Your Menopause Treatment Options

The original meaning of the word 'menopause' was originally limited to the last cycle of menstruation (similarly 'menarche' indicated the first cycle). However, the word has been extended to encompass all of the hormonal changes that take place in a woman's body when she stops menstruating. This has created a good deal of confusion.
The period of regular menstruation cycle and before the decline of hormone levels is called by some as premenopause. The time before the last period is called by some as perimenopause.
Before and after the last actual menstrual bleed is called perimenopause and it starts after hormone levels have started to fluctuate and before they settle and there are no more symptoms due to this fluctuation. For the climacteric the above symptoms are same. It is more and more usual for women to refer to this time as their menopause.
For the woman after her last period is described as postmenopausal. It starts the day after the last menstrual bleed and describes any time after that. Although the perimenopause the term will not be used until a year after the last period because no one will be sure which the last one was until a year has passed. Ninety percent of women in the perimenopause who have not had a period for six months do not have another one
Menopause Hormones
Until menopause, estrogen and progesterone are produced and released over an approximately 28-day cycle. As the supply and quality of eggs declines in midlife, hormone production from the ovaries becomes erratic. With progression towards menopause, levels of progesterone and estrogen diminish.
Pre-menopausal. Leading up to ovulation is when estrogen levels reach their peak, but quickly decline afterwards. During this second half of the menstrual cycle is when progesterone starts to rise. If the ovulated egg is not fertilized, levels of both these hormones drops, which in turn signals the body to start menstrual bleeding.
Perimenopausal. Estrogen is still being produced by the ovaries, but ovulation is sporadic, so progesterone is not produced every cycle and there may not be a monthly bleed.
Postmenopausal. At this stage of life, there is very little estrogen present in your body, and what small amount is present is actually produced by the process of your body's fat cells processing the androstenedione hormone.
How Estrogen Affects Bone Health and Osteoporosis
About half of all women in the Western world have a serious degree of osteoporosis by the age of 70, and around age 60 - only 10 years after the average age of menopause - nearly a quarter of women will already have brittle bones. The lower level of estrogen circulating in the bloodstream is directly responsible for this. This alone is reason enough for finding some form of menopause treatment, either natural, herbal or medical, to help offset the side effects and symptoms of menopause.
Calcium is the mineral mainly involved in the process of bone building. Calcitonin and parathyroid hormone control the calcium levels in blood and estrogen is partly responsible for its metabolism. The osteoclasts and osteoblasts have estrogen receptors.
The parathyroid hormone keeps the blood calcium levels constant and if it observes a fall in levels it proceeds to break down the bones, where most of our calcium is stored. This process of bone breakdown is accelerated by lower estrogen levels, especially after menopause.

Article Source: http://www.articlegoldmine.com

Every woman's experience of menopause is different. Most women only experience mild cases of hot flashes, night sweats and mood swing. If you know what may happen, you will recognize the symptoms of menopause - and make life a lot easier when they come.

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