Posts Tagged "menopause"

Wednesday Bubble: Bedfan – the real deal

Posted by Liz on Mar 17, 2010 in nightsweats | 4 comments

[googlevideo=http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8524491813343499145&ei=mu2fS_7UHYP0qwKqr-jDDQ&q=Bedfan&hl=en#]

Seriously, when I wrote about the Bedfan last May, I thought it was a joke, a perfect topic for a futuristic Friday.

Guess what? I’m bursting my own bubble. Because evidently the Bedfan Personal Cooling System is the real deal. In fact, Texas-based Thompkins Research has just announced that Columbian women who suffer from menopausal night sweats will soon have access to the legendary cooler. Seems sort of random, Columbia, but hey, I’m sure that Columbian women sweat as much as their American peers.

Meanwhile, here’s a nifty video of the Bedfan, which the manufacturer says, was developed to keep individuals comfortable at night by eliminating the body heat that builds up between the sheets (sometimes that heat is desirable; just sayin!) Developer Kurt Thompkins explains that the whole idea behind the Bedfan was to deliver a gentle breeze that would float between the sheets to push the hot air out.” Although he developed the concept with his own needs in mind, evidently it’s taken off.

One satisfied consumer is quoted as saying that the device is “analogous to standing under a waterfall without getting wet.”

Hmmm.

Just breathe

Posted by Liz on Mar 15, 2010 in Paced respiration/deep breathing | 2 comments

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuq7RYQ8Wa0]

Are you having hot flashes? If you are like about 75% of menopausal women, you’re likely to experience a hot flash in some form or the other. In fact, researchers say that some women only have 5 a year while others might have as many as 50 a day. Yikes – that’s some serious flashing.

I’ve spent a lot of time in search of alternatives to hormones for you women out there who are flashing regularly. And more alternatives. The one consistent factor in all of these solutions, whether it’s yoga, black cohosh, acupuncture or hops, is that some women respond and others don’t. What’s also consistent is that there are few really well designed clinical trials examining alternative therapies.

The latest strategy that I’ve run across is slow, deep breathing (also called “paced respiration”). In three separate studies, women who practiced slow, deep breathing over a period of six to eight weeks experienced a decline in the frequency of their hot flashes by as much as 50% compared with biofeedback or muscle relaxation exercise. Another study showed that when deep breathing was combined with mental focusing, the intensity of the flash also declined.

About paced respiration

Paced respiration, slow, deep, controlled breathing from one’s diaphragm is a painless, relaxing approach to controlling hot flashes. Experts recommend that women find a quiet, private place.

1) Keep the rib cage as still as possible and inhale slowly for five seconds using the stomach muscles.(You should notice your abdominal muscles extending and distending, not your rib cage or shoulders.)

2) Exhale slowly over five seconds, again, using the stomach muscles.

3) Practice twice daily, preferably in the morning and evenings for at least 15 minutes. The focus should be on the breathe and nothing else.

When you feel a hot flash coming on, start inhalation and then exhalation slowly until the flash passes.

Interestingly, experts who have studied this technique are unsure why it works in some women. However, I do like the idea of using relaxation and focus to stave off a hot flash. Have you tried this? Does it work? I’d love to know!

Every breath you take…lung cancer and HRT

Posted by Liz on Mar 12, 2010 in HRT, lung cancer | 3 comments

Remember last year’s post on hormone replacement therapy and increased risk of deaths from lung cancer? Researchers now report that HRT that combines estrogen and progestin can increase the risk for developing lung cancer, especially when used for long time periods.

In the latest nail in the HRT coffin, researchers evaluated 36,588 peri- and postmenopausal women between the ages of 50 and 76 over six years. During the study, 344 women developed lung cancer. Overall, the findings showed that the longer women took HRT, the higher their risk for developing lung cancer, with use of 10 years or more associated by as much as a 50% increased risk. Note that while an increased risk for developing lung cancer was also seen in women used HRT for up to 9 years, it was about half as much, or 27%.

While the researchers are quick to point out that this study does not prove that HRT causes lung cancer, it does show that taking HRT for certain periods of time can significantly increase the risk for lung cancer, even when other important factors are removed from the equation. Similar increased risk has not been observed in women taking estrogen alone.

In the latest position statement on hormone replacement therapy from the North American Menopause Association, a panel of experts currently conclude that the evidence shows that both smoking and age played an important role in promoting growth of existing lung cancers in women taking HRT, in particular among older women. On the other hand, they say that other studies suggest that HRT theoretically lends some protection against lung cancer in younger women.

Clearly these data are at odds. However, as a wonderful report in Reuters points out, the latest study ‘sheds light on the question’ because it looks at HRT use over a longer period of time.

Every breath you take…could eventually be your last. It all depends on your decision about HRT. Is the short-term gain worth the long-term risk? Only you and your doctor can evaluate your individual risk and determine if HRT is the right choice.

What’s your flava?

Posted by Liz on Mar 5, 2010 in menopause, sexual desire, sexual health | 9 comments

[wpvideo fKzxRoHw]

Are your labia feeling their age? Do they need a bit more pink? There’s an application for that. Literally.

‘My New Pink Button’ , a genital cosmetic colorant, will help restore your labia to their naturally ‘youthful’ pink color! Feeling a bit more daring?  There’s a color for that too! Purple, bright red, amber, you name it. Any shade that you’ve ever dreamt of. Any hue that your partner desires. After all, if you’re going to dye your hair, why not dye down there?

While you’re at it, you can also reshape your labia to insure that they are more desirable in appearance. Vaginal rejuvenation, writes journalist Angel Bonvoglia for the Women’s Media Center Blog, is a procedure where cosmetic surgeons (mostly men), “carve, burn, cauterize, and stitch the female labia, clitoral environs, vaginal canal, and other points south… in order to create supposedly longed for “designer” vaginas and thereby “enhance sexual gratification.”” Ironically, Bonovoglia discovers that  labiaplasty, the most popular procedure (which entails either leaving just the edge of the inner labia or cutting it off entirely) actually impairs sexual desire. Still, even a top surgeon is quoted as claiming that a tight vagina will keep any man around.

Granted, we live in a visual culture, where middle age is synonymous with invisibility and where older women reach a point where they virtually cease to exist. Women poke, pull, botox, dye, suck, lift and pout in an attempt to hold on to their visibility. Now they have the option to make sure that all is well down below as well, which when taken to extremes, also insures that they rob themselves of the very thing that they are trying to regain: their sexuality.

Why do we need to be worried about or spare our partners from discovering discolored or loose labia? (Really, if he or she is down there, are their eyes open?) Better yet, have our attempts to regain our sexuality insured that we have lost our sanity at the same time?

What do you think? What flava would you like your labia?

Trans fats are not your friend

Posted by Liz on Mar 1, 2010 in diet, heart disease, stroke | 5 comments

Do you want to live well past menopause? One way to do it is to cut out the trans fats (or partially hydrogenated oils) now!

Trans fats are found mostly in fried (e.g. french fries, donuts) and processed foods (e.g. pastries,  pizza dough, cookies, crackers). In the body, trans fats significantly raise LDL cholesterol levels and lower HDL cholesterol levels (read: raise bad fats, lower good fats). And since we already know that elevated cholesterol right around menopause is a major factor in heart disease in women, it makes sense that the stroke risk might also come into play.

In a study  presented last week at the American Stroke Association International Stroke Conference 2010, researchers analyzed data culled from 87,230 women who had participated in the Women’s Health Initiative and followed for about 8 years. After adjusting for possible factors that might influence results (e.g.s age, race, smoking, physical activity, alcohol, body mass index, hormone therapy, diabetes, aspirin use, fruits, vegetables and dietary fiber intake) they found that women who ate the most total fat had a 40% increased risk for ischemic stroke. Women who ate trans fat in particular, had a 30% increased risk for ischemic stroke. (Ischemic stroke is caused by blocked blood vessels in or leading to the brain.) So, how much fat were these women eating? Women who reported eating the most fat averaged about 86 grams of total fat and 7 grams of trans fat daily (compared to 26 grams and 1 gram, respectively, in women who ate the least).

It seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? Cut down on the fats and processed food and increase the healthy stuff. In the supermarket, stick to the store periphery where fruits, vegetables and all the good stuff can be found. Read the label…often.

Truly, trans fat is not your friend.