|  | Family Health | Womens Health

Climacteric & Menopause

Climacteric is another word for peri-menopause or the period of time leading up to menopause. When a woman finally stops ovulating and having menstrual periods it is the climax of her reproductive years, signaling the end. She is now in menopause and will never menstruate again. Her child-bearing years are over. Climacteric, in reference to physiology, is defined as a decrease of reproductive capacity in women and men. For women, it culminates in menopause. Climacteric means a very important change and the period in which those changes occur. According to Medicinenet.com, climacteric comes from the Greek word klimakter, which literally means a rung of a ladder or, figuratively, a critical juncture or point.

  1. The Change

    • Reaching menopause does not happen overnight. A woman may take years to get to the finish line. During the climacteric phrase, a woman may notice a change in her periods, their frequency, their heaviness, as well as experience hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, particularly around the mid-section and mood swings. She may have periods but no longer ovulate. Her skin may noticeably start to sag and thin and she might experience sleep difficulties. Her hair may begin to thin or, in some cases, get coarser. An increase in the male hormone testosterone in a woman's body may result in more facial and body hair and loss of hair on the head. All of this is the result of fluctuating hormones that will eventually decline to next to nothing. When that happens, menopause has arrived.

    One Day in Your Life

    • For most women, peri-menopause (or pre-menopause or climacteric) begins in her forties, according to Health23.com. Menopause is actually just one day in a woman's life, although people often refer to peri-menopause as menopause. Menopause occurs one year, or 365 days, after a woman's final menstrual period. The next day, a woman is then considered post-menopausal.

    Hormones

    • A woman's body changes during the climacteric stage. Her estrogen and progesterone levels decline and her ovaries eventually stop functioning altogether. As the ovaries begin to shut down, they stop producing estrogen and when ovulation no longer occurs, even though a menstrual period might, progesterone is no longer produced. However, estrogen, in lower doses, can be produced by the adrenal glands and from fat cells so a women still has a little estrogen after menopause, but not sufficient amounts.

    Induced Climacteric

    • A woman can experience induced climacteric if she has a hysterectomy and her ovaries are removed. This can also occur if the ovaries are damaged as a result of radiation, chemotherapy or other drugs. When this happens, there is an abrupt onset of climacteric associated problems. She will immediately become menopausal. An induced climacteric experience can be more difficult for a woman than a gradual transition into menopause.

    Pay Attention

    • Women need to pay particular attention to their bodies and the symptoms they are experiencing during the climacteric phase because they may be trying to tell you something. Dr. Carolyn J. Crandall of UCLA notes that women who have hot flashes are more likely to have lower bone density, which can lead to osteoporosis and bone fractures. Take calcium daily and vitamin D to ward off this condition. Women over the age of 50 should take 1,200 milligrams of calcium daily and between 800 IU and 1,000 IU of vitamin D. Take up resistance training (lifting weights) to further safeguard your bones.

Womens Health - Related Articles