While menopause is a
natural time in every woman's life, not all of us get through it as
easily as others. Some women are lucky enough to have very limited
and mild symptoms while others can experience severe symptoms that
interfere with daily life and last for a decade or longer. Hormone
replacement therapy is a safe, approved way to treat the symptoms of
menopause while protecting you against some health concerns that
older women face.
What
Happens to Your Hormones During Menopause?
During
the perimenopause
phase, estrogen and
progesterone levels start to fluctuate as the ovaries shrink. This
phase is marked by irregular periods. During perimenopause, the
ovaries will sometimes make too little estrogen and/or progesterone
and sometimes too little.
While a
man's testosterone levels decline as he ages but never reach zero, a
woman's body eventually stops making estrogen completely. After 6 to
12 months before menstruation ends, estrogen levels begin to decline.
When estrogen declines past a certain point, menstruation ends
completely. Over the next year, estrogen levels continue to decline
until the reach zero.
Low
estrogen, while natural, causes many health problems. Low estrogen
levels following menopause are linked to:
- Bone loss. The loss of estrogen accelerates bone loss and puts postmenopausal women at a higher risk of osteoporosis.
- Changes to the skin. Declining estrogen affects collagen. This leads to dry skin and wrinkles.
- Vaginal changes. During menopause, the vaginal lining and urinary tract weaken and thin which can make intercourse painful.
- Heart disease. Postmenopausal women are at a higher risk of heart disease.
Hormone
Replacement Therapy for Menopause
Hormone replacement is
customized to each woman. Some women choose estrogen-only hormone
therapy, progesterone-only, or progesterone and estrogen replacement.
The goal of HRT is restoring more youthful levels of estrogen and/or
progesterone to counteract menopause symptoms and guard against heart
disease and osteoporosis.
Hormone
replacement comes in many forms. Systemic hormone therapy in pill or
patch form can treat all symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes
and vaginal symptoms while reducing your risk of osteoporosis.
Estrogen creams can also be used. This type of hormone therapy limits
the amount of hormones that enter your blood stream. While it cannot
protect you against osteoporosis, it can treat vaginal symptoms.
Is
Hormone Therapy the Right Choice?
Hormone
replacement isn't right for every woman, but it is recommended for
women at risk of osteoporosis and women with moderate to severe
menopause symptoms. Women who are undergoing menopause naturally
(those who haven't had a hysterectomy), the combination of estrogen
and progesterone is advised as estrogen-only HRT can raise the risk
of endometrial cancer. Women with heart disease, liver disease, and
breast cancer are not good candidates for hormone therapy as HRT only
guards against heart disease among younger women who have a healthy
circulatory system.
While
HRT is not a cure-all for menopause, it is the best way to treat
menopause systems, guard against osteoporosis, and improve your
quality of life. The best way to find out if you are a good candidate
is scheduling a consultation with your doctor or a hormone
specialist.
HealthGains
is a nationwide age management and hormone
optimization center headquartered in South Florida.
HealthGains specializes in hormone therapy, PRP therapy, nutritional
supplementation, and specialized diagnostics to help you look and
feel your best.
Ahhh this sounds so awful!! Lol I don't want to get old.
ReplyDeleteNo worries---it's not THAT bad.
DeleteGlad the wife and I are beyond all this.
ReplyDeleteHa-Ha I'll bet!
DeleteI am one of those horrible women who when menopause happened it was just like my periods stopped one day, no hot flashes or night sweats just no more periods, although my daughters told me I went through some mood swings but yeah all in all a breeze
ReplyDeleteI'm so jealous!! I've been going through this nonsense for six years, wondering when the hell it will end.
DeleteSo happy to be reading this. I'm at risk for osteoporosis, so I'm going to be very interested in HRT. Going to follow up with my doctor!
ReplyDeleteThat's great---let me know how it turns out for you!
DeleteAlas, I tried HRT and couldn't tolerate it. Lowest dose estradiol patch and I ended up with really bad heart palpitations and had to stop. Before that, I started with Maca (Feminessence), which worked great and then made me very anxious and I had to stop. Tried black cohosh in Estroven once and it made me totally unable to sleep. Took black cohosh in Remifemin and it worked great and then just stopped working after a couple of months. HRT was the 4th remedy I tried and it worked at first before the palpitations. Now doing homeopathy and keeping my fingers crossed as it seems to be helping.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy that you have found a solution that works!
DeleteOH my goodness, I did not know about bone loss. I'll have to look into that a lot... After my hysterectomy, the DR did put me on a prescription, but I felt like I'd be fine without it. I asked the pharmacist and she said no, I'd go into instant menopause. I asked my dr. she said it'd be too shocking to my body and my symptoms would be instant and severe (menopause). I don't like to take medicine though, and definitely not long-term. So I stopped. I had maybe a handful of hot flashes, period and no other symptoms. It was just an instinct I would be okay, I'm glad I went with it. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad for you, too. But definitely check on your bones as you get older. Make sure you get enough calcium.
DeleteI'm just starting to see symptoms and UGH :(
ReplyDeleteI have a history of breast cancer in my family so I don't know whether my doctor will give me replacement therapy but I'm already freaking OUT about more wrinkles!!!
Just keep moisturizing your skin and stay out of the sun (or wear a super strong SPF cream) :)
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