Category: night sweats

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The Top Five Things Every Woman in Menopause Should Know

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Women should know more about menopause so they can have an easier transition, less fear, more confidence, and better support.

If I had to pick the top five things every woman in menopause should know, this would be my list:

1. Be aware of what your body is going through.

Menopause isn’t a mystery, or a disease, or the loss of anything. And it has nothing to do with men, either!

Meno (from menses) pause is the end of ovulation, menstruation, and fertility. Menopause is confirmed 12 months after the last menstrual period.

In the years leading up to menopause your body will go through hormonal changes – estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate and decline. Changes are often challenging. You’re not crazy; what you’re feeling is real and it’s easier and less fearful to navigate the menopause transition if you know what’s going on.

2. Menopause isn’t something to be ashamed of.

Why would a human physiological event be something bad or shameful?

Some people call menopause puberty in reverse.

If you were born with ovaries, you can’t stop menopause from happening.

Culture and the media portray menopause as negative. But, in truth, menopause is not the loss of youth. Associating it with being old, over the hill, the end of womanhood, etc., is a myth, inaccurate, and misleading. The average age of menopause is 51 and many women can start perimenopause in their late 30s or early 40s.

3. You’re not alone.

Because there’s no intergenerational sharing, your mother and aunties may not tell you about their menopause, so you’re not prepared for it, you don’t know enough about it, and you feel isolated and alone in this journey. But you aren’t alone!  Millions of women worldwide are going through their own menopause.

If you’ve been through menopause then share your experience with those who haven’t yet, and if you’re not there yet ask older women to share.

Talk about it with other women, help break the secrecy and the taboo that surrounds menopause.

If we want things to change then we must be part of the change and not blame everything on the patriarchy.

4. Seek help and don’t suffer in silence and alone.

Ok, menopause is a natural thing but suffering through it is an option.

You shouldn’t just put up with the symptoms—hot flashes, night sweats, sleepless nights, brain fog, fatigue, urine leakage, vaginal dryness, painful sex, loss of self-confidence, anxiety, palpitations, worry, and anger—just because you can’t avoid menopause.

If these challenges are affecting the quality of your life, if you stopped doing things you used to do because your menopause is bothersome, if it is affecting your intimate relationships, and/or if your work is being negatively affected by hormonal changes, then seek help.

There’s help. I can help you!

5. Don’t exclude hormone therapy from your tool box.

Google isn’t the best source of information and you shouldn’t choose your treatment options based on what you read on the internet.

I know, Google says that menopause hormone therapy (MHT), aka HRT, is bad for you, can cause breast cancer and strokes…

You shouldn’t confuse your Google search with my pharmacy degree (see photo!).

Anyone can post on the internet, and what they post can stay there FOREVER. There’s a lot of old information that’s no longer accurate since research is ongoing and treatment recommendations change based on the latest information.

Therefore, do not automatically exclude MHT as a possible solution to your menopause challenges without first educating yourself about the benefits and risks of MHT.

Seek the advice of a healthcare provider who’s well-versed in all things menopause, a NAMS Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) like myself, and get the facts about MHT.

It takes time—which most physicians do not have—to explain what MHT is, how it works, and the immediate and long-term benefits and risks. Once you have spent the time, and learned accurate and updated information about MHT, then and only then you’ll be properly equipped to make an educated decision about your treatment.

If you’d like to know if MHT is appropriate for you book a Discovery Call and let’s chat.

Brain fog is real

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In perimenopause, the years leading up to menopause, they work unpredictably.  Your sexual hormones, estrogen and progesterone, fluctuate and you may experience many physical, cognitive, and emotional changes, including brain fog.

 

Working through perimenopause can be dreadful if you experience:
  • fatigue
  • insomnia
  • hot flashes and/or night sweats
  • irritability
  • mood swings
  • palpitations
  • anxiety and worry
  • memory loss, problems with recall and/or brain fog
  • reduced concentration
  • loss of confidence

 

Brain fog can be a consequence of simply getting older, in both men and women.

 

For midlife women, fluctuating hormones during the menopause transition can cause brain fog.

 

In midlife you are at the peak of your career and the demands on your cognitive function—from work, family, older parents, and others—are very high.

 

What can you do to decrease brain fog?

Menopause symptoms, such as poor sleep, may exacerbate brain fog. If night sweats, which are hot flashes that happen at night, wake you up frequently, night after night, month after month, that’s going to affect your cognition, your brain function. You feel and function worse. But night sweats should be treated. Call me and find out how.

Mood swings are common in menopause. If you’ve had depression in the past, check with your doctor if you’re feeling depressed to ensure it gets treated.

Eat well. The Mediterranean diet lowers the risk of pre-clinical Alzheimer’s disease (this benefit was been shown in a large randomized trial!). Read more about the Mediterranean diet on my blog.

Exercise. Engage in various types of exercise—cardio, strength training, and balance—for better heart, brain, and bone health. You don’t have to walk 10,000 steps/day. Just 15 minutes/day of brisk walking improves your cognitive function.

Manage your stress in whatever way works for you: baths, reading, meditation, slow breathing, listening to music, waking in nature, talking with a friend. Be mindful, live in the present moment.

 

If you’d like to know how to minimize night sweats, improve your sleep, and decrease brain fog then book a FREE Discovery Call with me.

Menopause Hormone Therapy (aka HRT) – an overview

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Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) is the most effective treatment for menopause challenges but many women opt not to take it or are denied it by their healthcare professionals. This article will give you a good understanding of what MHT is and why you shouldn’t fear it.

Menopause is the end of ovarian function, confirmed when a woman hasn’t had a period for 12 consecutive months.

The most common symptoms of menopause—hot flashes and night sweats—can bother 8 in 10 women, often beginning in perimenopause and lasting on average 7.4 years, with ethnic differences.

Lesser-known changes include sleep disturbances, fatigue, mood changes, irritability, anxiety, brain fog, decreased self-esteem and self-confidence, vaginal dryness, and pain with sex.

Bothersome menopause can reduce a woman’s quality of life and contribute to poorer health since hot flashes can be linked to cardiovascular, bone, and cognitive risks.

Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) —formerly known as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)—is the most effective treatment for hot flashes and night sweats.  Estrogen relieves hot flashes and improves sleep, mood, and cognition and, in some women, joint aches and pains. But estrogen stimulates growth of the endometrium, the lining of the uterus.  Adding progestogen protects the endometrium and decreases the risk of endometrial cancer.

The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) trial results published in 2002 led to significant fear of MHT.  Many women avoid MHT for fear of breast cancer, but many factors affect breast cancer risk:  different formulations of estrogen therapy, different progestogens, dose, duration of use, regimen, how it is administered (orally, transdermally, or vaginally), and prior MHT use.

Newer observational data and reanalysis of older studies, including the WHI, suggest that the benefits of menopause hormone therapy outweigh its risks for healthy women younger than 60 or within 10 years of menopause.

MHT must be individualized considering personal and family health history, risk factors, expectations, needs, preferences, and values.

In the WHI trial, risk was greater for women with a uterus who had to take a progestogen along with the estrogen for uterine protection than for women with no uterus who took only estrogen.

The breast cancer risk increases with longer-term use.  For women who had to take the progestogen along with estrogen in the WHI trial, the risk of breast cancer did not increase until the fourth year.  Researchers found very little risk in those who took menopause hormone therapy for less than one year.

For women who have only localized vaginal symptoms such as vaginal dryness, itching, burning, and/or pain with sex, locally-applied low-dose vaginal estrogen rather than systemic estrogen is recommended. Due to minimal systemic absorption, a progestogen is generally not indicated and there should be very little increase in the risk of invasive breast cancer.

Would you like to know whether menopause hormone therapy is appropriate and safe for you?

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call with me. I’d be happy to talk with you about MHT– and your menopause, of course!

 

Sleep: Chief nourisher in life’s feast

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Poor sleep sucks!  And it can cause a range of bothersome symptoms:

  • Making it harder for you to function during the daytime
  • Making you hungrier during the day, leading to your eating more comfort foods
  • Irritability
  • Poor judgement
  • Brain fog (forgetfulness and difficulty concentrating)
  • Reduced motivation or energy
  • Making errors or having accidents more often than usual
  • Fatigue, and
  • Ongoing worry about sleep.

Sleeps cleans the brain of harmful waste products and damaging free radicals.

Lack of sleep is a serious threat to the brain and it may deteriorate cognitive function and increase the risk of dementia.

Some factors that affect sleep:

  • Alcohol – decreases REM sleep early in the night, but as the alcohol wears off there is a REM sleep rebound with prolonged REM stages and shorter deep-sleep stages.
  • Medications – Sleeping aid medications increase light sleep but they can decrease deep restorative sleep. Antidepressants suppress REM sleep.
  • Body temperature (hot flashes and night sweats)
  • Sound
  • Hormone fluctuations (steep drop in estrogen levels). Estrogen levels will level out and, YES, you will sleep again (just like, if you had children, you may remember those sleepless nights and after that you were able to sleep again)
  • Sleep disorders – sleep apnea, Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS), and others

Dr, Maria Sunseri writes in her book Sleep After Menopause: 2nd Edition (short, inexpensive, and a sleep-changing read)

…when we are super conscious of waking and we fall back asleep we do not feel like we are sleeping. We have amnesia for the actual time of falling asleep, but then we wake and “alert” ourselves over and over with the passing of the clock time such that we do not feel that we have sleep in the intervening time even though we did sleep.

 

That’s why one of the best tips for better sleep is to turn the clock around.

Really?

Yes, because it doesn’t matter what time of the night it is when you wake up.  What matters is that you will get back to sleep, and fast.

Here are other tips to help you get back to sleep:

  • Avoid alcohol
  • Your bedroom should be a quiet, dark, and cool, room (16 – 20 °C)
  • Get natural daylight exposure
  • Exercise regularly but not within 3 hours of going to sleep (exercise raises your core temperature and makes it harder to fall asleep)
  • Take a warm shower before bed. It helps to cool you down and you’ll fall asleep faster.
  • Don’t drink caffeine past 12 PM. Caffeine can linger in your body for up to 8 hours.
  • Wear light sleeping clothes and light or no bed covers (only a sheet if you experience night sweats).
  • Magnesium (100 – 200 mg) at bedtime may help you sleep

 

Teresa Isabel Dias is a pharmacist and Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) who provides education and support on symptom management for women at work and at home so they’ll feel like themselves again and enjoy a vibrant and productive life.

Grab a quick guide and subscribe to the MenopausED Newsletter on the MenopausED home page.

If would like to know how Teresa can improve your menopause transition then schedule a complimentary Discovery Call at MenopausED.org.

Tips to minimize hot flashes in hot weather

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The heat is on! Are hot flashes bothering you? Night sweats waking you up at night? Get some tips to minimize hot flashes in hot weather and improve your menopause summer experience!

You may find your hot flashes have worsened since the temperature has gone up.  In menopause, slight increases in body temperature can trigger hot flashes.

It happens to me every summer. When I think my hot flashes are over, along comes the hot weather…

Hot flashes and night sweats are known as “vasomotor symptoms”.  In this online workshop I’ll give you some tips to minimize hot flashes in hot weather, to improve your life, work, and sleep.

Ask and get answered all your questions about this natural but sometimes challenging stage of life.

Please join me for this FREE event — learn more and register here.

 

Do you want to talk to me one-on-one?  I do personal consultations, and I do FREE 15-minute discovery calls – contact me here.  There’s help, I can help you!

Teresa Isabel Dias holding mug - Please do not confuse your Google search with my Pharmacy degree

 

Teresa Isabel Dias is a pharmacist and a menopause practitioner (NCMP) certified by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS). She lives in Toronto and all her services are available online-101 consultations, live workshops, and webinars. Sign up for her free biweekly MenopausED Newsletter www.menopaused.org to learn more about menopause and women’s health.

 

Improving Sleep for Women, with my guest Sarah Good

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Celebrate International Women’s Day and then have a restful, recharging sleep.  Would getting better sleep change your life?   Would it make everything else in your day easier or more satisfying?  At this ONLINE event we’ll learn about Improving Sleep for Women from my guest speaker Sarah Good.

Sarah works with and helps people with invisible disabilities or health challenges to become more active and live their lives more fully.  She is a registered occupational therapist and a mindfulness meditation teacher in Ottawa. Sarah is on a mission to help women sleep better so they can be leaders in their families, communities, and work places.

At this event Sarah will talk about Improving Sleep for Women and help you improve your sleep. She will discuss ways to change your habits and routines which can improve your sleep, leading to you feeling more rested, happier, and more productive.

This is a ONLINE event through Zoom.  To attend you’ll need a computer or smart device and an internet connection. If you register, a few days prior to the event I will email you a link to join the webinar online. Five (5) minutes before the event just click on the link and you’ll join us.

So please join me to learn about Improving Sleep for Women!  Click here to learn more and to register.

 

What’s the deal with sleep around menopause? Learn what you can do about it.

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What’s the deal with sleep around menopause?  Many women experience insomnia and difficulty sleeping, especially during the menopause transition. Find out how to improve your sleep.This event is part of the WHIM (Women’s Health In Midlife) Network, it’s open to all and WHIM Network members attend FREE.

My guest speaker for this WHIM Network webinar is is Caryl Ayearst, a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, NLP Coach, Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master.

Caryl will help you understand

  • What it means to not sleep
  • Reasons for not sleeping
  • How much sleep do you really need
  • What’s a good sleep
  • Stages of sleep
  • Three pillar approach to what it takes to get to sleep and how to improve sleep

Caryl believes that happiness and well-being happens when taking care of your body, mind, and spirit. For many years, Caryl allowed herself to become unhealthy and found that diet and lifestyle brought her back to health. This inspired her to study nutrition and founded her Heart To Heart Nutrition business to coach and empower individuals to also find their path to happiness and well being.

Caryl’s own insomnia led her to research and to create her NEW sleep program-Let’s Get You to Sleep that gives practical strategies and tools to support and balance hormones, nullify cravings, and reframe the way we think and talk about sleep. Let’s Get You To Sleep is a 12 week transformational program with coaching support along the journey, full of everything imaginable that can help get you to sleep.

This is an online event provided through Zoom. You don’t need any special technology or apps to attend, just a computer or smart device and an internet connection. Post registration, few days prior to the event, I will email you a link to join the webinar online. Five (5) minutes before the event just click on the link and you’ll join us.

 

Join us to learn what’s the deal with sleep around menopause.

Tips to improve hot flashes in hot weather

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I hope you are healthy, safe, content, and enjoying summer, wherever you are! If you are in a hot and humid place like I am—I’m in southern Ontario—you may find your hot flashes have become worse since the temperature has gone up because slight increases in body temperature can trigger hot flashes. It happens to me every summer. When I think my hot flashes are over, along comes the hot weather…
Here are some tips to improve your vasomotor symptoms (hot flashes and night sweats) in hot weather:

Wear layers

When you walk outside or ride the subway the heat can become stifling and you need to bare as much as is decent! If you work in an office the AC cools you down, sometimes too much, and it feels good to cover up with a light cardigan or a shawl (I even have a pair of stockings/knee highs in my desk to keep my feet from freezing at work). Wear loose-fitting clothes that allow air circulation.

Drink cold water

Use an insulated container to keep your water cold, and carry it with you. Drink often; this prevents dehydration and cools you down.

Cold water wash/spray

Washing hands and wrists in cold water is helpful in hot weather. Often! Applying cold water to the back of the neck and the forehead is also helpful. When I hike or paddle in hot weather, I use a headband soaked in cold water around my neck to keep from overheating. Carry a spray bottle with water and mist your face, chest, and neck when needed (more convenient to use on make-up free days!)

Carry a fan

Battery-operated fans are small and easy to carry, and they may give you the breeze you’re hoping for.

Cool your night

Taking a cold or lukewarm shower before bedtime washes away the sweat accumulated during the day and lowers your body temperature. We sleep better when our bodies are cooler, that’s why exercising just before bedtime isn’t recommend, since exercise increases your core temperature. Air conditioning—or a fan if AC isn’t available—during the night is essential if you suffer from night sweats (hot flashes that happen during sleep). You’ll sleep better in a dark, quiet, and cool room. I recommend sleeping with a sheet only (no duvet or blanket) and wear a loose nightgown that’s made of light and breathable material that doesn’t get soaked in case you sweat. Or wear nothing at all—very sexy and less laundry! If you have long hair, tying it up may keep your neck cooler. Try a silk pillow case. If your pillow gets hot during the night then store an ice pack under it and turn the pillow around often to cool your face. Keep icy water near your bed and sip on it. Keep a facecloth wrapped in an ice pack within reach and apply it to your forehead, back of the neck, and chest during a night sweat.

Whatever you do, don’t get frustrated or allow your mind to start thinking. Once you get anxious or upset about your night struggles you stimulate your brain and it’s harder to get back to sleep. Stay positive and mind your breath (just focus on your breath, no other thoughts) to fall back to sleep.

Exercise regularly

I know, exercising in hot weather can trigger hot flashes, but for some women—me included—lack of exercise (and too much sugar) makes hot flashes worse.

Avoid triggers

A cold beer or a glass of icy white wine feels great on a summer evening, but alcohol can worsen hot flashes. Caffeine and spices may also trigger hot flashes. And sugar….

Reduce stress

One of the worst hot-flash triggers for me is anxiety. Any little thought that causes even the slightest doubt in my mind—did I lock the front door this morning?—triggers a hot flash. (I was on vacation in a cold climate recently and I didn’t have a single hot flash for 11 days!) Yes, anxiety is hard to avoid in our stressful modern world.  But Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) has been proven in trials to be helpful, and it has no adverse effects. In fact, once you learn it you can apply it in many other situations in life!

I read the book “Managing Hot Flushes and Night Sweats: A cognitive behavioural self-help guide to the menopause” written by two female doctors from the UK, Dr. Myra Hunter and Melanie Smith, and my hot flashes have never bothered me as much ever since. And I know of a few other women who benefited greatly from it as well. If you would like to buy a copy from me, email me. If you are not the type that can stick with a self-help program and prefer a coach or a group, there are many CBT specialists in the city. Not cheap, but your work insurance may cover it.

Hormone therapy (HT) is the most effective treatment for hot flashes, but if you can’t or don’t want to use HT there are a few non-hormonal treatments available too. The problem with the non-hormonal treatments is that they haven’t been studied to a great extent and some work better than others.

I hope these tips to improve hot flashes in hot weather help you!

 

Teresa Isabel Dias is a pharmacist and Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) who provides education and support on symptom management for women at work and at home so they’ll feel like themselves again and enjoy a vibrant and productive life.

Grab a quick guide and subscribe to the MenopausED Newsletter on the MenopausED home page.

If would like to know how Teresa can improve your menopause transition then schedule a complimentary Discovery Call at MenopausED.org.

 

 

Work and Menopause

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Understanding menopause at work is increasingly important to today’s career woman.  Menopause is a natural process for most women and refers to the time when menstruation has ceased for 12 consecutive months. Most women start experiencing symptoms during perimenopause, the time leading up to menopause, when hormones levels change most significantly.

Symptoms like hot flashes, nausea, dizziness, night sweats, sleep disturbances, mood changes, poor concentration, fatigue, irritability, and anxiety may last for several years. Some women have mild symptoms while others can have symptoms severe enough to disrupt their lifestyles and wellbeing. If a woman is still working her work may be affected.

According to Statistics Canada, “the percentage of women employed in 2009 was 58.3%, representing 8,076,000 women”. Also, around midlife women may have chronic health conditions and have a greater share of responsibility for child-rearing, some have adult children still living at home, and elderly relatives and/or partners.

The British Occupational Health Research Foundation commissioned researchers at the University of Nottingham, led by Professor Amanda Griffiths, to explore women’s experience of working through menopause.

In this study almost fifty percent of the women found it somewhat difficult to cope with work during the menopause change. Less than fifty percent didn’t think it difficult at all, and five percent thought it was extremely difficult.

According to this study “some women felt their job performance had been negatively affected by menopause. And some women said they worked extremely hard to overcome their perceived shortcomings. Nearly a fifth of women thought that the menopause had a negative impact on their managers and colleague’s perceptions of their competence at work, and felt anxious…”

“This study has made it clear that the menopause presents an occupational health issue for some women”.

Some jobs make it more difficult than others. Women may be more self-conscious and anxious about having a hot flash or sweats while delivering a presentation. Women supervising younger staff, especially male, may feel less understood. Office layouts, workplace rules, and uniforms can make working conditions very difficult for women during peri and menopause.

It is important for women in the workforce to find understanding, sympathetic, and appropriate support from their managers and colleagues. But this can only happen when women stop treating menopause like a taboo and start explaining what it really means to them. Women have to be educators to change the workplace perception of menopause. Workplace culture has to change from joking and minimizing menopause and its symptoms to an occupational health issue that deserves as much attention as pregnancy, for example.

Women interviewed by Professor Amanda Griffiths suggested that “employers can help by communicating to their workforce that health-related problems such as menopause are normal”, and that managers should be more aware of menopause as a possible occupational health issue for women.

Some women developed coping strategies and suggestions such as: 

  • Work from home or flexibility of working hours. If they had a particularly bad night of sleep, due to night sweats, insomnia, or anxiety, they could take a nap in the afternoon and finish their assigned work in the evening.
  • Teleconferences work better than formal meetings and high-visibility work because hot flashes and sweats made women self-conscious and embarrassed in public.
  • Proper temperature and ventilation. Many women enjoy opening a window or turning on a desk fan to relieve hot flashes.
  • Carry a notepad around the office to write things down that may otherwise be forgotten due to poor memory and concentration.
  • Better access to sources of support.

 

Teresa Isabel Dias is a pharmacist and Certified Menopause Practitioner (NCMP) who provides education and support on symptom management for women at work and at home so they’ll feel like themselves again and enjoy a vibrant and productive life.

Grab a quick guide and subscribe to the MenopausED Newsletter on the MenopausED home page.

If would like to know how Teresa can improve your menopause transition then schedule a complimentary Discovery Call at MenopausED.org.

 

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