Intermediate symptoms of menopause: bladder problems and vaginal drynessThese are the most troublesome and common of the intermediate symptoms of the menopause. Vaginal dryness is itself the cause of pain during sexual intercourse and many of the recurrent bacterial infections. Without oestrogen, the lining of the walls of the bladder and urethra shrink and become thinner and drier. They are more likely to crack and split, and become vulnerable to infection. Within three years of the menopause, 10—20 per cent of women may visit their doctor with these problems; amongst women eight years or more since the menopause, the figure is up to 50 per cent. It may be embarrassing, but there's a lot of it about. As with hot flushes, you are not alone, and if only women felt able to talk about these things more they might feel less isolated in their discomfort and embarrassment. Surprisingly, few women realise that these complaints are connected with the menopause at all. They just think it is all due to getting older and that nothing can be done about it; but, as with all the symptoms that are due to lowered levels of oestrogen at the time of the menopause, something can be done about it. Vaginal dryness and soreness are very common problems for women in their fifties. The walls of the vagina respond to the presence of oestrogen, and as the level of the hormone falls, they become thinner and drier and less elastic. The vagina itself becomes shorter and narrower, and the cervix secretes less mucus. Noticeable symptoms that result from this can be dryness, pain during sexual intercourse, bleeding during intercourse, and a higher risk of bacterial infections. If HRT replaces the lost oestrogen, the vagina can be restored to a healthy state, and there is no reason why you should not continue a fulfilling sex life for as long as you and your partner want to. Symptoms of pain, discomfort and embarrassment involving the bladder and urinary tract are felt by a great many women to be part of the misery of the menopause. ‘I hadn't wet myself since I was a small child. Suddenly one day I coughed fairly violently, and with a horrifying sense of shame and embarrassment, I knew I had done at 55 what I hadn't done since I was about four. Then it started to happen more often, whenever I coughed or laughed or sneezed. At first it was a little trickle, then it became so bad I had to wear sanitary towels most of the time - just in case. A friend of mine who works in a chemist's shop said she knew of many women who bought sanitary towels for this purpose, and who could not bring themselves to buy incontinence pads.’ The urethra (the canal with carries urine from the bladder to outside your body) is yet another part of you that contains 'oestrogen receptors' and so it responds to the presence of oestrogen by remaining firm, strong and healthy. After the menopause, the walls of the urethra become thinner, more prone to infections like cystitis, and the muscles don't work so well. These changes can cause pain on passing water, and a gradual lessening of bladder control. Complaints such as urgency (needing to pass water with very little warning); frequency (needing to pass water frequently); nocturia (needing to pass water during the night); and stress incontinence (passing urine when you sneeze, cough, laugh or take vigorous exercise), all usually improve significantly after a few weeks of HRT (provided there is no underlying infection or other problem). Up to 30 per cent of post-menopausal women suffer from these complaints, and may need to remain on HRT long-term if the symptoms are not to return. If you have a continence problem of any sort and don't like to talk to your doctor about it, you may find the surgery has a special Continence Nurse. Her job is to help people achieve continence wherever this is possible, or to manage incontinence if this is inevitable. You will find her helpful and sympathetic, and full of practical suggestions to improve your particular problem, whatever your age. *15\42\4* «Cheap Tramadol Without Prescription» |
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