Menopause is a natural and inevitable stage of life.
During Women’s Health Week, Aspirus is working to recognize the significance of menopause to help women navigate it.
Dr. Jenna Kolodziej is a board-certified OB/GYN with Apsirus Health.
She says menopause typically starts around age 50 and is technically when a woman is 12 months past their last period.
Symptoms of it include hot flashes, night sweats, and brain fog.
“Most women have multiple symptoms or side effects from this shifting in their hormones,” said Kolodziej.
the Office on Women’s Health (OWH) and the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) offer some self-help strategies for some of the most bothersome symptoms:
Night sweats:
- Keep a frozen cold pack under your pillow and turn the pillow to the cool side as needed
- Wear lightweight sleepwear and use layered bedding
- Use a fan
Irritability:
- Share concerns about your mental health with your provider, just as you would share physical symptoms
- Get your rest, make healthy foods a priority, exercise, and stay mentally active
- Socialize. Research shows that people with active social lives have the slowest rate of memory loss
- Don’t take on too much and do at least one thing you enjoy every day
Kolodziej recommends people talk to their doctors about what they’re experiencing.
She says there are treatment options available, even for things like mood swings.
“It’s completely normal. It’s just a change in your hormones. Kind of like when you’re a teenager and you go through puberty,” said Kolodziej. “As things shut down, you have periods of time when you feel very in control and other moments in time when you either may become very angry very quickly or very sad. Sometimes those feelings are very heightened and hard to deal with. But that’s something we can treat, not only with medication but sometimes with therapy.”
Kolodziej says women should continue to get annual exams even after going through menopause.
