What are the Choices in Prescription Menopause Medications?
November 19th, 2009 | by Kim Allarie |There are many prescription menopause drugs that can help to relieve the symptoms of this phase of a woman’s life. Some of those symptoms that cause such distress include hot flashes, fast heartbeat and high blood pressure, mood swings, trouble sleeping, fatigue, anxiety, depression, irregular or heavy periods and many others. The reason they transpire is because of hormone changes or lack of hormones linked to the onset of menopause.
Among the most usual symptoms of menopause is hot flashes. A woman will experience a flushed face, heavy perspiring and the feeling of hot air enveloping the body, although the feeling of heat usually has an effect on her only from the chest up. Some hot flashes can last only a few minutes and others can last about half an hour, and they can arise any time throughout the day or nighttime, without any warning at all.
There are several medicines in the antidepressant department that can aid in easing the symptoms of hot flashes and of course they also help with the symptoms of depression that often accompany menopause. These drugs include Effexor and Prozac, both of which also help with mood swings. Other medications utilized for menopause are Zoloft, Norpramine, Tofranil and Aventyl. All will help to manage depression and some also aid in relieving hot flashes. Some women get confused easily during menopause and these medications also help out there.
Women who have never had high blood pressure before might suddenly be stricken with this disorder during menopause. Clonindine is often prescribed for it in these women since it also seems to help with hot flashes. But this drug does have adverse reactions like insomnia which could induce another menopausal symptom, sleeplessness. On the other hand, it also is inclined to cause you to become drowsy during the day.
Throughout the’70’s, synthetic medicines were developed to treat the symptoms, including progesterone and estrogen, but they were unfortunately linked with endometrial cancer and eventually to cancer of the breast, strokes, and heart problems. Therefore, there was a need to find alternate substances to ease the symptoms of menopause with fewer risk factors.
The outcome was the creation of Bio-Identical Hormones for use in addressing menopausal symptoms. These are hormones that are molecularly the same as the hormones that are produced in the body. Doctors can write a compounded prescription that’s tailor made to the woman which balances all three hormone categories within the body: estrogen, progesterone, and androgen. Although there is not any actual medical proof that these things work, women who use them will tell you that they do.
You may also wish to try out some over the counter menopause medication. Some of these natural products are quite effective at managing your symptoms without the side effects you might get from prescription menopause drugs.
Menopause is a difficult time for many women, and requires them to make a number of adjustments to their lifestyle in order to combat the symptoms. They also need to make decisions regarding whether or not to take menopause medication to help ease their distress.
