The Postmenopausal Years

As some of our other articles have stated, the process most of us call menopause actually has three main stages: perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause. All three have a variety of symptoms and/or side effects as well as a wide range of possible treatments such as medication, lifestyle changes, and natural remedies like black cohosh or soy isoflavones.

Postmenopause is, as the name suggests, the time in a woman’s life after she has gone through menopause. If you stop and think about it, the postmenopause period lasts from menopause until death, and it has many health risks and problems associated both with the natural aging process and menopause, as well. However, several of the symptoms that signal the onset of perimenopause can last well into postmenopause, and many of the more serious side effects of estrogen loss don’t appear until the postmenopausal years.

Most of the symptoms that appear during perimenopause can continue through postmenopause, but the most common ones are mood swings, vaginal dryness, loss of sex drive, and even sometimes, hot flashes. Although long-term use of many of the medication (HRT, SSRIs, etc.) and supplement treatments (black cohosh, soy isoflavones, etc.) have not been studied effectively, these are all symptoms that can still be alleviated the same way during postmenopause.

Many women breathe a sigh of relief and let down their guards once they realize they have actually passed into postmenopause. Sad to say, that’s the time when it’s most important to remain vigilant! The reason is that the postmenopause years are the most common years for women who are predisposed to them to begin developing some serious, life-threatening disease such as osteoporosis, heart disease, and diabetes. Researchers have come to find out that the long-term loss of estrogen that begin at perimenopause can help increase those risks. The astounding fact is that many women don’t even realize they have these diseases until postmenopause, when the dropped estrogen levels have lasted so long as to make the symptoms noticeable.

See your primary healthcare provider, and begin a treatment plan that takes into account natural supplements like black cohosh or others as soon as you think you might be experiencing perimenopause. Not only will it help with the symptoms you experience at that time, but it might help ward off those terrifying diseases and conditions that can strike women during the postmenopause years.

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