There are many ways to manage common menopausal symptoms. It can take time to work out which treatment, or combination of treatments, works best for you.
Managing hot flushes and night sweats
Managing sleep disturbance
Managing mental and emotional health
Managing bladder, vaginal and vulval problems
Managing aches and pains
Related resources
About 80% of women experience hot flushes (also called ‘hot flashes’) and night sweats around the time of menopause.
There are lots of ways to deal with hot flushes.
MHT is the most effective way to manage hot flushes and night sweats. If you can’t use MHT, or don’t want to, you can try non-hormonal options to help with these symptoms.
Try to avoid things that trigger your hot flushes or make them worse.
For example:
For some women, stressful situations can make hot flushes worse. Reducing stress and using mind-body techniques can help.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) has been shown to be effective in managing hot flushes and night sweats. While CBT doesn’t usually reduce the frequency of hot flushes, it can reduce their impact.
There is some evidence that breathing and relaxation techniques can help you manage the impact of hot flushes.
Yoga has also been shown to be a safe and effective way to manage menopausal symptoms, including hot flushes.
It can be hard to manage hot flushes in different environments, particularly during warmer weather.
During the day, you can:
At night, you can:
Maintaining a healthy weight may help to improve menopausal symptoms. There is some evidence that weight gain can increase the severity of hot flushes and night sweats.
In this video, Dr Premitha Damodaran, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Pantai Hospital, Malaysia, speaks about the best way to manage hot flushes and night sweats around the time of menopause. Download the video transcript (DOCX 153KB).
It’s common to experience sleep problems in the lead-up to menopause. About 25% of women aged 50 to 64 years have sleep problems. Menopausal symptoms, sleep habits and other lifestyle factors can impact your sleep.
Hot flushes during the night, also known as ‘night sweats’, can interrupt your sleep, or make it hard to sleep well. There are many things you can do to manage night sweats.
Healthy sleep habits and lifestyle choices can also help to improve your sleep.
Menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) can help ease hot flushes and night sweats, which can improve sleep quality.
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) can help you manage hot flushes and night sweats by reducing the impact they have on you. CBT is also effective in treating sleep problems such as insomnia.
You might benefit from taking melatonin before bed. Melatonin might interact with other prescription or over-the-counter medicines, so talk to your doctor if you’re not sure.
Around the time of menopause, hormonal changes can impact your mood and emotions.
It’s common to feel low during this time. You might experience symptoms such as stress and anxiety as well as forgetfulness and brain fog.
Read this article about how to talk to your doctor about midlife brain fog.
At this stage of life, other issues can affect your emotions. For example, if you’re juggling many responsibilities and feeling more stress than normal.
There are many ways to look after your emotional health, from talking to someone you trust to developing healthy habits.
You can also:
Read our Tips for managing anxiety fact sheet.
If you are concerned about your mood and emotional health, visit the Beyond Blue website.
To find a qualified psychologist, ask your doctor or visit the Australian Psychological Society website.
To find a registered psychiatrist, ask your doctor, or visit the Royal Australian & New Zealand College of Psychiatrists website.
Around the time of menopause, you may experience a range of urinary and vulvovaginal symptoms.
If you have urinary problems, such as the need to wee more often than usual, you can talk to your doctor about different treatment options. They may refer you to a continence specialist or a trained physiotherapist who can help you strengthen your pelvic floor muscles.
Read a fact sheet about how menopause can affect the bladder and bowel on the Continence Health Australia website.
If you experience vulval irritation, for example, burning or itching, your doctor might recommend different options, including:
Learn more about treating vulval irritation and vulval care.
If you have a dry vagina that causes painful sex, your doctor might recommend vaginal lubricants, vaginal moisturisers, vaginal oestrogen or MHT. If you still feel anxious about having sex after treating the physical symptoms, it might help to see a qualified health professional, such as a pelvic floor physiotherapist, sex therapist or psychologist.
You might notice muscle and joint aches and pains at menopause.
If you have joint pain that is new or getting worse, talk to your doctor. Menopause could play a role, but other conditions such as stiff joints (arthralgia) and arthritis can also happen at this stage of life.
There are lots of ways to ease your aches and pains. For example:
MHT may help reduce aches and pains. A large-scale study showed that women who used MHT had a lower prevalence of knee osteoarthritis than women who didn’t use it. Ask your doctor if MHT is right for you.
This content has been reviewed by a group of medical subject matter experts, in accordance with Jean Hailes policy.
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