Menopause For Dummies
Author: Marcia L Jones PhD
Although menopause is a natural and inevitable stage in every woman’s life, its physical, mental, and emotional manifestations can vary greatly from one person to the next. Add to this all of the conflicting “expert” information about the benefits, risks, and side effects to which women are exposed on a daily basis, and it’s easy to see why most find it difficult to make informed choices about how to deal with their menopausal symptoms.
Authored by a team of acknowledged experts in treating menopausal symptoms, Menopause For Dummies arms you with all the information you need to stay in control every step of the way. In plain English, it explains the role menopause plays in a variety of common health problems, such as osteoporosis, stroke, and heart disease. It walks you through proven measures for minimizing your risk of developing complications through including diet and exercise, stress management, hormone replacement, and other techniques. And it arms you with authoritative, up-to-the-minute coverage of:
• Premenopause how to identify it and what it means
• The stages of menopause
• How menopause can affect your body, emotions, and libido
• The latest facts about hormone replacement therapy
• The pros and cons of various alternative treatments
• The best ways of handling hot flashes
• Easing symptoms with diet and exercise
• Preventing bone loss
• Helpful lifestyle changes
With Menopause For Dummies in your corner you’ll have a kinder, gentler “change of life.”
Table of Contents:
Introduction 1About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 2
How This Book Is Organized 3
The Main Facts about Menopause 3
The Effects of Menopause on Your Body and Mind 4
Treating the Effects 4
Lifestyle Issues for Menopause and Beyond 4
The Part of Tens 5
The Appendixes 5
Conventions Used in This Book 5
Icons Used in This Book 6
Where to Go from Here 6
The Main Facts about Menopause 7
Mapping Out Menopause 9
Defining Menopause 9
Getting the terminology right 10
Approaching the change: Perimenopause 11
Menstruating no more: Menopause 12
Getting past menopause: Postmenopause 12
Anticipating Menopause 13
Transitioning to Menopause 13
Starting out 14
Identifying symptoms 14
Calling in the professionals 15
Seeing it through to the end 15
Treating Menopause 15
Promoting Longevity 16
Talking Biology and Psychology: YourMind and Body on Menopause 17
Setting the Stage 18
Making the Menstrual Cycle and Hormone Connection 19
Surveying the Role of Hormones 21
Linking your brain and body 22
Explaining estrogen 23
Promoting progesterone 24
Investigating androgens 25
Understanding the Stages of Menopause 26
Previewing perimenopause 26
Meeting menopause 28
Seeking Out Support 29
Fooling Mother Nature: Early Menopause 31
Understanding the Lingo 32
Induced menopause 32
Premature ovarian failure 33
Coping with Sudden Change 34
Knowing when you hit menopause 34
Getting the help you need for your body and mind 35
Prepping for Surgical Menopause 36
Taking Advantage of Assisted Living 37
Estrogen alone 37
Combination therapy 38
Alternatives to HT 39
Finding Support: Birds of a Feather 40
Getting In Sync with the Symptoms 41
Kicking Things Off with Perimenopausal Symptoms 42
Getting physical 42
Playing head games 46
Visiting the Menopausal Symptoms 48
Figuring out the physical facts 48
Discovering that it's more than skin deep 50
Understanding That It's Not Your Imagination 51
The Effects of Menopause on Your Body and Mind 53
The Business of Your Bones 55
Homing In on Bone Health 56
Growing big bones and strong bones 56
Understanding peak bone density 56
Keeping Pace with Bone Reconstruction 57
Making the calcium connection 58
Recognizing the role of sex hormones 60
Boning Up on Osteoporosis 60
Linking osteoporosis and women 61
Defining and diagnosing osteoporosis 61
Looking at causes 63
Avoiding the effects 63
Preventing Osteoporosis by Managing Your Risk Factors 66
Blaming your genes: Genetic factors and family background 67
Reviewing your personal health history 67
Looking to your lifestyle 69
Finding Out Whether You Have Osteoporosis 73
Doing the DEXA 74
Opting for another type of test 75
Treating Osteoporosis 76
Battling bone loss with medication 76
Using hormones 77
Getting a Handle on Heart Health 79
Keeping Up with All Things Cardio 80
Revealing estradiol's role in heart health 80
Linking cardiovascular disease and the menopausal woman 80
Considering Cholesterol 82
Breaking down the types of cholesterol 82
Decoding your numbers 83
Looking at the factors 84
Regulating estrogen's role 84
Connecting the dots between cholesterol and cardiovascular disease 85
Understanding Cardiovascular Diseases 87
Containing coronary artery disease 87
Avoiding angina 87
Holding off heart attacks 89
Fending off hypertension 89
Staving off stroke 90
Checking Out Your Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease 91
Being Smart about Your Heart 93
Weighing an ounce of prevention 93
Treating what ails you 94
Dealing with Vaginal and Urinary Changes 95
Understanding the Normalcy of Vaginal and Urinary Changes 95
Talking Shop with Your Doc 96
Overcoming Vaginal Changes 97
Understanding what vaginal atrophy is and what it isn't 97
Looking at what less estrogen means for your vagina 98
Doing something about vaginal atrophy 98
Talking about Urinary Problems 99
Getting a grip on types of urinary problems 100
Tracking urinary-tract infections 101
Covering interstitial cystitis 102
Encountering incontinence 104
Examining Your Skin and Hair on Menopause 107
Getting the Skinny on Skin 108
Making the skin and hormone connection 108
Shining a light on the sun's dangers 109
Preventing premature skin aging 112
Handling Hairy Issues 112
Losing it - your hair, that is 113
Taking care of your hair 113
Maintaining Your Sex Life Through Menopause 115
Looking at Menopause and Your Libido 116
Letting your feelings be your guide 116
Turning up the heat 117
Dealing with a lowered libido 118
Talking Turkey about Testosterone 121
Keeping Sex Sexy 121
Flirting with Fertility 124
Staying fertile after all these years 124
Taking one more chance on the stork 125
Taking the good with the bad 127
Mental and Emotional Issues 129
Understanding the Mental and Emotional Stresses of Menopause 130
Finding the link to menopause 130
Separating menopausal symptoms from psychological disorders 131
Deciding Whether You're Depressed 131
Understanding the differences 131
Knowing the signs 133
Dealing with the Head Games 133
Knowing the symptoms 133
Looking at the research 134
Beating the memory game 135
Straightening Out the Commotions with Your Emotions 136
Feeling your way through the symptoms 137
Understanding the physiology and getting relief 138
Managing life changes 139
Treating the Effects 141
The Basics of Hormone Therapy 143
Defining Hormone Therapy 143
Slaying the symptoms 145
Preventing serious health problems with hormone therapy 145
Ticking Through the Therapies 146
Unopposed estrogen therapy 147
Combination therapy 149
Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulators (SERMs) 151
Prescribing Pills, Patches, and Pomades 153
Popping pills 153
Pasting on a patch 153
Applying creams 154
Slipping on a ring 155
Searching for Sources 156
Synthetic versus natural hormones 156
Estrogen 156
Progestin 158
Combinations of estrogen and progestin 158
Androgens 159
Doing the Dosing 159
Understanding Hormone Therapy and Your Heart 161
Meeting the Players: Hormones and Your Heart 162
The star: Estrogen 162
The supporting actor: Progesterone 163
The assistant: Testosterone 163
Understanding the Difference Between Hormones and Hormone Therapy 163
Using estrogen plus progestin 164
Taking unopposed estrogen 165
Identifying the Heart Disease Culprit 165
Considering the age of menopause 165
Factoring in other factors 166
Skimming the Fat: Hormone Therapy and Your Blood 167
Combating hypertension 167
Cleaning out clots and clogs 168
Oiling the Pump: HT and Your Heart 170
Slowing the pace 170
Keeping angina away 170
Avoiding the big one 171
Checking Out Hormone Therapy and Breast Cancer 173
Beginning with Breast Basics 173
Defining Breast Cancer 174
Taking Care of Your Breasts 175
Examining your breasts every month 175
Making time for mammograms 176
Determining Estrogen's Role 176
Checking the Link between HT and Breast Cancer 177
Assessing Your Risks 178
Recognizing risks you can't control 179
Recognizing risks you can control 180
Using Hormones as Therapy 181
Counting the ways 182
Reviewing the risks and benefits 182
Choosing Your HT Regimen 183
Reviewing Reproductive Cancers and Hormone Therapy 185
Colorectal Cancer 185
Recognizing the signs 187
Finding out for sure: Screenings and tests 187
Determining the role of hormone therapy 189
Assessing your risks 189
Endometrial (Uterine) Cancer 189
Recognizing the signs 191
Finding out for sure: Tests 191
Determining the role of hormone therapy 192
Assessing your risks 192
Ovarian Cancer 193
Cancers Unaffected by Hormone Therapy 195
Vaginal and vulvar cancers 195
Cervical cancer 196
Considering Hormone Therapy and Other Health Conditions 197
Dealing with Deep Vein Thrombosis 197
Recognizing the signs 198
Determining the role of hormones 198
Dissecting Diabetes 199
Recognizing the signs 200
Determining the role of hormones 200
Facing the Facts about Fibromyalgia 201
Recognizing the signs 201
Determining the role of hormones 202
Getting the Goods on Gallbladder Disease 202
Recognizing the signs 202
Determining the role of hormones 203
Thinking about Your Thyroid 203
Recognizing the signs 203
Determining the role of hormones 204
Looking at Lupus 204
Recognizing the signs 205
Determining the role of hormones 205
Monitoring Migraines 206
Recognizing the signs 206
Determining the role of hormones 206
Considering Cognition 207
Recognizing the signs 207
Determining the role of hormones 207
Making the Decision about Hormone Therapy 209
Outlining Attitudes about HT 209
Taking Everything into Consideration 210
Weighing the Benefits and Risks of HT 212
Rounding up the benefits 212
Corralling the risks 214
Getting to the Heart of Cardiac Health 214
Going along on estrogen alone 215
Assessing Your Personal Risk 217
Summing Up the Studies 218
Presenting the Options for Perimenopause 219
The lifestyle solution 219
The herbal solution 220
The HT solution 220
Quitting HT 220
Recognizing Whether HT Is for You 221
Deciding that HT may not be for you 221
Thinking you may be ready for HT 222
Taking an Alternate Route: Non-Hormone Therapies 225
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Herbs 226
Considering conventional concerns 227
Seeking safety in herbal therapy 227
Relieving Your Symptoms with Plants 228
Cataloging herbal therapies by symptom 228
Getting the scoop on individual herbs 229
Getting Touchy about Acupuncture 233
Soothing Symptoms with Mind-Body Therapies 234
Tuning in to biofeedback 234
Getting your yoga groove on 234
Slip Sliding Away with Topical Treatments 235
Offering Options for Bone and Heart Health 235
Battling bone loss with medication 235
Controlling cardiovascular disease 236
Lifestyle Issues for Menopause and Beyond 239
Eating for the Change 241
Eating to Promote Good Health 242
Getting the right mix of nutrients 244
Rethinking how you eat 248
Eating to Prevent or Contain Problems 249
Strengthening your bones 251
Pumping up your cardiovascular system 253
Weighing in on the Weight Issue 254
How much weight is too much? 254
Eating to control body weight 256
Focusing on Fitness 261
Recognizing the Benefits of Exercise 261
Tweaking your attitude 262
Flashing less - sleeping more 262
Shedding pounds 263
Keeping your heart healthy 263
Shoring up your bones 264
Doing without diabetes 265
Steering clear of colon cancer 265
Sharpening your memory 265
Living long and prospering 265
Focusing on Fitness Fundamentals 266
Getting started 266
Fitting in fitness 267
Planning your program 267
Scheduling fitness fun time 268
Flexing through stretching 270
Warming up and cooling down 271
Exercises for Women with Osteoporosis 274
Strengthening bones and toning muscle 275
Adding balance to your routine 280
Exercises to Protect Your Heart 281
Working on and working up to heart health 281
Walking for fun and fitness 282
Enjoying a New Lease on Life 285
Going from Menopause to Infinity 286
Working and Playing Well with Others 287
Managing a family 287
You and your partner 288
Caring for aging parents 289
Retiring Gracefully (or Not) 290
Taking care of your body on the job 290
Looking before you leap 291
Finding Your Spirit in Whatever You Do 292
Appreciating the upside 292
Seeing things in a new light 293
Living Happily Ever After 295
The Part of Tens 297
Ten Menopause Myths Exposed 299
You're Too Young to Be Menopausal in Your 30s and 40s 299
Menopause Is a Medical Condition That Must Be Treated with Medicine 300
Menopause Isn't a Disease, So There's No Need to See a Doctor 301
You Lose the Urge to Have Sex after the Change 302
Irregular Vaginal Bleeding Always Means Cancer 303
Humps Accompany Old Age - End of Story 303
Only HRT Can Relieve the Symptoms 304
Women Don't Need to Worry about Heart Attacks 304
Most Women Get Really Depressed During Menopause 305
You'll Break a Bone If You Exercise Too Hard 305
A Blood Test Can Determine Whether You're Going Through Menopause 306
Ten Medical Tests for Menopausal Women 307
Pelvic Exam and Pap Smear 307
Rectal Exam 308
Colonoscopy 308
Bone-Density Screening 309
Mammogram 309
Cholesterol Screening 309
Fasting Blood-Glucose Test 310
Thyroid Screening 310
Ovarian Hormone Screening 310
Stress Test 311
Ten Terrific Fitness Programs for Menopausal Women 313
Core Strength Training 313
Walking 314
Elliptical Training 315
Running 315
Swimming 315
Cycling 316
Yoga 316
T'ai Chi 317
Pilates 317
Water Aerobics 317
Ten Powerhouse Foods for Menopausal Women 319
Soy Joy 319
Nuts to You 320
Catch of the Day 320
I Yam What I Yam 321
The Berry Blues 321
Flax Flying 322
Orange You Glad... 322
Tea for You 323
It's Easy Eating Greens 323
Yo! Yogurt! 323
Appendixes 325
Glossary 327
Resources 335
Fabulous Books about Menopause, Health, Fitness, and Related Issues 335
Wonderful Web Sites for Women 337
American Herbalist Guild 337
Yoga.com 338
Dietary Guidelines for Americans 338
FitDay.com 338
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clearinghouse 338
National Osteoporosis Foundation 339
National Women's Health Information Center 339
North American Menopause Society 339
Third Age 339
WebMD 340
Women and Cardiovascular Disease 340
Women's Cancer Network 340
The Study Sites 340
Women's Health Initiative 341
The Nurses' Health Study 341
Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study 341
The Framingham Heart Study 341
Index 343
See also: Service Oriented Architecture or Skype For Dummies
Essential Abs: An Intense 6-Week Program
Author: Kurt Brungardt
A six-pack of muscles or a six-pack of beer?
For the average guy, wasting money on an impossible workout book for abs just isn't worth it. But in Essential Abs, ab master Kurt Brungardt has created a simple routine that will bring maximum results-- fast. His step-by-step, 6-week program shows you how to make ab exercises more effective by integrating them into a quick total-body workout. Whether you're a couch potato or a fitness fanatic, Brungardt helps you fine-tune your techniques for rock-hard abs in no time.
YOU'LL LEARN:
* The 11 commandments of self-improvement
* How much water you really need
* How to drop those lame excuses and get motivated
* The best ab exercises for sports
* Modifications that eliminate neck strain
No comments:
Post a Comment