on menopausal symptoms.
There are some women for whom hormone replacement therapy is never appropriate. Talk to your healthcare provider if you have any of these conditions and are considering taking hormone replacement therapy:
A history of blood clots, such as deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary emboli
A history of uterine, endometrial, or breast cancer
A history of cardiovascular disease
Problems with liver disease in the past or present
A previous heart attack
If you are possibly pregnant
If you have had a stroke in the past
If you have any of these conditions, the risk of taking hormone replacement therapy may outweigh the benefits of taking the therapy, and there may be other medications that will be more beneficial.
Side Effects Of Hormone Replacement Therapy
There are side effects of taking hormone replacement therapy that may be significant enough to stop taking the medication or may not wish to start taking it. These include the following:
Breast tenderness or swelling
Bloating of the abdomen
Changes in mood
Nausea
Headaches
Vaginal bleeding
If you have any of these symptoms, talk to your doctor about whether or not hormone replacement therapy is right for you.
Weighing The Pros And Cons Of HRT
Read all you can about taking hormone replacement therapy and know your past and present medical history. Take this information to your doctor in order to decide if it is safe for you to take this type of therapy.
For some women, especially those with severe symptoms, it may be the only way to control the symptoms. If the symptoms are mild or there are other health issues to consider, hormone replacement may not be the best choice for you.
Never be pressured into taking HRT by your Doctor. My personal opinion is to try every other natural avenue possible to prevent using HRT. If using hormone replacement therapy at all, it should be bioidentical hormones that are compounded just for your individual needs and not a general product.
If you choose to take hormone replacement therapy, you should re-evaluate its need every six months or so with your doctor. I would recommend an integrative Doctor and also working with a health coach and naturopath. At some point, the hot flashes will be in control, and you may decide it isn’t worth the risk of taking this type of medication.
There are many pieces to the menopausal puzzle and your general wellness. When working with clients, I have found that we need to address EVERYTHING, not just a symptom! My approach is holistic, and that is the only way that guarantees a whole body and life transformation — balancing your Hormones, checking your thyroid, optimising your diet according to YOUR body type, using supplements that are also tailored just for you, finding movement that brings Joy to your body, detoxing your body and your environment. And last but not least, creating and shaping your next season in your life that makes you content and secure and excited! I am very excited that you have decided to read this book and that we are on the journey together. By the end of this book, it is my hope that you will feel confident in going through menopause. That you have a plan in place for your symptoms and your support systems but even more importantly, that you are looking forward to this super special time in your life!
I am not kidding! Gone are the times when menopause was the beginning of our end! We live so much longer these days, so consider that someone just gave you a brand-new annex to your house! All you need to do is figure out how to treat it best, how to furnish it and what it is that you are going to allow through the door! And best of all, we are going to do this together! There is a whole tribe of women out there going through the same as you, ready to kick the symptoms, the added weight and along with it, the stuff that drags us down!
It’s our time now! Time to create a happy, healthy, and meaningful fun life for yourself! Let's dive in!
Common Challenges and what helps
Let’s talk about some of the expressions of menopause. I am not a fan of the word “symptoms” because that would imply that there is something wrong with us, which is not the case. We are going through a new phase, which is normal and natural. Our body expresses itself in many different ways, and some of these expressions are a bit unusual and unexpected. That doesn’t mean that you “have to have” any of these. You may not experience physical symptoms but feel emotional and struggle to cope with the changes that come with this season in your life. I do believe that our bodies talk to us and that every “symptom” has a message for us. It’s up to us to figure out what this is. In my mind, we are spiritual beings, living a human experience. How we perceive what our body is trying to tell us and ‘decode’ that message is something that we are all called to do. I have seen symptoms disappear instantly many times as soon as the client has figured out the “why”! I could see the energy shift like it was a magical “click” that just happened!
Anyhow, let's go back to our symptoms. Common expressions “symptoms” of menopause could be:
Your period stops
Obvious, I know! Your periods will begin to become irregular and will eventually stop. When you haven’t had a period for 12 months in a row, it means you have likely reached menopause.
Hot flashes. These can feel like someone has just dipped you into a cauldron of boiling water and come from out of nowhere and often at very inconvenient times. For example, when presenting something in front of people and all of a sudden your face drips with sweat and you are read as a tomato. You guessed it, that was me! Most hot flashes last as little as 30 seconds or as much as 10 minutes before you feel better. About 2/3 of all women will experience hot flashes as a part of their menopausal symptoms. Eating the right foods and taking the right supplements help but mindfulness and cognitive behavioural therapy have also been found to be very effective. See also my online course on how to stop Hot Flashes naturally on my website.
Hot flashes are perhaps the greatest symptom experienced in menopause, statistically by 3.4 of all menopausal women, and they are usually the most uncomfortable symptom. As mentioned, they can go on for several years before stopping. Hot flashes can be treated in a couple of ways.
Lifestyle changes or natural remedies for the management of hot flashes:
Stay away from warm areas and do not sleep with warm blankets or warm pyjamas. Make sure your bedding and nightwear are made out of natural fibres like cotton, bamboo or silk.
Avoid
