| While I was trying to decide whether to write this article on
menopause or miscarriage, I found myself surrounded by women asking me about
their hot flashes, even at a potluck brunch last week. When I mentioned the
upcoming article, one of the women exclaimed, "Be sure to say that it should
never have been called 'menopause'! After all, it's we women who experience
it, not men." I told her I never thought of it that way, but that I could see
her point.I began to feel that this article on meno- pause somehow wanted to
be written. Then, yesterday, I received a call from a free-lance writer on the
East coast who asked me if I could give her information on the homeopathic
treatment of menopause because she felt it was a topic so many women were
thirsting to know about. So, here's the article the universe seems to be
asking me to write. Please forgive me if it seems hypocritical to keep using
the word "menopause" despite what I've already mentioned but, whether we like
it or not, it's the term we're most familiar with. The term menopause refers
specifically to the final stopping of the menstrual flow in a woman's life;
perimenopausal to the time around this last period; and post-menopausal to
after the last period. Climacteric is another term which may encompass the
entire time period.
Menopausal Myths: Let me begin by sharing some of our common myths
about the menopausal experience. l) Menopause is inevitable. There's not
much I can do to delay it. You're right that you can't avoid menopause
(that's not to say every woman even wants to!) but certain lifestyle factors
such as smoking, drinking too much alcohol or coffee, or significant emotional
stress can bring on menopause earlier. 2) Doesn't every body have to go
through hot flashes? Most women, about four out of five, do experience hot
flashes, to a greater or lesser degree, but the frequency, intensity, and
duration varies tremendously. For some women it's terribly uncomfortable and
embarrassing; for others only a minor irritation.3) I had my ovaries removed
in my twenties because of cancer and have been on hormones ever since, so I
don't have to go through hot flashes. Women who have had their ovaries
removed and taken supplementary estrogen for a number of years can still get
hot flashes once they stop taking the hormones. 4)The only way to get rid of
hot flashes and vaginal dryness is to take estrogen. Homeopathy, herbs,
diet, nutritional supplements, and other natural thrapies can be very effective
in treating these symptoms, and a growing number of women are thinking twice
about automatically taking hormones once they reach menopause. 5) All I have
to do to prevent osteoporosis is to take plenty of calcium. Taking calcium
supplementation, however large the amount, is not sufficient to prevent
osteoporosis, as you'll understand more later in this article. 6) So much
for my sex drive! Menopause does not necessarily mean a plunge in sexual
energy. Many women find sex quite pleasureable, and more liberated, after the
menopausal years.
These are only a few of the many misconceptions about menopause and new
information is surfacing all the time to separate menopausal facts from
fallacies. Three books which I found helpful in sorting out current information
are Menopause Naturally by Sadja Greenwood (which provides lots of good
medical information and support but actually not much in the way of natural
therapies), The Calcium Plus Workbook by Evelyn Whitlock and
McDougall's Medi-cine: A Challenging Second Opinion by John McDougall.
I'd like to share with you what I feel is most important about menopause,
answer questions I hear many women ask about the experi-ence, and give you some
ideas about natural treatment which you can consider for yourself. | 
Tell A Friend
Printer friendly version 
on 
Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman, ND, DHANP, MSW is a licensed naturopathic physician board certified in homeopathic medicine. She graduated with a degree in 
