Today, menopause is better understood and more openly discussed than it was years ago. The average age of a woman entering natural menopause is 51 years. Before menopause, estrogen, made by a woman's ovaries, is used by many parts of the body including the reproductive tract, the urinary tract, the heart and blood vessels, bones, breasts, skin, hair, and the brain. Estrogen also regulates the menstrual cycle. During perimenopause, the transition period before a woman reaches menopause, estrogen levels gradually decline and periods may become irregular. Menopause is typically confirmed when a woman has missed her periods for 12 consecutive months.
Menopause Symptoms
The severity of symptoms associated with menopause varies from woman to woman. Some women experience troublesome symptoms, while others make the transition with few symptoms at all. Symptoms associated with menopause include hot flashes
, night sweats, and vaginal dryness and atrophy. If your hot flashes, night sweats or vaginal dryness and atrophy are moderate to severe, you may want to consider estrogen therapy with Vivelle-Dot®.
Menopause 101
Watch the following menopause presentation, called Menopause 101, to learn more about menopause, estrogen therapy, and Vivelle-Dot—the #1 prescribed transdermal estrogen patch.*
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The Low-Down from the Doc & Diva
Looking for a different perspective during this transition time? Then visit docdiva.com for candid conversations, laughs, and information about menopause. The Doc, Mary Jane Minkin, a board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist at Yale University, and the Diva of Menopause, Karen Giblin, President of RedHotMamas.org give you the intimate details on menopause in their unique video series. Visit docdiva.com today where you can sign up to stay informed about new site features.