Four of the Most Common Symptoms of Menopause, and How to Improve Them

Are you looking for menopause solutions? Menopause rears its head in a number of ways: you abruptly feel so hot you could suffocate, and then find yourself in a pool of sweat. You have almost no sex drive. Your weight is on a frighteningly steep trajectory upwards, and nothing seems to help. You have no energy. You feel like you’re on an emotional roller coaster around the clock.


If we just described you, you don’t have to continue living with these uncomfortable and debilitating symptoms. Your local gynecologist can help you find menopause solutions that will greatly improve your way of life. These menopause solutions range from hormone replacement therapy to lifestyle changes that improve the symptoms. While consulting a womens health medical professional is the best course of action for identifying the best menopause solutions for you, we’ve put together a few ways to improve the symptoms on your own, at home:


Four Relief Tips to Common Menopause Symptoms

1. Symptom: Hot Flashes
   
   Hot flashes are synonymous with menopause. You’ll be going about your regular activities, and suddenly feel like the temperature jumped about a bazillion degrees. Suddenly your body’s internal thermostat cranks into overdrive because it (erroneously) assumes you’re in life-threatening heat, and turns your sweat glands on full blast. Multiply this stressful scenario over and over again, and you’ve pretty much described menopause.
   
   
   Relief Tip: One way to reduce the frequency and magnitude of hot flashes is to bring your temperature down quickly when you feel one coming on. Try wearing several light layers of clothing, when you feel like a hot flash is mounting an attack, remove a layer of clothing. The sudden dip in temperature will help keep your internal thermostat from going bezerk.




2. Symptom: Weight Gain
   
   Your metabolism begins to dip starting at the age of 30, making it more and more difficult to shed weight. When your hormones dramatically fluctuate at the onset of menopause, the abrupt change can make your body go into “survival mode,” where it retains fat to subside on in case it doesn’t get nutrients in the future. Additionally, some of the hormones that your body suddenly stops producing at the onset of menopause were responsible for maintaining your “girlish figure,” which leads to fat storage in unflattering areas, such as the gut.
   
   
   Relief Tip: Although it is more difficult to lose weight than it was in the past, the conventional methods are still your best friend. Avoid processed foods and carbohydrates, eat plenty of lean meats, leafy vegetables, and healthy fats like nuts and avocado. Eating healthy fibers like flax seed and chia seeds, along with plenty of water, will help your body flush toxins and fats out instead of storing them.




3. Symptom: Mood Swings
   
   One minute you feel great about life, and suddenly the slightest inconvenience arises and it feels disastrous. You might feel like you have absolutely no mechanism for coping with common stress.
   
   
   Relief Tip: This is a natural part of the fluctuation of chemicals in your body; sometimes just understanding why you feel such extreme emotions to simple inconveniences helps you process them. You should also give yourself a chance to breath. Set aside at least 15 minutes of “you time” every day: Close your eyes and focus on calmly breathing in and out. Don’t let the worries of your life consume your mind; just remain focused on taking in cleansing breaths and then slowly exhaling to release the tension. This common meditation exercise will help reset your outlook and give you a coping mechanism to those extreme mood swings.
4. Symptom: Low Libido
   
   Your sex drive is one of Mother Nature’s ways of keeping the human race alive. When your body is trying to reproduce, it produces chemicals that make your want to go through the actions of achieving that goal. When your body stops making those chemicals, you might notice a lack of desire to have sex.
   
   
   Relief Tip: Maintaining a healthy lifestyle with fitness and diet will help your libido, even in menopause. Omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin E also may improve this symptom.

We want to hear from you! Do you have any other tips to offer regarding going through menopause? Please share your wisdom below!