the way, if you have severe hot flashes, be sure not to drink coffee, alcohol, or anything particularly spicy. These will stimulate vasoconstriction. The fever that can be relieved in half an hour may not be relieved by a glass of iced Americano for half a day. I have also seen people follow the trend and buy soy isoflavones, saying that they are natural and have no side effects. In fact, soy isoflavones are phytoestrogens. If you have a family history of gynecological cancer, or you already have ovarian cysts or uterine fibroids, taking supplements will stimulate the growth of the lesions. If you really want to take them, you must ask your doctor first.

There is another point that is rarely mentioned: you don’t have to force yourself to “overcome your emotions.” When my colleague's mother went through menopause, she always felt that she was "useless", her children were working, and she couldn't do housework well. She hid crying at home every day. Later, her daughter enrolled her in a Chinese painting class and went to the class twice a week. She also went to other places to sketch with her classmates. During that time, even her father said, "Your mother won't even let me wash the dishes now. She said she would save her hands for painting. Her temper is much better." In fact, there is really no need to insist on saying "I'm fine". It is much better to tell your family in advance, "I may not be able to control my temper right now, and it's not directed at you", rather than holding in internal friction yourself.

To put it bluntly, menopause is like another period of adolescence in life. Some people get acne until their face is swollen, while others just pass without feeling anything. There really is no unified "correct way" to spend it. If the symptoms are mild, you should jump and play, whatever makes you feel comfortable ； If the discomfort is so severe that it affects your ability to eat and sleep, don't carry it around. Seeking a specialist for treatment is much more reliable than guessing and buying supplements on your own.