Tips for Managing Menopause Symptoms

The best thing you can do is to change your mindset around menopause. Did you know that 80% of the success that you have in your life is due to your mindset? The other 20% is due to the knowledge, skills and strategies you have. So, you can see how important your mindset is. It is best NOT to underestimate it!

Now, think of this time in life as a time where you no longer need to look after anybody else. The children are gone! You are free and it is now YOUR time. When the hormonal veil that has kept us in the role of wife, mother and nurturer is lifted, changes occur and it can be quite confronting and challenging. This is the reason it is important to have a coach by your side to help you to navigate these changes so you can thrive in the second half of your life.

Keeping this in mind……here are some handy hints to help you with the symptoms!

Insomnia

  1. Ensure that your bedroom is set up for sleep. It should be cool and comfortable with sheets made of cotton or bamboo.
  2. Wear loose fitting sleeveless nightwear.
  3. A ceiling fan is essential if you live in a hot climate but a pedestal fan will do. Make sure that the room is dark. If your partner is a snorer, it is a good idea to have another bed to retreat to if possible.
  4. Eliminate blue light after 6pm. If you are watching television or a computer screen, you can use blue light block glasses. Order them online for a few dollars. There are ones that fit over normal eye glasses too.
  5. Eat at least 3 hours before going to bed. Ensure your food is not still being digested by the time you want to go to sleep as this is more likely to keep you awake.
  6. Have a consistent sleep routine. Going to bed at the same time each night will help your body know when it is time for bed. Your natural circadian cycle will be in play.
  7. Meditate just before bed.
  8. Melatonin is naturally produced by the body in preparation for sleep. Your doctor can prescribe this for you. In Australia a doctor can prescribe up to 6mg. In the USA you can buy it at greater doses, but doctors say that doses over 6 mg does not make you sleep any better.
  9. Avoid caffeine after 12pm.
  10. Sip cool water throughout the night if wake up.
  11. Avoid drinking too much water a couple of hours before going to bed and empty your bladder just before going to bed. This will ensure there is less chance that you don’t wake up and have to go to the loo in the middle of the night and then not be able to go back to sleep.
  12. Avoid alcohol. It will dehydrate you during the night and wake you up to go to the loo.
  13. If you are waking up due to night sweats, keep a frozen cold pack under the pillow and turn the pillow over regularly so your head is always resting in a cool place. A cold pack at your feet can also help.
  14. If you are desperate, your doctor can prescribe sleeping tablets. But…this is a last resort.

Hot Flushes

  1. Dress in layers. This way you can take some clothes off when a hot flush occurs. Obviously, if you live in a hot climate, dressing in many layers may not be appropriate!
  2. Carry a portable fan in your handbag. You can buy small hand held electric fans that cost around $15 or less. Or you can carry a pretty decorative fan. This will certainly help you find relief when a hot flush strikes.
  3. Drink water during your hot flush. This will replace the water you are sweating out and even allow you to sweat more for evaporative cooling.
  4. Avoid hot places. Do not sit in saunas or spas or sunbathe.
  5. Include flaxseed or flaxseed oil (also called linseed) in your diet. It may decrease hot flushes.
  6. Wear loose sleeveless clothing to bed
  7. Take Black Cohosh. You can buy this at health food stores, but it is better to go to a herbalist and get a therapeutic dose.
  8. Take deep breaths in and out and sit still when having a hot flush.

Irritability and Mood Changes

Much irritability is due to sleep deprivation. Dealing with this first will definitely help reduce irritability symptoms.

  1. Get massages.
  2. Exercise regularly to increase your natural endorphins (feel good chemicals).
  3. Meditate daily and allow your mind to come to rest.
  4. Eat well. An alkaline diet will help you deal with moodiness.
  5. Take St John’s Wort (consult doctor first as it may have contraindications with other medications) and Vitamin B complex (see doctor about this too as it is a good idea to have levels checked first by having a blood test).

Memory Problems

Memory loss is often made worse by lack of sleep and stress. Improving on these will improve your memory. Other strategies are:

  1. Eat right. Keep your brain in good form by feeding it what it needs to function properly. The villains are alcohol, sugar and caffeine. I f you can’t or don’t want to eliminate them, at least cut down.
  2. Explore ways to keep you brain active. Doing puzzles, crosswords etc keep your brain working. Also use acronyms to remember names and street names or associate one thing with another to help you remember.
  3. Implement external supports. Don’t be hard on yourself. Leave paper and pens around for your to write sown lists and reminders. Put your keys and phone in the same place each time you come into the house. Put up a grocery list in the kitchen so you can write down immediately when you are running low on an item. Set up your environment to make remembering easy.

Weight Gain

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  1. Weight train using weights/bands /own body weight. Good for bone density and androgen levels which help with libido.
  2. Walk or cycle. Gets the body moving to increase aerobic capacity and burns excess calories.
  3. Eat well. You don’t need as many calories as you used to so smaller portion sizes of good healthy food eating mainly low density foods like vegetables and fruit of many different colours will help with not putting on excess weight.
  4. Avoid processed food and added sugar. Best to cook food from first principals as much as possible.
  5. Release stress with meditation and massage. Hormones like cortisol released in stressful situations tell the body to hang onto fat.

Loss of Libido and Sexual Discomfort

Lower oestrogen levels can lead to vaginal dryness and a decline in sexual function.

This is not really a problem if you are happily single or with a partner with a low libido. However, if you are with a partner that wants to have sex, here are some things you can do.

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  1. Use water – soluble vaginal lubricants. This will help with vaginal dryness during sex.
  2. Use vaginal moisturisers. This will help with mild vaginal atrophy (when the vaginal tissue becomes dry and thin. It will also help keep the vagina at a low pH.
  3. Regular sexual activity. As they say…won’t you don’t use you lose! This promotes blood flow to the area.
  4. Laser treatment – for vaginal atrophy. As oestrogen levels declines, dryness and irritation can cause pain during intercourse. With laser treatment, the vaginal wall grows thicker and healthier which makes intercourse more pleasurable.

Other Treatments are:

Acupuncture

Chinese medicine

​Using herbs prepared by a herbalist at the therapeutic doses you require

​More natural HRT using bio-identical and body-identical hormones – if you interested in exploring this further contact the Australian Menopause Centre. www.menopausecentre.com.au 1300 883 405

​Synthetic HRT (most drastic, but may be works best for some women).)