Thursday, December 27, 2007

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Contrary to expectations, the higher a woman's percentage of body fat at menopause, the more likely she is to experience symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, a new study shows.

Such so-called "vasomotor symptoms" had previously been thought to be less common in heavier women at menopause, because body fat can convert male hormones into estrogen, Dr. Rebecca C. Thurston of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and colleagues note. Fatter women would therefore have a reserve source of estrogen that could shield them from these symptoms.

However, there is mounting evidence that heavier women may actually experience more vasomotor symptoms with menopause, the researchers add in their report in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

To better understand the relationship between body fat and menopausal symptoms, Thurston and her team looked at 1,776 women going through menopause. Fifty-nine percent reported having vasomotor symptoms.

As body fat increased, the researchers found, so did the likelihood that a woman would have hot flashes and night sweats.

The findings contradict the hypothesis that being fatter protects women from vasomotor symptoms, they write. Instead, they suggest, it's possible that excess fat makes it more difficult for the body to dissipate heat.

Based on the findings, Thurston and her colleagues add, weight loss -- especially loss of fat -- may help women going through menopause to reduce hot flashes and night sweats.

SOURCE: American Journal of Epidemiology, January 1, 2008.

Hmmmm ... I went through menopause thin. And young. I was 32 when it was all over so they figure I started in my mid 20's. Thin, the hot flashes were something awful.

If this report is true. I mean, if hot flashes increased with weight. Then if I were to go through menopause now, I'm burn into a cinder for sure.

im a bigger girl and im here to tell you that they arent fun. in fact im having one right now and can feel sweat pouring out of every pore in my body.

yuk.

HRT is the way to go. Well, for me it was. After they finally agreed it was what it was I medicated right up.

I did try all the natural stuff (for two years) but it didn't work.

And being up all night either in full flush from hot flashes or peeing means no sleep. No sleep for years. No thanks.

Give me HRT. It keeps more than the skin supple.

Edited January 1, 200818 yr by desi

im on my first month course of hrt. the flushes still exist, but they are subsiding which is good. the best thing is the mood swings have almost ceased. thank goodness for that. i think everyone around me is thankful too.

you ladies think you are the only ones suffering during onset of or during menopause? ask us husbands who not only went through purgatory but through hel_l as well. now that it's over nothing can scare us anymore... except perhaps a live cockroach in a mixed salad

i think everyone around me is thankful too.

you betcha!

believe me, naam, its worse going through it. sleepless nights from night sweats. showering in the middle of the night to stay cool. headaches from hel_l. all topped off with the thought that you are going completely crazy. god, i cry watching the amazing race for heavens sake!

but its getting better thank goodness. lucky youre not around me naam. i could kill you and get away with it by pleading 'menopause' i reckon.

believe me, naam, its worse going through it. sleepless nights from night sweats. showering in the middle of the night to stay cool. headaches from hel_l. all topped off with the thought that you are going completely crazy. god, i cry watching the amazing race for heavens sake!

but its getting better thank goodness. lucky youre not around me naam. i could kill you and get away with it by pleading 'menopause' i reckon. :D

i am a seasoned warrior Donna. went through these battles several years ago. wife tried to kill or maim me numerous times but never succeeded. my last line of defense was always hiding in the doghouse

you ladies think you are the only ones suffering during onset of or during menopause? ask us husbands who not only went through purgatory but through hel_l as well. now that it's over nothing can scare us anymore... except perhaps a live cockroach in a mixed salad

Yeah, I felt sorry for all of the males in my life. My husband as well as son, as it can be a crappy time for the whole family. My husband, of course had it rough (especially when the doctors refused to diagnose is as menopause so fed me tons of other cacca for several years). But my son was only a little chap. How do you explain it's not ever him, but his crazy mother who's at fault?

I used to fret because I was so young. But now, when I should just be starting along that path, it's like, yeah, that's all behind me, not in my future. All I have to do is make sure I keep taking those pills ... that, I can do.

(I'll remember the cockroach in the salad bit. Just in case I ever need it ...)