Staying well in menopause

Very little is known about the effects of menopause on MS but some women have reported a worsening of MS or its symptoms. Learning safe and effective strategies can help you prepare for this changing period of your life.

Menopause and MS

Changing hormone levels during menopause can cause hot flushes and affect your mood, sleep, energy levels and bladder function. These can be hard to distinguish from symptoms of MS or may trigger them.

Management strategies for menopause symptoms include:

Keeping cool with cold showers, fans, cooling sprays or vests, or layered clothing

Drinking enough cool water

Eating a nutritious diet including tofu, green vegetables, wholegrain foods, legumes and lots of fibre

Reducing your intake of caffeine and spicy foods

Exercising (within your abilities)

Using medication

Before taking a prescription or non-prescription medicine to treat your menopause symptoms, talk to your neurologist about potential drug interactions as it may reduce the effectiveness of your MS medicine.

To learn more about menopause and MS, create a list of questions to ask your neurologist below.

Questions you could ask your neurologist

Select which questions you would like to ask at your next appointment

What list?

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