Menopause may be a more difficult phase in a woman’s life if she suffers from diabetes. It is the phase of life when your periods have stopped and the estrogen levels have dropped. Some women undergo menopause due to surgery in which the ovaries are removed for certain medical reasons.

Diabetes and Menopause Together Can Affect the Body of a Woman in the Following Ways:

  • Changes in blood sugar level: Estrogen and progesterone affect the response of cells towards insulin. After menopause, alteration in the hormone levels can trigger variations in the blood sugar level. Blood sugar that gets out of control can cause an increased risk of diabetes complications.
  • Weight gain: Some women during menopausal phase experience weight gain, which can raise the requirement of diabetes medicines.
  • Infections: High sugar levels in the blood can cause vaginal and urinary tract infection. After menopause, when the estrogens levels drop, it becomes easier for the infections to flourish in the vagina and the urinary tract.
  • Sleep problems: After menopause, problems such as hot flashes and night sweats disturb your sleep in the night. Eventually, sleep problems make it difficult to manage the blood sugar level.
  • Sexual problems: Diabetes can damage the nerves of the cells lining the vagina, which can obstruct orgasms. Vaginal dryness is a common symptom of menopause, which may also make the condition more complex by causing pain during intercourse.

Menopause Can Cause Difficulty in Controlling Diabetes. It Could Double Your Challenge. However, You Can Do Certain Things to Manage Your Diabetes and Menopause Such As:

  • Live a healthy lifestyle: Healthy lifestyle options such as eating healthy and doing regular exercise are highly beneficial for the management of diabetes. Same lifestyle changes can help you to feel good after menopause too.
  • Check blood sugar regularly: Check your blood sugar levels more frequently and keep a record of readings so that your physician can change the treatment plan as per requirements.
  • Ask your doctor about adjusting the diabetes medicines: In case the average blood sugar level elevates then you require raising the dosage of diabetes medicines.
  • Control your cholesterol levels: Diabetic patients have a higher risk of the cardiovascular The risk rises if a woman reaches menopause. Therefore, make healthy lifestyle changes and ask your doctor about the need for taking cholesterol-lowering medicines.
  • Control menopausal symptoms: If you suffer hot flashes, vaginal dryness or other menopausal symptoms, then consult your doctor for treatment. He or she may recommend you vaginal lubricants to restore vaginal moisture and hormone replacement therapy to ease the other symptoms.

How Can Omega-3 Be Helpful in Managing Both Diabetes and Menopause Symptoms?

Omega-3 is helpful in the management of both conditions. Earlier studies have reported a lower prevalence of impaired glucose tolerance and type-2 diabetes in populations who took large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids found mainly in fish. Fish oil may be useful in treating dyslipidemia in diabetes. Fish oil supplementation improved plasma VLDL cholesterol, VLDL TGs, and total TGs while having a transient deterioration in LDL cholesterol in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM).

On the other hand, omega-3 fatty acids relieve depressive symptoms related to menopause. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition presented the first evidence that EPA supplementation is effective for treating common menopause-related mental health problems and improves depressive symptoms.