Menopause

HRT: Risks and rewards of hormone replacement therapy

Karen Hawthorne — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 09:30:00 -0700

Estrogen deficiency is associated with increase in heart disease, Alzheimer's disease, osteoporosis and many other medical conditions that markedly affect both the quality and quantity of a woman's life. Why do women deny themselves the benefits of hormones? Dr. Marina Johnson, medical director at the Institute of Endocrinology and Preventive Medicine in Dallas, says fear and misinformation are the reasons. Her book, Outliving Your Ovaries: An Endocrinologist Reviews the Risks and Rewards of Treating Menopause With Hormone Replacement Therapy, is a guidebook to HRT. Here is our Q&A with Dr. Johnson.

Menopause: Celebrating the change

Karen Hawthorne — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 07:59:00 -0800

Hot flashes, insomnia and plummeting sexual desire can pull the plug on the joie de vivre for mid-life women. But wife-and-husband physicians Lovera Wolf Miller and David C. Miller, insist menopause needs a makeover. They wrote Womenopause: Stop Pausing and Start Living to invite readers to be part of the conversation between a woman and her female gynecologist, and offer strategies to live healthier and happier. Here's our Q&A with Lovera Miller.

Painful sex during menopause? Know your options

Karen Hawthorne — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 13:10:00 -0700

Results from a recent HealthyWomen survey show that the vaginal and sexual symptoms of menopause can have a negative impact on postmenopausal women’s sexual health, yet women are generally too embarrassed to address the symptoms with their doctor or partner. There are treatment options – women can enjoy sex without discomfort. Here’s our Q&A with survey consultant Dr. Michael Krychman from the Southern California Center for Sexual Health and Survivorship in California.

Redbox DVD/Blu-Ray Report: Labor Day Weekend

Deanna Barnert — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 09:00:00 -0700

With the fall 2011 TV season about to launch, Redbox, Netflix and OnDemand are flush with last season's fave shows, so you can play catch up over Labor Day Weekend. DVD/Blu-Ray new releases include The Vampire Diaries, Cougar Town, Nikita, House, Desperate Housewives, Parenthood, Detroit 1-8-7, Sons of Anarchy, 90210 and more.

Causes of hormonal imbalance in women

Michelle Maffei — Fri, 06 May 2011 13:37:00 -0700

Menopause isn't the only cause of imbalanced body chemistry - lifestyle, medication and pregnancy can also throw off your body's hormone levels at any age. So before you give in to living with the discomforts of hormonal imbalance, discover the causes of hormonal imbalance and how you can reduce your symptoms.

Don't let menopause cause a divorce!

Ellen Sarver Dolgen — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 08:19:00 -0800

Women often find themselves divorced at the same time they're going through perimenopause and menopause. Why? Well, while there is never one reason for the breakup of a relationship, it is safe to say that the challenges of perimenopause and menopause can put tremendous strain on a couple. Here's how to diminish that effect.

Dueling hormones: When puberty and menopause collide

Ellen Sarver Dolgen — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 08:24:00 -0800

Now, more than ever, so many households are experiencing puberty and perimenopause and menopause at the same time. Why? In 1980, the average age of a first time mother was 23. In 2010 that number jumped to almost 27 . This matches up a 14 year old child with a 41 year old mother. So what happens when you mix adolescent hormones and menopausal hormones in the same house? Hormone combustion!

The menopause and insomnia link

Sarah Kelsey — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 09:41:00 -0800

If going through the ups and downs of menopause weren’t enough, there’s another reason to worry. In a recent survey, 76 percent of women said insomnia during menopause moderately to significantly affected their overall quality of life. SheKnows.com chatted with Karen Giblin, president and founder of Red Hot Mamas, to learn more about the menopause and insomnia link.

Managing perimenopause: Orthopedic issues

Jen Klein — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 09:23:00 -0800

Your joints may be achier, your muscles tighter, you may just feel a little more rickety. If you've been particularly active most of your life, this may be a frustrating feeling. Maybe you vowed never to slow down, to always stay strong and fast - but you just can't. How much of it age, how much of it is fallout from perimenopause and menopause? Yes, perimenopause and menopause. Yet another symptom of that significant change of life

Managing menopause: Incontinence

Jen Klein — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 08:00:00 -0800

After having a child, your pelvic floor is never quite the same. The first time you laughed hard or coughed and your underwear was suddenly a little more damp than moments before may have taken you by surprise and you may have felt embarrassed - even though no one else could have known what just happened. You are not the only woman to have experienced this kind of "accident." Many women have been there - and many have learned to cross their legs and squeeze just a little before letting out a sneeze. Incontinence is a common issue - and it can get worse during perimenopause and menopause.

Managing menopause: Skin and hair issues

Jen Klein — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 13:00:00 -0800

The hormonal shifts of adolescence are well-known - if not legendary and somewhat feared. Hormones affect a child in every possible way - mood, appearance, reproductive capabilities, and so on. So it only makes sense that the hormonal shifts of perimenopause would have a similar effect. And have a similar effect on similar body areas. Just as your child's skin and hair may change with the onset of puberty, your skin and hair may change with the onset of the perimenopause years.

Managing menopause: The disappearing waistline

Jen Klein — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 08:15:00 -0800

No matter how much you work out, no matter how many abdominal crunches you do, it gets harder to keep that tiny waistline as you get older and go through menopause. Even the tiniest waisted women usually notice an increase in flesh around the middle during perimenopause and later. It can result in a serious change in your self image - if you let it.

Managing menopause: Menstrual cycle changes

Jen Klein — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 08:45:00 -0800

Do you remember the first couple years after you started menstruating? In those years, your cycle may have been a little irregular as your body adjusted to these new hormones and generally being an adolescent. Somewhere along the line, your cycles regulated and, if not like clockwork, then at least were somewhat expected and consistent. Again, after childbirth, your menstrual cycle may have had to re-regulate. After all that regulation and re-regulation, you may have thought you were in the clear in terms of what to expect with your periods. But then came perimenopause.

Managing menopause: Hot flashes

Jen Klein — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:00:00 -0800

You might have seen the bumper sticker, "It's not a hot flash; it's a power surge!" And while you might have laughed at that in your 20s or 30s thinking that time is so, so far away, if you are in your 40s, maybe you think of that phrase with a knowing, uncertain groan.

Monday Mom challenge: Get support through perimenopause

Jen Klein — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 10:15:00 -0800

If your childbearing years are over, it may have been a year or more since you last saw your OB/GYN. For a while now, you've had your yearly exams, but hopefully there hasn't been much more to talk about. While still something of an intimate relationship, the closeness you had to your medical care provider may have waned since you've not been pregnant or post-partum. But if you are in your 40s, it may be time start reestablishing a closer relationship with your doctor. Perimenopause is on the way and you are going to need some extra support again.