jeudi 27 août 2015

An Overview Of Menopause Medication

By Shawn Hunter


Menopause is a stage which every woman is afraid of. However, every woman has to go through it at some point in life if she lives long enough. Contrary to the view many woman have concerning this stage, it is not an illness. Nevertheless, it may present with disturbing signs for some while others cruise through normally. Dealing with the accompanying symptoms may require slight lifestyle changes but some women may have been affected severely to require menopause medication.

Maintaining healthy eating habits and exercising regularly helps the woman stay healthy, prevent complications and minimize the symptoms. Symptoms like mood swings and hot flashes may require taking of anti-seizures, anti-hypertensive, antidepressants and hormonal medications. Estrogen is one of the hormones which decline during this time. It predisposes one to conditions like colon cancer, glaucoma, Alzheimer disease, osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Taking preventive measures can reduce the risk.

Estrogen replacement therapy is the most effective technique for relieve of hot flashes. However, it needs thorough family and medical history taking in order to determine whether the person is fit to take this hormone. At times, if the related risk is not so great, it can be prescribed in low doses. For those who have not undergone hysterectomy, progestin has to be taken along with the estrogen. This hormone also prevents loss of bone density and cardiovascular diseases.

Vaginal dryness is commonly experienced by women in menopause stage. This can be a bother to the woman as she will not be able to enjoy sexual intercourse due to pain and discomfort. At times, pain during micturition can be present too. Applying estrogen vaginal creams may lessen the discomfort and pain due to softening of the vaginal mucosa.

Mood swings may have to be managed by antidepressants drugs if other non-pharmacological techniques have failed. Those in the SSRI class are preferred. Women who are not able to take estrogen due to a number of reasons can benefit a lot from these drugs.

Gabapentin is an anti-seizure medication which has been cleared to treat hot flashes associated with menopause. It is also recommended for those women who are not fit to take estrogen in relieve of hot flashes or those who suffer from migraines.

Osteoporosis can have far-reaching consequences and the fact that it is very common in women who are in this stage makes it necessary for physicians to be very serious in dealing with it. The leading factor in its development is decline in estrogen level and the women who had inadequate bone mass before are hardly hit. Its management requires a number of approaches including taking a diet high in calories and protein, vitamin D and calcium. Cessation of cigarette smoking is also recommended and those who take alcohol should stop.

Before decisions are made on which treatment plan to be used, many factors have to be considered. The available options have to be discussed and the risk weighed against the benefits. This will require several laboratory tests to be done and also scans. After a consensus has been reached, the plan chosen requires yearly reviews to assess the effectiveness and determine whether there are any changes to be made. The woman and her doctor have to work hand in hand to facilitate this.




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