With advancing age, there is a physiological cessation of menstrual cycles, and this condition is known as menopause, which may also be thought of as being a change of life or climacteric. When ovaries begin to stop producing estrogen and this results in the reproductive system slowly but surely shutting down, one may be reasonably sure that it is menopause.

Due to the body adapting to changing levels of natural hormones, the person will be affected by vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and palpitations, and also psychological symptoms like increase in depression moods, anxiety, as well as irritableness, and lack of concentration. In addition, there may also be atrophic symptoms like vaginal dryness as well as having an urgency to urinate.

Fewer and Erratic Menstrual Periods

All of these symptoms will show up in the form of the woman having increasingly fewer as well as erratic menstrual periods. In fact the word menopause emanates from the Greek root “meno” which means month and the word “pausis” or, a pause or cessation. In a technical sense, the word menopause refers to the ceasing of menses. Otherwise, the slow and steady process through which it takes place will typically take a year though, it may last only six months and is known as climacteric.

The onset of menopause may normally occur at the age of fifty years or thereabouts, though some women may experience it at an earlier age, especially if they have had cancer or another serious illness and also undergone chemotherapy. The menopause experience is like a transition in the life of a woman which means no more periods and no more child bearing. It also means that the woman will no longer be able to produce milk, and this transition in the woman can be a traumatic as well as a psychologically depressing period in her life.

However, women may feel depressed but may also feel elated by feeling liberated from the monthly routine and may lead to her becoming wiser as well as more mature. There are often many misconceptions as well as myths surrounding menopause, even though it is a natural process of aging. The old fashioned view was that life begins to go downhill after menopause. Today, many women take the help of medicines and thus are able to face life as a new challenge.

This transition is a vital part of the aging process as the ovaries no longer produce eggs and the menstrual activity lessens, and finally comes to an end. A woman that smokes may experience menopause a couple of years before non-smokers, and it may not result in depression in each and every case. There is also no lessening in sexual satisfaction and may in fact lead to a healthy life practice.

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You might be thinking “What’s the connection between diabetes and the menopause?”

Well, for ladies reaching that certain age, it can be very traumatic - especially when some of the effects experienced can easily be mistaken for those we have to be aware of when managing our diabetes…

For a diabetic taking medication, keeping blood sugars at the right level is a balancing act. If sugar levels drop too low, because of not eating enough or at the right times, you suffer a hypoglycemia episode (sometimes called ‘hypo’ for short). For me, this usually manifests itself as shaking; irritability; sweating and a faint-headed feeling. If you are diabetic and have ever had low-blood sugar you may recognize some of these symptoms, amongst others. A quick ‘glucose fix’ usually settles it within 5-10 minutes.

Now, compare that to some of the symptoms of starting the menopause; hot flushes [I call them ‘power-surges’ ;)] - similar to the sweats of a hypo; mood swings - akin to the irritability you might experience during a hypo. It’s very easy to confuse the symptoms you are feeling.

When I first started the menopause, I frequently confused waking at 2 a.m. in the morning in a cold sweat as a hypo and took a quick sugar boost to settle myself. That pushed my blood sugar levels up when I didn’t need it. Not a good idea!

It was only after visiting my Doctor to talk about these frequent, unexpected hypos I discovered I was starting the menopause (I was in my late 40s, so it was rather unexpected, normally it doesn’t occur until early-to-mid 50s).

If you are a lady, with diabetes controlled by medication, and you are in your early 50s and you start having frequent, unexplained hypos - check your sugar levels before ‘treating the condition’. And get your Doctor to check your symptoms. You may be confusing symptoms of diabetes and the menopause.

And guys; if your lady normally has great control of her diabetes and suddenly seems to be showing the same symptoms when she was getting her diabetes into balance (if you knew her then) please be supportive and understanding, she’s going through one hell of an experience, but I promise, she will come through and be her normal, loving and charming self once again.

� 2006 Carol Ann

Carol Ann created http://www.your-diabetes.com to present information on diabetes from a diabetic’s viewpoint

Find out more about diabetes; how to recognise it; live with it; important linked health issues. Plus, read inspiring stories from other diabetics and share your experience.

Include delicious recipes from here in your diabetic meal plan and, if you send in your favorite recipe, you could win the monthly prize draw.

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Menopause 0 common to all women 0 is the time of life when the menstrual cycle ceases permanently. As adolescent girls, we are met at puberty with the beginning of menstruation which allows us 0 if we so choose 0 to reproduce. Our menstrual cycle occurs every month during our reproductive years until the onset of menopause 0 which generally takes place somewhere between a woman0s mid-forties and mid-fifties. While menopause produces the same end results, the menopause symptoms that each woman experiences may be different.
During menopause, the ovaries that had been producing eggs every month - for possible reproduction - begin to slow their production until they eventually stop altogether. In addition, the production of estrogen diminishes until it also completely stops. The elimination of estrogen is largely responsible for most menopause symptoms.
Menopause symptoms may include hot flashes 0 wherein women frequently experience suddenly feeling extremely hot; night sweats; memory loss; weight gain; loss of sexual desire and vaginal dryness; and emotional changes such as distractibility, irritation, melancholy, and mood swings similar to premenstrual syndrome. It is sometimes overlooked that menopause brings with it a bevy of emotional challenges. It can be difficult for many women to cope with […]

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