Menopause signals a natural transition in a woman's life, marking the end of her reproductive years. The average age for menopause is 51, but it can occur earlier or later.
During menopause, a woman's body produces less of the key hormones estrogen and progesterone. This often leads to symptoms like hot flashes, trouble sleeping, vaginal dryness, and mood changes. Lower hormone levels may also raise a woman's risk for conditions like osteoporosis and heart disease over time.
Timely treatment from a certified menopause practitioner can ease discomfort during this transition, while promoting long-term health and vitality.
The most well-known sign of menopause is hot flashes - sudden feelings of warmth in the face, neck, and chest that can cause sweating and flushed skin. Over three-quarters of women have hot flashes around menopause. Other common symptoms include:
The severity of symptoms varies widely. While some women have no or minimal discomfort, others find symptoms interfere with their quality of life.
Seeing a menopause specialist can help determine if your symptoms are related to hormone changes and explore treatment options suited to your needs.
Hormones like estrogen help regulate many essential body processes in women. From bone and heart health to healthy genitourinary function, balanced hormone levels promote wellbeing throughout the body.
Estrogen plays a key role in bone remodeling - the continuous process of forming new bone tissue and removing older tissue. During menopause, reduced estrogen speeds up bone loss. This raises a woman's risk of developing osteoporosis over time.
Getting adequate calcium and vitamin D is important. But hormone therapy may also be recommended to help protect bone health long-term.
Estrogen also appears to have protective effects on heart health. Women have a lower cardiovascular risk compared to men during their reproductive years. But this gender gap closes after menopause.
Hormone therapy during the early menopause transition may reduce a woman's risk of heart disease. But the optimal timing and regimen requires an individualized approach.
Menopause treatment always starts with healthy lifestyle choices, like eating nutritious foods, exercising regularly, reducing stress, and not smoking. But additional therapies can provide relief from disruptive menopause symptoms or address other hormone-related health issues.
There are two main types of treatment:
Supplementing estrogen and often progesterone can treat hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal atrophy symptoms, bone loss, and even mood or sleep issues.
When initiated early in menopause, hormone therapy is considered the most effective treatment option for menopause symptoms. It may also provide long-term health benefits.
The risks and benefits of hormone therapy depend on the woman's age and health profile. Treatment is individualized at the lowest effective dose. Options include:
Some women prefer to avoid hormone therapy, often trying natural remedies first. Options may include:
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