I often feel queasy, not like I need to vomit, but just sick. It's worse without sleep. Reducing stress and relaxing helps. - Monika (age 51)
Nausea is more often associated with pregnancy than menopause. While hormonal fluctuations around menopause can also cause nausea or an unsettling feeling in your stomach or back of your throat. Makes sense, doesn’t it? So, how can nausea be prevented or managed? Can supplements be helpful in reducing nausea?
The exact way that nausea and vomiting occur is still not fully understood. However, hormonal fluctuations are believed to be a major contributor. Just like hormones can cause morning sickness during pregnancy or nausea during your periods.
When you are menopausal, your hormones don't fluctuate in the same way as they did during your monthly menstrual cycles. As you approach menopause, your hormone levels drop, while during pregnancy they rise sharply (and you are also more likely to feel nauseous in the morning). Falling oestrogen levels are thought to be the cause of nausea or vomiting during menopause. In addition, rising progesterone levels have been linked to digestive problems, which can increase the risk of nausea.
Hormonal changes can also trigger a variety of menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep problems and mood swings.
As stated above, hormonal fluctuations can make you nauseous. But nausea may also result from other menopausal symptoms such as headache, migraine, dizziness and stress.
Hot flashes can also trigger nausea. What actually happens is that a hot flash makes you nervous or anxious. When you feel overly anxious, this may cause you to experience a bout of nausea. Do you tend to feel nauseous after a hot flash? It can help if you understand what is causing you to feel this way. (Are you under a lot of stress, do you feel anxious or nervous about something?)
Nausea and vomiting can also be a side effect of certain medications, such as hormone therapy and antidepressants. In particular, stopping or tapering off antidepressants can cause nausea. Knowing this can be helpful, because antidepressants are often used as a treatment for the low mood associated with the perimenopause and menopause. However, if your symptoms are menopause related, this might not be the right course of treatment.
Most women experience nausea as a symptom of perimenopause, the stage before menopause, when other symptoms are usually more severe. Sometimes nausea can be mild and last for days, sometimes nausea can be so severe that it will cause vomiting and impact your ability to go about your day. During postmenopause, most symptoms, including nausea, usually become less concerning or disappear altogether.
What can help if you're feeling nauseous? Make a pot of fresh ginger tea, breathe in through your nose for five counts, and out through your mouth for five counts.
You may find it helpful to know that nausea can be a symptom of menopause (so you don't have to worry about an underlying health issue that you can't put your finger on). If your hormones are to blame, then it will go away on its own. In the meantime, you want to take good care of yourself to reduce your symptoms as much as possible. Here are some things you can try:
Dietary supplements can support your overall well-being by providing essential vitamins, minerals and nutrients that may be lacking in your diet.
If you are not sure what is causing your nausea, you should consult your GP. Especially if your nausea is frequent, keeps returning or is making it difficult to get through the day.
Subscribe to our newsletter, get all the tools you need to make your menopausal journey more comfortable, and to top it off, you will also get a 10% discount on our premium-quality supplements or on a doctor’s consultation!
The discount is calculated on the cost of the doctor’s consultation included in the total price and only applies to orders over £40. This offer is not valid for consultations for painkillers and sleep medication.