Menopause: Some Sail Through,
Some Don't... 

So what is Menopause?

Menopause is the last stage of a woman's life.  The first stage is pre-menstruation and the middle stage are the fertile years.  Menopause is the time of life when a woman ceases to be fertile and enters the final adventure of her life. It is a Greek word combining “men” meaning month and “pausis” meaning cessation – the end of monthly cycles. The Change can start in the forties or can come in a woman’s fifties.  It is very individual, but often follows the pattern of her female relatives. The duration of this change in a woman's life is also very individual. For some women it is over relatively quickly, a matter of months, while for some women it can take up to 10 years before she's through it.

For Recipes to Help with Menopause Click Here

Symptoms

  • Hot flushes
  • Night sweats
  • Mood changes
  • Irritability
  • Loss of libido or pain during sex
  • Depression
  • Dry skin
  • Joint pain
  • The sensation of crawling under the skin
  • Muscle aches
  • Tiredness
  • Increased facial hair 
  • Bone loss
essential oils for menopause and sweating

A woman's skin becomes thinner and drier which means that superficial blood vessels can be more easily seen and also bruising can occur more frequently, so take extra care to avoid minor injury to the skin.

Think about being more vigilant with your moisturising routine to keep the skin soft.

Benign growths called seborrheic keratosis seem to appear and multiply more at this time of our age.  They look like warts or crusty growths appearing over the chest, back and (unfortunately) on the face.  Sometimes they appear singly but often in clusters.  Unsightly, yes, but not cancerous.  If they bother you see a doctor about removal.

Androgenic alopecia is a type of hair loss which affects women entering menopause.  This type of thinning occurs in the crown of the scalp and moves forward to the hairline.  Loss of hair also takes place under the arms, the eyebrows and pubic area.

The opposite happens on the chin!  Hair starts growing there but can be easily removed with tweezers.

Should We Worry?

Menopause is an entirely natural process that all women go through.

We just have to address the symptoms and enjoy the freedom the menopause gives us to live our lives without worrying about menstrual cycles, PMS or painful periods.  Once a woman gets through it, and many love the freedom it gives to do what they want, when they want without fussing about bleeding inappropriately leading to embarrassing moments!

Using essential oils can help with the worrying and uncomfortable symptoms of this time in a woman's life.

Options

Many women choose Hormone Replacement Therapy to deal with the symptoms.  It is a choice you must make in conjunction with your doctor’s advice.  There are risks to all forms of treatment and you will discuss these with your doctor. 

I would suggest that using essential oils is a more natural course of action.

During and after the Change it is important to:

  • Maintain or choose a healthy diet
  • Increase exercise to avoid bone loss
  • Stop smoking
  • Have regular pap smears
  • Keep a positive outlook 

Soy products are a source of phytoestrogens which have mild estrogen effects. This can help reduce the symptoms of menopause.

Outcomes

This time is not the end of a productive or meaningful life – it is actually the start of a new adventure in your life; the freedom to explore and embrace the new You.

Remember you are still very feminine - you will not lose that part of you - so keep up your sense of style, your fashion choices and your appointments at the hairdressers. Continue to feel like a woman and you will be viewed that way.

For more information on surviving the menopause (or even your 50th birthday) visit Red Hot Mamas and learn more about outsmarting menopause.  It’s all about what may be the best time of your life…

Just remember - it does all end eventually!  And once it is over, the freedom is amazing and well worth waiting for...

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For essential oil recipes for Stress, Relaxation, Depression please see the Emotions Page Here.

Essential Oils

Clary Sage is known as the "women's best friend" so it is very beneficial in all female life stages.

Recipe One: Hot Flushes

Ingredients:

  • 10 drops of Clary Sage
  • 11 drops of Geranium
  • 7 drops of Lemon
  • 2 drops of Sage 
  • 30ml of carrier oil

Directions:

Massage over the entire body.  Or use the essential oils without the carrier oil and put 5 drops into your bath

Recipe Two

Ingredients:

  • 3 drops Clary Sage essential oil
  • 3 drops Chamomile essential oil
  • 3 drops Cypress essential oil
  • 1 drop Lime essential oil

Directions:

Mix the above oils together and add up to 5 drops of the total to a bath before bedtime, with a cup of Sage tea.

Caution: do not use Sage if you are an epileptic.


Recipe for Night Sweats

Ingredients:

  • 10 drops of Grapefruit essential oil
  • 10 drops of Lime essential oil
  • 5 drops of Clary Sage essential oil
  • 5 drops of Thyme essential oil
  • 30ml carrier oil 

Directions:

As above.

Remember that Grapefruit can be phototoxic so avoid direct sunlight on your skin for 24 hours after use.

Recipe for Mood Swings

Ingredients:

  • 2 drops Rose Geranium essential oil
  • 2 drops of Bergamot essential oil

Directions:

Add to a burner or diffuser in a quiet room and breathe deeply to settle your emotions.

Recipe for Massage

Ingredients:

  • 3 drops of Rose essential oil
  • 3 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil
  • 3 drops of Neroli essential oil
  • 1 drop Jasmine essential oil
  • 3 tablespoons Sweet Almond oil

Directions:

Mix together.  Massage this over the belly, thighs and lower back.