Prolonged COVID May Worsen Symptoms of Menopause in Women
According to recent studies, middle-aged women who experience menopause and perimenopause are more susceptible to the severe complications of COVID-19. Women in this age group who have long COVID suffer from specific symptoms such as mental confusion, fatigue, dizziness, and trouble sleeping. Experts suggest that the low levels of estrogen and testosterone caused by prolonged COVID may worsen the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause.
Symptoms of Long-Term COVID and Menopause
Long-term COVID symptoms can last for weeks to months and are difficult to distinguish from menopausal symptoms. Some common symptoms of long-term COVID include feeling extremely tired, cognitive problems, rapid heart rate, and the loss of taste and smell. On the other hand, typical menopausal symptoms include vaginal infections, irregular bleeding, urinary problems, sexual problems, hot flashes, night sweats, moodiness, depression or anxiety, decreased concentration, memory problems, joint pain, and muscle and headaches.
The Connection Between Prolonged COVID and Menopause
Studies suggest that prolonged COVID might trigger menopause due to the inflammatory response caused by long-term COVID in hormones. This phenomenon could explain irregularities in women’s menstrual cycles and ovulation. Experts believe that hormone replacement therapy using estradiol could benefit women who experience menopause and prolonged COVID symptoms. Estradiol has been shown to have a positive effect against COVID, and it helps manage menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings.
Self-Care Strategies for Prolonged COVID and Menopause
Aside from hormone replacement therapy, certain self-care strategies can help alleviate menopausal and prolonged COVID symptoms. Good nutrition, regular exercise, reducing stress and avoiding excess alcohol, and getting at least seven hours of sleep can help women’s ovarian function during periods and alleviate symptoms such as hot flashes, fatigue, sleeplessness, and mood swings.
Conclusion
Prolonged COVID and menopause share various symptoms that can make them challenging to distinguish. Many middle-aged women have trouble recovering from long COVID unless their hormone deficiency is adequately treated. Estradiol, a hormone replacement therapy, can help manage menopausal symptoms and COVID’s effects on hormones. Self-care strategies such as proper nutrition, regular exercise, and stress reduction can help women alleviate symptoms. As always, it’s best to discuss specific risk factors and concerns with your doctor to make the best decision for your health.
Title: The Connection Between Prolonged COVID and Menopause in Women
As women reach middle age, they face the risk of menopausal symptoms, which include mood swings, sleep disruptions, night sweats, and hot flashes. However, recent studies suggest that prolonged COVID can exacerbate these symptoms, making it difficult to distinguish between long COVID and menopause. Women who suffer from both conditions may require hormone replacement therapy such as estradiol to manage their symptoms, and self-care strategies such as good nutrition, regular exercise, and stress reduction to reduce their discomfort. Women who suspect that they have both prolonged COVID and menopause should talk to their doctor to decide the best course of treatment.
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June 6, 2023 — As clinicians and researchers learn more about the COVID-19an interesting fact has emerged: women who experience menopause and perimenopause appear to be more likely to experience serious complications from virus.
British researchers have recently noticed than women in middle age who have long COVID appear to have specific and severe symptoms, including mental confusion, fatigue, new-onset dizziness, and difficulty sleeping through the night.
Doctors also believe that prolonged COVID may worsen the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. lower levels of estrogen and testosterone seems to be the reason.
“A longstanding theory of COVID is that there is a temporary interruption in the physiological production of ovarian steroid hormones, which could [worsen] symptoms of perimenopause and menopause,” said JoAnn V. Pinkerton, M.D.professor of obstetrics at the University of Virginia at Charlottesville and executive director of the North American Menopause Society.
Long-term COVID symptoms and menopausal symptoms can also be very difficult to tell apart.
Other UK study cautions that because of this type of symptom overlap, middle-aged women can be misdiagnosed. Investigation from the Menopause Society of North America shows that many women may have trouble recovering from prolonged COVID unless their hormone deficiency is treated.
Read on for a closer look at the connection between long-term COVID and menopause, so you can give your doctor the right information for the right diagnosis and get the treatment you need.
What are the symptoms of prolonged COVID?
There are more than 200 symptoms that have been associated with long-term COVID, according to the American Medical Association. Some common symptoms are currently defined as:
- feeling extremely tired
- Feeling exhausted after exertion
- Cognitive problems like brain fog
- Your heart beats more than 100 times a minute
- Losing the sense of smell and taste
Long-term symptoms of COVID start a few weeks to a few months after a COVID infection. They can last for an indefinite amount of time, but “the hope is that long COVID doesn’t last a lifetime,” he said. Dr Clare Flanneryendocrinologist and associate professor in the departments of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences, and internal medicine at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, CT.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
Some symptoms of menopause include:
- vaginal infections
- irregular bleeding
- urinary problems
- sexual problems
Middle-aged women have other symptoms that may be the same as perimenopausal/menopausal symptoms.
“Common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, which can also be symptoms attributed to prolonged COVID, include hot flashes, night sweats, interrupted sleep, moodiness, depression or anxiety, decreased concentration, memory problems, joint pain, and muscles and headaches,” Pinkerton said. .
Can prolonged COVID really trigger menopause?
In short: Possibly.
a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Patient-Directed Research Collaboration/University of California, San Francisco finds that prolonged COVID can cause disruptions in a woman’s menstrual cycle, ovaries, fertility, and menopause.
This could also be due to chronic inflammation caused by long-term COVID in hormones. This type of inflammatory response could explain irregularities in a woman’s menstrual cycle, according to the Newson Health Research and Education study.
For example, “when the body has inflammation, ovulation can occur,” Flannery said.
The mechanism for how long COVID might stimulate menopause may also involve a woman’s ovaries.
“Since the theory is that COVID affects the ovary with decreases in ovarian reserve and ovarian function, it makes sense that prolonged COVID could cause perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms more acutely or more severely and prolong perimenopausal symptoms. and the transition to menopause. Pinkerton said.
How can hormone replacement therapy benefit women dealing with prolonged COVID during menopause?
estradiolthe strongest estrogen hormone in a woman’s body, has already been shown to have a positive effect against COVID.
“Estradiol therapy treats symptoms more aggressively in the context of long-term COVID,” Flannery said.
Estradiol is also a form of hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, for menopausal symptoms.
“Estradiol has been shown to help with hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep and improve mood during perimenopause,” Pinkerton said. “So it is likely that perimenopausal or menopausal women with long-term COVID will see improvements both due to the action of estradiol on the ovary seen during COVID and improvements in symptoms.”
Estrogen-based HRT has been linked to an increased risk of endometrial, breast and ovarian cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. This means that you should carefully consider how comfortable you are with these additional risks before beginning this type of therapy.
“Which of your symptoms are the most difficult to manage? You can see if you can navigate one to three of them. What are you willing to do for your symptoms? If a woman is willing to favor her sleep over the next 6 months to a year, she may be willing to change the way she perceives her cancer risk,” Flannery said. “What risk is she willing to take? run a woman? I think if someone has very low concern about cancer risk and is experiencing disrupted life, then taking estradiol on a trial period of 1 to 2 years could be instrumental in helping.”
Discussing your specific risk factors and concerns with your doctor can help you make the right decision.
What else can help if I have prolonged COVID during menopause?
Getting the COVID vaccine if you haven’t already, as well as getting a booster, could help. This will not only help prevent you from becoming infected with COVID again, which can make your symptoms worse, but a new Swede study says there is no evidence that it causes postmenopausal problems such as irregular bleeding.
“Weak and inconsistent associations between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and healthcare contacts for bleeding in postmenopausal women have been observed, and there has been even less evidence of an association for menstrual disorders or bleeding in premenopausal women,” she said. the co-author of the study. author Rickard Ljung, MD, PhD, MPH, professor and acting head of the department of pharmacoepidemiology and analysis at the Information and Use Division of the Swedish Medical Products Agency in Uppsala, Sweden.
In terms of self-care, try to alleviate any hormonal symptoms you had before the long run of COVID.
Treating the symptoms of perimenopause can be helpful, Flannery said. Doing so may also reduce your discomfort from prolonged COVID, if your two health issues are truly intertwined.
“Good nutrition (avoiding carbohydrates and sweets particularly before periods) plus getting at least 7 hours of sleep and regular exercise, reducing stress and avoiding excess alcohol can help women’s ovarian function during periods.” ovarian fluctuations,” Pinkerton said.
Taking these sensible steps can help you feel better.
https://www.webmd.com/menopause/news/20230606/menopause-and-long-covid-what-women-should-know?src=RSS_PUBLIC
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