2023-04-16 08:15:00
Transition Week begins tomorrow. Theme this year: if you know what it is, you can do something with it. Don’t be ashamed, talk about it. Because all women get through it, and for many it is even the beginning of a beautiful new phase of life.
‘The transition is as follows: there is no transition at all. The changes are suddenly there and from now on you just have to make do with your new self’, writes Maike Meijer (known from Toren C) in Get used to it, a bestseller about a woman in menopause. Nobody is looking forward to it. But it is a given: all women around 45 are almost certainly going through menopause. What and how much you notice of your changing hormones is different for you than for your sister, girlfriend, neighbor or colleague.
The menopause is hot, as hot as a hot flash. But making silly jokes doesn’t help, talking about it does. With special hormone retreats, menopause clinics and Menopause Week, the taboo seems to be slowly disappearing. Yet many women do not know when they are in menopause, what to expect and how they (and those around them) should deal with this sometimes turbulent period.
The transition can cause irritability and poor sleep
Menopause is the phase of the last menstrual period, the transition is the years around it, explains gynecologist and transition expert Dr. Ginny Chamorro of practice Dr. Gynn out. In her practice she gives lectures and consultations on nutrition, stress, sleep and exercise to women. During menopause, menstruation becomes irregular and the hormones become unbalanced. This can cause irritability and poor sleep, gloomy feelings, a dry vagina, decreasing libido, stress, forgetfulness and weight gain, among other things.
Online Menopause Clinic
There are currently 1.8 million women of menopause in the Netherlands, 80 percent of whom experience complaints and 20-30 percent have to deal with very serious complaints, which impede their daily functioning. In order to help these women much faster, AAYA Health & Cosmetic Clinic has started an online menopause clinic together with gynecologist Marese Bulstra. Women can go there with health complaints that are often labeled as ‘vague’ in the healthcare sector, or are attributed to a busy life and stress. Sometimes they are even diagnosed as burnout.
It’s about time women over 40 stopped feeling lost in their bodies
Irritable and tired
“As a result, many women continue to walk around with menopausal complaints and often do not receive the right help,” says Bulstra. “Sometimes these complaints have major consequences for the second half of women’s lives; relationships can fail and careers suffer. It is high time that women aged 40+ no longer feel lost in their bodies, but get clarity about the cause of their complaints and can also solve them, so that they can enjoy that second half much more.” One thing is certain. : everyone gets through it and for many women it is the beginning of a new phase of life.
DIY transition kit
Dutch women (in many neighboring European countries and the US, the menopause has been on the social agenda for much longer) are still regularly expected to endure the period of menopause in silence, while there are so many ways to reduce or even completely eliminate the symptoms. eliminate them, says gynecologist Bulstra. ,, Anyone who registers with the online menopause clinic receives a video call with the menopause consultant and an intake interview. Talking about the complaints is the first step.” Then they are sent a substantial questionnaire and a medical home kit to, among other things, draw blood and measure the waist circumference. In the lab, for example, thyroid problems are then examined, plus cholesterol and vitamin D levels. Finally, there is a meeting with the gynecologist and a menopause consultant to draw up a personal step-by-step plan.
Prepare yourself
Even if menopause seems far away, it is good to prepare for this phase so that you can recognize and address symptoms earlier. Start adhering to a healthy lifestyle much earlier, as this will benefit you greatly during the transition. And talk about it, share experiences with other women to break the taboo, say menopausal experts. Dr. Bulstra: “So that in the future it is not the hormones that are leading, but the woman herself.”
Hormones in balance: that’s how you do it
In the menopause (but you prefer to start before the menopause starts) you have to take extra care to ensure a good hormone balance, says Dr. Chamorro.
1. Eat healthy. ,, Stick to the Mediterranean diet, with oily fish, poultry, olive oil, seasonal vegetables and fruits, legumes, seeds and beans. Do not eat food from packages and bags. Eat little sugars, preferably only if you link it to a meal, such as a dessert. Limit your eating moments to two or three a day and eat as few snacks as possible.
Tackle those thighs and buttocks that overflow into each other by exercising before your first meal, which is extra good for fat burning
2. Move. ,, By moving you make endorphins, you feel better mentally and you feel better about yourself. Tackle those thighs and buttocks that overlap – typical of the female body during menopause – by exercising before your first meal, which is extra good for fat burning. Combine cardio with strength exercises for good muscle building and fat distribution. The 7-minute workout is ideal, but walking and doing a few push-ups on a bench in between is also a good idea. Do something that you persevere, even if it is parking the car a little further away and walking home.
3. Relax. Stress can exacerbate menopausal symptoms. So put crosses in your agenda for relaxing activities, such as calling a friend, breathing exercises, yoga, a run or going to the cinema or a museum. The stress hormone cortisol, in combination with the decrease in estrogen and the relative increase in testosterone, ensures that fat is mainly stored around the waist and abdomen during this period. The less stress, the less fat.”
Take all the time to get excited, for example use a sex toy and lubricant
4. Sleep (and sex!). “Sleep is like a car wash for your hormones. For a good night’s sleep, stop eating, drinking alcohol and coffee and looking at screens on time. And you’d almost forget it during menopause, but sex was once very relaxing too. As estrogen decreases, the vagina can become drier, making sex more painful. Therefore, take all the time to get excited, for example use a sex toy and lubricant or ask the gynecologist for capsules that remedy the dryness.”
5. Bioidentical Hormones. “By taking the hormones estrogen and progesterone (via a spray, patches or capsules), menopause complaints can sometimes disappear like snow in the sun.”
For information about the transition, go to www.weekvandeovergang.nl, www.vrouwenindeovergang.nl or www.drgynn.nl.
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