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What Is Menopause?

Does the thought of approaching menopause make you break out in a cold sweat? Relax. It may be a change for the better.

Although some people think that menopause means the end of meaningful life, that's a myth, says the North American Menopause Society, based in Cleveland, Ohio.

Menopause occurs when the ovaries stop producing the hormone estrogen. Menstruation ceases. Menopause may occur naturally or when the ovaries are removed surgically.

From a health perspective, menopause's benefits include:

• The end of the ability to become pregnant, with its attendant health risks. The end of the fear of becoming pregnant, a fear that may cause psychological distress and may affect health decisions on medications and forms of treatment.
• The end of menstruation with all its inconveniences, including troublesome periods, heavy flow, cramps and/or PMS.

Women today enjoy several advantages over their mothers and grandmothers:

• Doctors understand menopause better than in the past. Effective treatments are available for the most common symptoms. Research now underway should expand and refine these treatments.
• Menopause no longer carries the social stigma it once did. Women today are valued for contributions other than reproductive roles. Further, menopause itself is no longer a taboo topic.
• Women today often are in better shape -- and frequently have more health awareness -- than those of previous generations.
• Many women going through menopause today went through natural childbirth and have participated in their health care.

Although many women experience menopausal symptoms for less than a year, menopause actually takes, on average, five to seven years. It's a highly individual event -- many women make the transition easily, but others find that it significantly disrupts their lives.

The decline in the female hormone estrogen may cause short-term symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence and sleep disturbance.

Over the long term, the loss of estrogen increases the risk of heart disease, stroke and osteoporosis, or loss of bone density. One-third to one-half of postmenopausal women will be affected by osteoporosis. One in seven women between 45 and 64 -- and one in three over 65 -- suffers from some form of heart disease.

Drug therapy is available to ease symptoms. Talk to your doctor to see whether it is appropriate for you.