(Image source from: Is this the end of your cycles?})

Are you sagging, receding and creasing faster than a plum in the sun? Do you often find it too hot to sleep and often wake up in your own pool of sweat? Does sex hurt? Does the thought of going to bed with a man leaves you shivering like timber every time? Welcome to menopause - a downhill ride of dried-up hormones that can make your life seem like a uphill climb when it hits.

Hot flushes and night sweats, loss of sexual desire, vaginal dryness and pain, itching or discomfort during sex, palpitations, headaches, depression, anxiety or tiredness, insomnia, urinary tract infections are just some of the flip-sides of this midlife crisis.

But before you stop to ask God “Why me?”, know that this part of aging is quite normal. It happens when your ovaries stop producing oestrogen and progesterone — the two female sex hormones that besides preparing body for pregnancy, also helps in maintaining healthy bones and heart. Changes occur in oestrogen-dependant parts of the body which leads to a host of symptoms that can be very, very uncomfortable for a woman.

The best thing to do when it hits you is talk to your gynecologist, who might be able to make the tough ride easier for you. Healthy diet followed by a good lifestyle might help you retain back your well-being and live a normal life.

AW: Suchorita Dutta Choudhury