The menopause can be a time of anxiety and distress as you experience symptoms that can be difficult to manage, 包括潮热, 焦虑和睡眠障碍.
Theramex recognises the significance of this time of change in your life. 我们将继续与您合作, our partners and medical professionals to develop treatments to support you through the menopause.
什么是更年期?
更年期的字面意思是停止月经. ‘Meno’ refers to menstruation and ‘pause’ means to stop. The medical definition of menopause is when one year has passed since your last period.
During the menopause, your periods will decline and then stop. It typically starts between the ages of 45-55 and the transition can last for several years.
在你的生育年龄, your brain and ovaries work together to create the hormones that stimulate your ovaries to release an egg (called ovulation) and prepare your uterus for pregnancy every month. The main hormones involved in the process are estrogen and progesterone.
If you don’t become pregnant, you have a period, and the cycle starts again the following month.
随着年龄的增长, 你的卵巢没有卵子了, 你的身体逐渐停止产生激素, 然后进入更年期.
Fluctuating and declining hormone levels can cause a range of symptoms that we associate with the menopause.
阅读更多关于 the signs and symptoms of the menopause
If you experience menopausal symptoms before the age of 40, 你可能会提前绝经, also known as premature ovarian insufficiency.
If you’ve had medical treatment that damages the ovaries, 比如放疗或化疗, 或者做过卵巢切除手术, 你将进入药物诱导的更年期. Sometimes this can make symptoms more severe than with natural menopause.
The menopause process consists of perimenopause and postmenopause
- 围绝经期: the levels of hormones in the body start to fluctuate and decline. Periods become irregular and eventually stop altogether.
- 绝经后期: the rest of a woman’s life after a year or more has passed since her last period.
围绝经期
A change in the reproductive hormones estrogen and progesterone causes the slowing and eventual end of your menstrual cycles. This decrease in hormones happens over time and causes physical and emotional symptoms that arise gradually as your body changes.
This period of transition is known as perimenopause.
绝经后期
Once a year or more has passed since your last menstrual period, you have reached menopause 进入绝经后.
The lack of estrogen in your body through the menopausal years can cause physical and psychological changes and have long term impacts on health. You may be at increased risk of developing some conditions, 包括骨质疏松症, 心脏病, 糖尿病, 癌症, 抑郁症, 和老年痴呆症.
生活方式因素, such as a balanced diet and plenty of exercise, can help to reduce the health impacts and improve quality of life as you age.
It can help to find a doctor with a special interest in supporting women through the menopause so that you can receive guidance and advice on symptom management and treatments options, 包括激素替代疗法.
阅读更多关于 和你的医生谈论更年期
如何诊断更年期?
If you are a healthy woman over the age of 45, your doctor will diagnose perimenopause or the menopause based on factors such as:
- irregular periods or the complete absence of periods for 12 months
- symptoms such as hot flushes (or hot flashes), insomnia, vaginal dryness, and mood changes
- if you have had your ovaries removed or received treatment that may have damaged them
- the existing use of hormonal treatments that may interfere with the menstrual cycle
Although blood tests were often used to help diagnose the menopause in the past, current evidence suggests that they can be unreliable, 因此，它们不再是常规提供的.
Your doctor will decide whether you need to undergo tests to rule out other conditions based on your medical history.