Menopause health knowledge lecture

Menopause is neither an "incurable disease" nor a "life checkpoint" that must be endured. As long as you find the right intervention method that suits you, more than 90% of people can go through it smoothly. There is no need to scare yourself by following the anxiety posts online.

Last week at the free clinic on our street, as soon as I sat down, eight out of ten aunties who came around were talking about similar problems: Either they were sweating all the time during the day, or the collars of thick sweaters in winter would get wet.； Or I would lie tossing and turning at night with my eyes open until two or three o'clock, and would wake up easily after finally falling asleep. ； Others said that they used to have a very soft personality, but now they get angry when their husband holds a cup without holding it steady. After the argument, he hides in the room and regrets it, wondering if there is a "psychological problem."

Let me talk about a patient who left a deep impression on me. Aunt Wang, a 62-year-old patient who was treated last year, had been menopausal for 10 years. When she had hot flashes and sweating, she heard an old sister say, "It will be over in two years." When she came for a follow-up examination, her bone density was measured and she already had severe osteoporosis. When I asked her, I found out that she had not even taken calcium supplements during menopause. She felt that all the discomfort was a "normal phenomenon of age" and that she would be fine if she got over it. In fact, there are quite a few like her. We have encountered too many patients in clinical practice who regard joint pain, palpitations, and repeated urinary tract infections as "normal reactions of menopause."

When it comes to intervention, the most frequently asked question is "Will hormone supplements cause cancer?" This is indeed a controversial topic that has been debated in the academic community for almost 20 years. When the U.S. WHI study was first released in 2002, it was indeed mentioned that hormone supplementation would increase the risk of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. At that time, the use rate of hormone supplementation worldwide was cut in half, and many patients who were taking the medication were frightened and stopped taking the medication. However, follow-up studies over the years have slowly revised this conclusion: Most of the original study subjects were women over 60 years old and more than ten years after menopause. They are the age group with high incidence of underlying diseases. As long as they are in the "window period" - that is, within 10 years of menopause and over 60 years old, Under the premise that there is no family history of breast cancer and no contraindications such as unexplained abnormal uterine bleeding, the minimum effective dose of estrogen and progesterone supplementation can lower the risk of cancer than if you smoke one cigarette a day. On the contrary, it can significantly reduce the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease in the elderly. Of course, there are many experts in the field of traditional Chinese medicine who do not recommend routine use of hormones. They believe that menopause is essentially caused by deficiency of qi and blood and stagnation of liver qi. Symptoms can also be improved through acupuncture, traditional Chinese medicine, and adjustment of work, rest and diet. There is no absolute right or wrong between these two ideas. It depends on which one is more suitable for you. There are also patients around me who have taken Chinese medicine for soothing the liver and regulating qi for three months, plus doing Tai Chi for half an hour every morning. The symptoms of hot flashes have basically disappeared, and the effect is very good.

Oh, by the way, the symptoms of menopause are really more than losing temper and sweating. Last month, I saw a 47-year-old female programmer. She said that she always forgets things when writing code recently. She just forgets the need to align with the product. She even memorized the password for her own door lock twice. She thought she was going to suffer from Alzheimer's disease, so she came crying. After checking her sex hormones, she discovered that estradiol dropped too fast, which affected her neurotransmitters and caused her memory to decline. She was prescribed some medicine to regulate her autonomic nerves, and asked her to replace her three cups of iced Americano with room-temperature soy milk every day. She also walked half an hour longer after get off work. After a month, she checked again and said that her memory was much better, and she no longer slapped the table with her colleagues. Some people's symptoms of menopause are repeated itching of the skin, dryness in the sexual intercourse, and frequent urinary tract infections. After checking the dermatology department and urology department, there are no problems. Finally, the symptoms disappear after the hormone levels are adjusted.

In fact, most people's menopausal symptoms are very mild and do not require medication at all. Add more soybeans and black beans to your daily meals, drink a 300ml cup of pure milk every day to replenish some calcium, stay up less late at night, don't always stay at home and compete with your family, go out more often to dance, go shopping, and travel with your old sisters, and the symptoms will disappear before you know it. If it is so severe that it affects your sleep and prevents you from working and socializing normally, don’t take it hard. Go to the hospital and call a gynecological endocrinology or menopausal specialist. Get a blood test and an ultrasound. The doctor will choose a suitable plan for you based on your situation. Don’t buy any “ovary maintenance” or “menopausal conditioning” health products on the Internet. Many illegal products are added with unknown doses of estrogen. If you eat them, it will easily disrupt hormone levels and cause problems.

My own mother had very severe hot flashes during menopause. She could change into three tops during one meal. She was also resistant to hormones at first and felt that "the medicine is only half of the poison." I told her about the research data for a long time, and accompanied her to undergo breast, gynecological, and coagulation surgery. After a complete physical examination of blood function, I finally chose the lowest dose of estrogen and progesterone supplementation. I have been using it for almost 7 years now. Every year, my breasts and uterus are normal during physical examinations. My bone density is much better than that of my aunt of the same age. Last time I went to climb Mount Huangshan with me, she walked faster than me. Oh, and there is another question that is often asked: Will I gain weight during menopause? In fact, it’s not hormones that make you fat. It’s that your basal metabolism drops by 2%-3% every year at this age. In addition, many people are too lazy to move when they feel uncomfortable. They still eat as much as they did when they were young, so they will naturally gain weight. Don’t leave the blame to menopause.

One more thing to remind everyone, don’t attribute all discomforts to menopause. If you have abnormal vaginal bleeding, long-term abdominal pain, or sudden weight loss in a short period of time, don’t blindly judge that it is menopausal. Be sure to check for other problems first, and don’t delay.

I have said so much today, but the core is actually one sentence: Menopause is a normal physiological stage, just like menstruation in adolescence, pregnancy and childbirth. There is no need to feel ashamed, and there is no need to bear it. Your life is yours, and you can live it as you feel comfortable, right? If you still have any specific questions, you can ask me one by one after the lecture is over, and we will chat one by one.