Treatment

  Medical treatment is not for the actual menopause which is a normal, natural process but for the conditions that may appear due to its symptoms or signs, or related to aging:

• - Many women have used hormone therapy for the last few decades relive the symptoms and effects of menopause, and, as doctors believed, to prevent some associated diseases. Nowadays, it was proved that this kind of therapy may actually increase the risks for health conditions. The National Institute of Health once started a study called Women's Health Initiative (WHI) to develop a hormone (estrogen and progesterone) based treatment for women at menopause but it was canceled because that kind of treatment could cause other conditions such as stroke, breast cancer and heart attack. Estrogen alone was later shown in the same study to generate the risk for stroke but not for breast cancer or heart conditions. Although this treatment is known to have risks, the actual cases studied in the WHI were very few (one out of one thousand) for each condition they can determine. The most effective treatment option for menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and vaginal discomfort remains the estrogen therapy. Yet, research on the medical history of the patient and patient's family must be done for establishing the right dose.
• - Hot flashes may be reduced up to 60 percent by low-dose antidepressants like venlafaxine (Effexor), an antidepressant related to the class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Other drugs in the SSRI class that can help, include fluoxetine (Prozac, Sarafem), paroxetine (Paxil, others), citalpram (Celexa) and sertraline (Zoloft). These medications may induce side effects like nausea, dizziness or sexual dysfunction.
• - Gabapentin (Neurontin) is approved to treat seizures and is commonly used to manage chronic, nerve-related pain, but was also shown to significantly reduce hot flashes. Side effects are drowsiness, dizziness, nausea and swelling.
• - Clonidine (Catapres) is a common treatment for blood pressure conditions and it will reduce the frequency of hot flashes and has side effects like dizziness, drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation.
• - Bisphosphonates, a nonhormonal medication, may be recommended to prevent or treat osteoporosis. This medication includes alendronate (Fosamax) and risedronate (Actonel) and it reduces both bone loss and your risk of fractures and have replaced estrogen as the main treatment for osteoporosis in women. Side effects may include nausea, abdominal pain and irritation of the esophagus.
• - Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) are a group of drugs. Raloxifene (Evista), which is included in SERMs, has the same effect on bones, as the estrogen, for women in the stage of postmenopause, but eliminates some of the risks that estrogen presents, like breast and uterine cancer. This medication is not indicated for those with blood clots history and it has as a side effect hot flashes.
• - Small amounts of estrogen can be administrated locally, in the vagina, to avoid vaginal dryness, urinary problems and other symptoms that can create discomfort. The vaginal estrogen comes in tablets, cream or rings.

There are many options of treatment to relive the symptoms and problems of the menopause, involving both risks and benefits, so it is best to ask for a professional opinion.

Other treatments

In order to manage and control the symptoms of menopause, specialists in many areas have made researches for medical and alternative treatments. Here are a few of the complementary or alternative treatment researches:

Some aliments may contain some natural estrogens called Phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are divided in two main types: isoflavones and lignans. The first type, isoflavones, can be found in soybeans, chickpeas and other legumes while lignans can be found in flaxseeds, whole grains and some fruits and vegetables. After they discovered that Asian women have less menopausal signs and symptoms and have reported fewer cases of heart conditions and osteoporosis than those in the West, researchers started to develop some interest in phytoestrogens to see whether the estrogens in these foods have any connection to relieving the symptoms and signs of the menopause. The opinions of the studies are different and sometimes even contradictory on these phytoestrogens. Some researchers say that they are inefficient; others say that they may increase the risks of breast cancer, and others say they help prevent breast cancer. The researchers continue to study those effects. Before completing your diet with isoflavone, you should ask for a specialist's opinion.

• - Vitamin E occasionally helps relieving mild hot flashes in some cases, yet, it was not scientifically proved that it has an overall benefit in relieving hot flashes, and taking more than 400 international units of vitamin E supplements daily may be unsafe.
• - Black cohosh, an herb used widely in Europe , nowadays in U.S; for treating hot flashes was not proved to be helpful or safe in to many studies and also it is not better than placebo. The use of this herb on short term (no longer than 6 months) is approved by the NAMS (North American Menopause Society). Long term effects have not been studied yet.

Other supplementary diets exist also but they have not been studied enough: dong quai, licorice, chaste berry, evening primrose oil and wild yam (natural progesterone cream).

Before considering taking supplementary diets or naturist treatment with herbs, one should ask for a specialist's opinion because those alternative treatments may interfere or interact with other treatments already started.