‘I started getting angry at my husband, children and employees for no reason, I thought I had depression or some other mental illness, I used to sit alone and cry, why did I scold the children, why did I get angry at my husband, employees? Why did you adopt this attitude? Yasmin, 48, spoke to the BBC about her personal experiences and symptoms of menopause.
According to the research of Professor Olin Telfer of the University of Edinburgh, ‘When women reach a certain age, the number of eggs in their ovaries decreases, due to which the hope of motherhood ends. The most obvious symptom of menopause is the cessation of menstruation in women. Due to which various physical and mental diseases occur. The main reason for this is the estrogen hormone that is produced in the ovaries, but as soon as women reach the age of 40, they stop producing this hormone. A lack of the hormone estrogen affects the structure of the egg.
Many women have been found to experience certain symptoms during menopause, including mental illnesses, such as depression, anxiety, facial and body hair growth, and bladder weakness.
Shahana Abbas has three children and they are involved in the education sector. When we reached her house, she was busy gardening. According to her, her daily life was severely affected by menopause, but she kept herself busy with household chores.
‘The first symptom of menopause was irregular periods, and I realized that I was not pregnant. When I went to the doctor and found out that I had entered the menopausal cycle, I suddenly felt worried. What is happening? Or what happened next. Did he need any medicine or not? Through the internet and after consulting some doctors, I came to know that it is related to hormones and due to this I fear many changes and deficiencies in my body, one of which is calcium deficiency.
What is menupaz?
The general opinion of doctors is that if there is no menstruation for a year, it is menopause.
Gynecologist Dr. Rabia Nasa told BBC that this process can happen anytime between 40 and 55 years. Some women continue to menstruate up to the age of 60. Somewhere it may close prematurely even at the age of 30.
He said that ‘nature has kept a specific number of eggs inside every girl, as long as those specific eggs are being produced in the ovary, the menstrual cycle continues, when those eggs stop forming, her Then the process of menses or menstruation stops.’
Mental confusion due to menu pauses
When the ovaries stop producing eggs, hormones are also disturbed, says Dr. Nisa. Mood swings are thought to occur as FSH and estrogen levels are disturbed.
He says, ‘Women’s feeling depressed, hot flashes i.e. sudden heat especially in the upper part of the body or profuse sweating at night, feeling of dryness in the internal body, all these are symptoms of hormones. They appear due to disturbance and it happens naturally.’
He also said that some women have more of these symptoms and some less. “Our lack of awareness causes women to worry about the cessation of menstruation, which increases mental pressure.”]
Family support and companionship
Yasmeen says that ‘I did not understand at that time, I started having depression all the time. You can’t share such things with your children, when I told my husband, he said that my anger is because of watching dramas. I was silent.
“Because of all this, I started to feel quite lonely and I started reading the Holy Quran more.”
Yasmin says that even after these symptoms appeared, she never went to the doctor because ‘everyone says that it happens to everyone.’
Dr. Rabia says, “A life partner can give the most support. This is something that women can share more than their husbands after their parents.
According to him, if there are problems due to changes in hormones and symptoms are appearing, then drugs are also prescribed and if there are too many symptoms, hormonal replacement therapy is also prescribed. But if symptoms are mild and family support continues, from husband and family, she feels better. On such an occasion, if the husband supports his wife in a good way, this mental confusion and depression can be controlled and the symptoms may not be felt by the woman.
Illiteracy and Menopause Awareness
Shahana Abbas said, “I could not sleep, I was feeling very tired and especially I was feeling pain in my body and bones.” I therefore also saw an orthopedic doctor. I think that if these symptoms appear during the menopausal cycle, one should definitely consult a doctor, because after a consultation with an orthopedic doctor, I found out that menopause weakens your bones and there is a risk of osteoporosis. . ‘
Shahana Abbas, who keeps trying to find a solution to her problems with the help of the Internet, says, “In our society, women’s health is not talked about or they feel bad to talk about it.” And neither are informative programs.
He says that people in the house should also know that mood swings, getting angry and irritable, crying is a natural process when a woman enters the Menopause circle. But if the family members do not understand your condition, their physical and mental problems may increase.
He also said that schools, colleges and universities are not informed about these things which is very important.
“I tried to spend my time exercising, walking, gardening and reading books, which benefited me a lot,” he said.
“This is not a disease but a natural process, now it depends on you how you can control these symptoms,” said Shahana Abbas.
Dr. Rabia says that unfortunately we do not have any awareness among women regarding menopause.
He said, “Most women come worried that their periods have stopped, they will not get pregnant, or why they should continue.” They know that menstruation stops naturally at a certain age, but what is that age, this process can appear earlier or later, there may be some symptoms with it, they do not know about it. . ‘
According to Dr. Rabia, “As far as we try, we provide patients with as much information as possible in this regard.” But there is no such platform that can provide information about menopause to our women.
At least now it is possible to talk about it, unlike earlier women’s reproductive health could not be talked about at all. Menopause symptoms can be controlled if we can provide information to women through social media about bone weakening and other symptoms after menopause.