June 6, 2023: As doctors and researchers learn more about the long duration of COVID, an attractive fact has emerged: women in menopause and perimenopause appear to be more likely to experience severe headaches from the virus.
British researchers recently noticed that middle-aged people who have COVID for a long time seem to have rapid and severe symptoms, including mental confusion, fatigue, new-onset dizziness, and difficulty sleeping through the night.
Doctors also believe that it’s possible that long COVID only worsens perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms. Lower levels of estrogen and testosterone appear to be the cause.
“A long-standing theory of COVID is that there is a disruption of transience in the physiological production of ovarian steroid hormones, which can [worsen] perimenopausal and menopausal symptoms,” JoAnn V said. Pinkerton, MD, professor of obstetrics at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville and executive director emeritus of the North American Menopause Society.
Long-term COVID symptoms and menopausal symptoms can also be very difficult to distinguish.
Another British study warns that because of these types of overlapping symptoms, middle-aged women can be misdiagnosed. Research from the Menopause Society of North America shows that many women might struggle to get over a prolonged COVID unless their hormone deficiency is treated.
Read on to take a closer look at the link between prolonged COVID and menopause, so you can give your doctor the right facts for the right diagnosis and get the remedy you need.
What are the symptoms of a COVID?
There are more than two hundred symptoms that have been linked to long-term COVID, according to the American Medical Association. Some non-unusual symptoms are explained lately as:
Prolonged COVID symptoms begin a few weeks or months after a COVID infection. It’s possible they will last indefinitely, but “the hope is that long COVID may not last a lifetime,” said Clare Flannery, MD, an endocrinologist 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 ones of menopause?
Some of menopause include:
Middle-aged women have other symptoms that would possibly be the same as perimenopause/menopause symptoms.
Learn more: Join our webinar, Beyond Hot Flashes: Treatment Options for Perimenopausal and Menopausal Symptoms
“Common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause that can also be symptoms attributed to a prolonged COVID include hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, moodiness, depression or anxiety, decreased concentration, memory problems, joint and muscle pain, and headaches. “Pinkerton said.
Can long COVID cause menopause?
In short: maybe.
News from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Patient-Led Research Collaborative/University of California, San Francisco, shows that a prolonged COVID can alter the menstrual cycle, ovaries, fertility, and menopause itself.
It may also be due to chronic inflammation caused by prolonged COVID with hormones. This type of inflammatory reaction may just be irregularities in a woman’s menstrual cycle, according to the Newson Health Research and Education study.
For example, “when the frame has inflammation, ovulation can occur,” Flannery said.
The mechanism of how long COVID can also stimulate menopause possibly also involves a woman’s ovaries.
“Since the theory is that COVID affects the ovary with an ovarian reserve and ovarian function, it makes sense that prolonged COVID could cause perimenopausal or menopausal symptoms more acutely or severely and extend the symptoms of perimenopause and the menopausal transition,” Pinkerton said. .
How can hormone replacement therapy gain advantages for women suffering from prolonged COVID menopause?
Estradiol, the strongest estrogen hormone in a woman’s body, has already been shown to have a positive effect against COVID.
“Treatment with estradiol treats symptoms more aggressively like those of long COVID,” Flannery said.
Estradiol is also a form of hormone replacement therapy, or HRT, for menopausal symptoms.
“Estradiol has been shown to help hot flashes, night sweats and sleep, and improve perimenopausal temperament,” Pinkerton said. the ovary observed COVID and the improvement in symptoms. “
Estrogen-based HRT has been linked to an increased threat of endometrial, breast and ovarian cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. This means that you should thoroughly assess how comfortable you are with those additional threats before beginning this type of therapy.
“Which of your symptoms is the hardest to manage?You can see if you can navigate between one and 3 of them. What are you willing to do about your symptoms? If a woman is willing to announce her dream over the next 6 months to a year, she would possibly be willing to change the way she perceives the threat of cancer,” Flannery said. “What threat is a woman willing to take? I think that if you care too little about the threat of estradiol during a trial period of 1 to 2 years may also be imperative to help.
Discussing your risk points and express considerations with your doctor can make the right decision.
What else can help me if I have prolonged menopause due to COVID?
Getting the COVID vaccine if you haven’t already, as well as a booster, can help. It will cause postmenopausal disorders such as abnormal bleeding.
“Weak and inconsistent arrangements were observed between SARS-CoV-2 vaccination and health care contacts for bleeding in postmenopausal women, and even less evidence of an arrangement for menstrual disorders or bleeding was recorded in premenopausal women,” said study co-author Rickard Ljung, MD. , PhD, MPH, Professor and Acting Head of the Department of Pharmacoepidemiology and Analysis of the Utilization and Information Division of the Swedish Medical Products Agency in Uppsala, Sweden.
As for self-care, consult to alleviate any hormonal symptoms you had before the long COVID.
Treating perimenopausal symptoms can be helpful, Flannery said. It can also be helpful for your discomfort due to a long COVID, if your two physical situations are truly linked.
“Proper nutrition — avoiding carbohydrates and sweets, especially before menstruation, in addition to getting at least 7 hours of sleep and exercising regularly, reducing stress and avoiding excess alcohol can help women’s ovaries act as ovarian fluctuations,” Pinkerton said.
Taking those practical steps can make you feel better.
SOURCES:
JoAnn V. Pinkerton, MD, Professor of Obstetrics, University of Virginia at Charlottesville; Executive Director, North American Menopause Society.
Clare Flannery, MD, Associate Professor, Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences and Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Rickard Ljung, MD, PhD, MPH, Professor and Acting Head, Department of Pharmacoepidemiology and Analysis, Division of Use and Information, Swedish Medical Products Agency, Uppsala, Sweden.
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