Menopause-research paper on the change of life
... 30s and continue through periomenopause. PMS can possibly include monthly breast tenderness, bloating, weight gain, depression, anxiety, irritability, and insomnia (Lark 2). Five to seven years before menopause women may even experience restless and fragmented sleep. Sleep changes are often the earliest indicators of hormonal change (Lark 4). Hot flashes are one of the biggest physical changes that people associate with menopause. Usually it starts as a deep blush, with heat moving from the upper chest into your neck, face, and arms (Lark 3). The skin becomes red, the pulse increases, and a sweat occurs. Hot flashes affect only about 85 percent of women and usually last for only a few minutes. Some go through this experience quite frequently making it very uncomfortable (Lark 3). Although it is rarely talked about or heard, vaginal dryness affects many women and is common during the later phases of periomenopause (Ballard 60). Since estrogen production diminishes, the vaginal area becomes less moist. Usually women can notice this during sexual intercourse, lubrication takes longer, and unless properly stimulated, may create painful intercourse (Ballard 60). Sometimes women may experience an uncomfortable and embarrassing occurrence called urinary stress incontinence (Ballard 63). Urinary stress incontinence is when there is momentarily loss of bladder control, releasing a very small amount of urine. This usually occurs during physical activity such as jogging, aerobics, laughing, or coughing. Urinary stress incontinence is not a permanent condition, caused simply by the changing levels of estrogen in the body (Ballard 65). While women are going through menopause doctors usually give diagnostic tests. These tests are basic check ups on parts of the body that are normally not considered, and are not often tested. The tests that are most often ordered for women during menopause are dual photon and dual x-ray test which painlessly measure bone density by measuring bone mineral content anywhere in the body, follicle-stimulating hormone which measures a women’s estrogen level by a blood test that is taken the first or second day of monthly bleeding each month for two successive months, endometrial or intrauterine biopsy which measures endometrial cancer or hyperplasia by taking tissue from the endometrial lining using suction with either a narrow tube or a hollow cutting instrument attached to a syringe, lipid profile measures cholesterol and triglyceride blood levels by a blood test that is taken after a twelve to fourteen hour fast, mammogram which screens for breast growths and cancer by an examination that mechanically flattens the breast and takes an x-ray, ovarian hormone profile which tests the levels of estradiol (the primary human estrogen), testosterone, and progesterone by taking blood samples on the first day of menstruation and the 20th day of menstruation in order to determine a decline in the baseline production of these hormones, as well as any changes during the menstrual cycle, pap test measures the malignant and premalignant condition of the vagina, cervix, and endometrium with a swab taken from the vaginal walls and uterine lining, progesterone challenge screens for endometrial cancer or hyperplasia by a prescription of 10 milligrams of progestin a day for seven days, vaginal smear measures estrogen levels by a swab that is taken from the inner third of the lateral vaginal wall, and vaginal sonography measures the thickness of the uterine lining, existing cysts, endometrial hyperplasia and ovarian cancer with a thin plastic ultrasound probe that is inserted inside the vagina and swept along the uterine walls (Cone 33-37). These tests are only beneficial to women. Depending on the family history of a woman, different diagnostic tests may be ordered. The ones previously mentioned are just some of a long list of tests a doctor can order. The purpose of the diagnostic tests is to make sure that all the changes happening in a woman’s body are natural processes and not indicators that something else might be wrong (Cone 33). Some women feel the need for hormonal replacement therapy (HRT). A controversy that is discussed in a lot of the literature on menopause is the debate of menopause being a disease or just a natural event in a woman’s life (Logothetis 125). Some physicians feel that it is necessary for a woman to go for hormonal replacement therapy even without symptoms, such as hot flashes, in order to prevent psychological problems, cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis (Logothetis 125). Others feel that HRT should be used in small doses and only when women experience uncomfortable ...