The onset of menopause can be a stressful time for many women.There are so many confusing choices about how to handle the annoying and sometimes dangerous symptoms of menopause. Here are four little known facts to help you survive this transition period.

1.  Ask your mother when your menopause will begin.

In fact, ask not only your mother, but your aunts and your maternal grandmother when they began their menopause.. While not a guarantee, this information does provide you with a general start time since menopause is genetically linked.

Menopause start dates are also strongly influenced by the health of your ovaries, so anything that could cause damage to them is a factor, including smoking, chemotherapy, gynecological surgeries and ethnicity (African-American and Hispanic women earlier and Asians slightly later).

2.  Bio-identical hormones are not safer or more effective.

There has been a great deal of publicity about this issue, however the Food and Drug Administration has said that these types of hormones have not been shown to be safer or more effective than other hormones not labeled bio-identical. And labeling seems to be the crux of the matter, because many hormones are already made from plants.

Prometrium, a natural progesterone is derived from yams for instance. Bio-identical hormones advocates contend that their products are custom-made and must be prepared in a compounding pharmacy, but compounding pharmacies lack the same level of regulation and oversight commercially-available products must meet.

3.  Hot flashes can be avoided with these simple fixes.

You will know when it happens; a sudden feeling that you're being roasted alive. A daytime annoyance causing discomfort, but happening at night (night sweats) they can disrupt your sleep, leading to more problems.

Keeping cool is the answer, because anything that might cause you to get warm will magnify your body temperature to a broiling level quickly if not alleviated:

• Keep the thermostat a little lower than usual.
• Keep the air circulating with fans, including small personal fans.
• Keep a cooling scarf/neck wrap handy.
• Avoid spicy foods, hot drinks and alcohol.

4.  Menstrual periods sometimes get heavier before coming to an end.

Just as with lighter periods, this is caused by fluctuating hormone levels. Estrogen is thought to be the main culprit in heavy bleeding, but more studies are needed. This can be a miserable and embarrassing time, but there is help. Once your doctor has ruled out other serious conditions that could cause heavy bleeding, you may be prescribed Progesterone, which can help reduce the build-up of the uterine lining.

You do not need to suffer with the debilitating symptoms of menopause. Follow the hot flash tips above and talk to your doctor about getting help with this major turning point in your life. To learn more, contact a company like Bay Area Women's Care.