Menopause health science content

Menopause is not a "pretentious" or "too busy" emotional problem, nor is it a physiological stage that must be endured. As long as the right scientific methods are used, more than 90% of hot flashes, insomnia, irritability and other discomforts can be effectively alleviated. While passing through it smoothly, it can also reduce the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases in old age.

Last week, I just picked up a 52-year-old Aunt Zhang from the clinic. She burst into tears when she walked in and sat down. She said that she seemed to have changed in the past six months. She suddenly became sweaty while sitting during the day, and her collar was so wet that she could squeeze out water. At night, she tossed and turned until three or four o'clock before she could squint for two hours. My husband She said that she was "in menopause and had nothing to do". Her son always hid in his room and locked the door when he thought she was nagging her. She herself thought it was a normal phenomenon as she got older. She struggled with it for half a year. In the past two months, her blood pressure fluctuated and she was so dizzy that she couldn't even cook vegetables. That's why she was dragged to see a doctor by her daughter.

Now regarding menopausal intervention, in fact, there have always been two mainstream solutions in the industry. There is no absolute right or wrong, and it all depends on the individual's physical condition and needs. The first type is hormone replacement therapy (MHT) of Western medicine, which is suitable for women who have no contraindications, have menopause within 10 years, or are younger than 60 years old. Generally, 1-2 months of medication can significantly relieve discomforts such as hot flashes and insomnia. Many people hide away when they hear the word "hormones" for fear of getting breast cancer. In fact, the 2024 edition of the International Menopause Society's guidelines has clear data: when hormone supplementation is used regularly during the window period, the annual risk of new breast cancer is less than 0.1%, which is similar to the risk of long-term eating high-fat takeaways and drinking one or two white wine a day. There is really no need to talk about hormone discoloration. If you have hormone contraindications or just don’t want to use hormones, the effect of traditional Chinese medicine treatment is also good. Colleagues from the Traditional Chinese Medicine Department of our hospital have conducted follow-up visits and found that about 80% of menopausal women with liver stagnation and kidney deficiency took syndrome differentiation prescriptions for about three months, combined with Baduanjin twice a week, and their symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats could be relieved by more than 60% without any additional side effects.

Of course, there are also people who get through it smoothly without taking any medicine. I met Aunt Wang in the past two months. She has been through menopause for 3 years and has no discomfort at all. After asking, I found out that she does square dancing for 40 minutes every day, does yoga three times a week, rarely eats spicy and sweet foods, and drinks a cup of pure soy milk without added sugar every morning. Her bone density is better than that of many 40-year-old people. But here’s a reminder, don’t believe what is said on the Internet that “drinking soy milk can replenish estrogen instead of taking medicine.” The activity of soy isoflavones in soybeans is only one thousandth of human estrogen. Daily drinking is good for health care. If you have hot flashes more than ten times a day and can’t sleep all night long, drinking soy milk is really not enough.

By the way, don’t think that menopause is an “exclusive trouble” for women. After the age of 50, men will also experience menopausal symptoms due to the decline in androgen levels, which are more subtle. Most of them are fatigue, lack of energy, inability to sleep, and bad temper. Many people regard it as “normal for older people.” In fact, if it is serious, go to the andrology department to check the hormone level, and you can feel much better if you make appropriate adjustments.

I would also like to say something about the question that many people are embarrassed to ask at the clinic: Of course you can have a normal sex life during menopause. If you feel dry and uncomfortable, use regular medical lubricants or topical low-dose estrogen ointment. It will not affect the quality of life at all. Don't hold it in. It is really not a shame.

To be honest, I have been doing gynecology clinics for 12 years, and I have seen too many people who had problems with menopause. Either long-term insomnia turned into severe anxiety, or bone mass was lost rapidly, and fractures occurred after a fall in their early 50s. In fact, it is really unnecessary. To put it bluntly, menopause is the body's "operating system switching period". The hormone balance that has been running for decades needs to be adjusted to a new model. It is normal for small bugs to occur in the middle. If you are willing to adjust, you can adjust. If you don't want to adjust, it is okay if you feel you can handle it, as long as you are comfortable. If you are really unsure, go to the gynecology department or menopause clinic of a regular hospital and ask. Don’t blindly buy “menopausal health products” that cost thousands of dollars a box online. Most of them are added with unknown doses of estrogen, and eating them can actually harm your health.