For many women the menopause can be a difficult time. At BMI Healthcare, we have the expertise and experience to help you through.
What is the menopause?
The menopause, sometimes referred to as “the change of life”, is the name given to the end of menstruation (periods) when your body stops producing eggs because the level of the female sex hormone oestrogen, which regulates menstruation, falls. There are two stages to the menopause: The time leading up to the menopause when you may experience both physical and emotional changes. When you haven’t had a period for a year. Some women reach the menopause without seeking medical help – but if you have severe or distressing symptoms there are treatments available.
How do you know if you are menopausal?
Eight out of ten women experience symptoms leading up to the menopause and of these about half will find their symptoms difficult to deal with.1 The first symptom of the peri-menopause is usually a change to your menstrual pattern – either your period starts to appear every 2–3 weeks or you may not have one for months at a time. You may also experience an increase in menstrual blood loss.
Common symptoms of the menopause include:
Hot flushes and night sweats
Sleep disturbance
Vaginal dryness, itching or discomfort
Urinary tract infections, such as cystitis
How BMI Healthcare can help
If you are experiencing menopausal symptoms and finding them difficult to deal with, you can choose to see a BMI Healthcare consultant gynaecologist by contacting our helpline advisers.
Treating the menopause
There are a number of treatments for the menopause, with or without hormone replacement therapy (HRT).
HRT can be beneficial because it works by replacing oestrogen in the body during the approach to menopause. It can be effective in treating several of the most common menopausal symptoms, can
also help to prevent osteoporosis (weak and brittle bones), and may reduce the risk of cancer of the colon and rectum.
If you do not wish to take HRT, or cannot for medical reasons, then there are other treatments we can suggest which may ease the different symptoms individually. All treatments need to be monitored to make sure that they are having the desired effect.
If your symptoms are mild we can advise you on possible ways to control them by changing your diet and lifestyle.
Across BMI Hospitals, our consultant gynaecologists can advise you about which treatment will suit you best and discuss the benefits and risks.
