Managing menopause at home

Taking Hormones

Your doctor may have prescribed hormone therapy to relieve symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, sleep problems, and vaginal symptoms.

Take these hormones the way your doctor prescribed them. Ask your doctor what you should do if you miss a dose.

When taking hormones:

• Follow up carefully with your doctor. Ask about when you need mammograms or a test to check your bones.
• Do not smoke. Smoking will increase the chance of blood clots in your legs or your lungs.
• Report any new vaginal bleeding right away, as well as menstrual bleeding that comes more often or is more severe.

Managing Hot Flashes

To help control hot flashes:

• Dress lightly and in layers. Try to keep your environment cool.
• Practice slow, deep breathing whenever a hot flash starts to come on (try taking six breaths per minute).
• Try relaxation techniques such as yoga, tai chi, or meditation.

Watching what you eat or drink can improve your symptoms and help you sleep:

• Eat at regular times each day. Eat a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables and low in fat.
• Milk and other dairy products contain tryptophan, which may help induce sleep.
• Avoid coffee, colas with caffeine, and energy drinks completely, if you can. If not, try not to have any after the early part of the afternoon.
• Alcohol may make your symptoms worse and often leads to a more disrupted sleep.

Nicotine stimulates the body and will make it harder to fall asleep. This includes both cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

See also: Smoking - tips on how to quit

Intimacy

Once you have not had a period for 1 year, you are no longer at risk of becoming pregnant. Before that, use birth control to prevent pregnancy.

Vaginal dryness may be relieved by using a water-soluble vaginal lubricant during intercourse. Do not use petroleum jelly. Avoid mineral oil, or other oils if you use condoms, as these may damage latex condoms or diaphragms. Over the counter vaginal moisturizers are also available and can help to improve vaginal dryness. Ask your doctor about estrogen creams for the vagina.

Kegel exercises can help with vaginal muscle tone and help you control urine leakage.

What Else

Reach out to other people. Find someone you trust (such as a friend, family member, neighbor, or clergy member) who will listen to you and offer support. Often, just talking to someone helps relieve some of the anxiety and stress of menopause.

Get plenty of exercise. It can help you feel healthier and will keep your bones strong.

You need enough calcium and vitamin D to prevent bone thinning (osteoporosis):

• You need about 1,200 mg of calcium per day from food sources or supplements. Eat high calcium foods, such as cheese, leafy green vegetables, low-fat milk and other dairy, salmon, sardines, and tofu, or take a calcium supplement. You can make a list of calcium contained in your food to find out how much calcium you usually get from your diet. If you fall below 1,200mg, add a supplement to make up the rest.
• You need 800 - 1,000 IU of vitamin D a day. Diet and sunlight provide some, but most menopausal women need to take vitamin D supplements.
• Calcium and vitamin D supplements can be taken as separate supplements or combined as one.
• If you have a history of kidney stones, talk with your health care provider first.

After menopause, a woman's risk for heart disease and stroke goes up. Ask your doctor about what you should do to control your blood pressure, cholesterol, and other risk factors for heart disease.

When to Call the Doctor

Call your doctor if you find you are unable to manage your symptoms of menopause with home care only.

Also call your doctor if you have any unusual menstrual bleeding, or if you have any spotting or bleeding at all 1 year or more after your last period.

Alternate Names

Perimenopause - self-care; Hormone replacement therapy - self-care; HRT- self-care

References

Daley A, Stokes-Lampard H, Macarthur C. Exercise for vasomotor menopausal symptoms. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011 May 11;5:CD006108.

North American Menopause Society. Estrogen and progestogen use in postmenopausal women: 2010 position statement of The North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2010 Mar;17(2):242-55.

Update Date: 9/26/2011

Updated by: Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.