Menopause is a natural transition that all women experience as they age. The years leading up to menopause are called perimenopause. This transition is caused by decreasing estrogen and progesterone hormone levels. Lower hormone levels affect the whole body and can cause various symptoms.
Common menopausal symptoms include:
While menopause symptoms can significantly impact quality of life, there are many safe and effective treatment options available, including hormone therapy (HT). When administered correctly under medical supervision, HT can help relieve uncomfortable symptoms and reduce the risk of long term health issues like osteoporosis.
Hormone levels begin to fluctuate in perimenopause because the ovaries produce less estrogen and progesterone. This decline continues until menstruation finally stops completely. Lower hormone levels cause many of the disruptive menopausal symptoms women experience.
There are several factors that influence declining hormones:
Understanding what causes hormone fluctuations helps women prepare for menopause and work with their healthcare providers to minimize symptoms. Lifestyle changes and medical treatments tailored to the individual can significantly improve comfort and quality of life during the menopausal transition.
Properly administered HT offers a variety of benefits for perimenopausal and menopausal women, including relief of hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness. Additional benefits may include:
The safety profile of HT continues to improve thanks to recent medical advances allowing for lower doses through gels, patches, pellets, and creams. When expertly tailored and monitored, most women can use HT to manage menopause symptoms and support long-term health.
Hormone therapy usually involves estrogen with or without progesterone. The main goal is stabilizing hormone levels within a normal range to resolve discomfort and prevent future issues. Key basics about commonly prescribed hormones include:
With HT, estradiol is typically used because it most closely matches naturally occurring estrogen in the body. Treatment often starts with the lowest effective dose, which is gradually increased until symptoms improve.
Women with a uterus require progesterone or progestin with estrogen therapy. Those without a uterus usually don’t need supplemental progesterone. Bioidentical hormones closely match natural progesterone and demonstrate high safety.
Balancing all key hormones is optimal. In particular, boosting depleted testosterone and DHEA can further improve libido, energy, and mental sharpness during menopause.
Optimal Hormone Solutions menopause clinic provides personalized care for women in Leander and surrounding areas. Our goal is relieving symptoms to enhance comfort and prevent long term issues. We offer:
Our clinic specializes in hormone therapy for perimenopause and menopause transition stages. Our best menopause doctor is Dr Jane Wells, double board certified in Internal Medicine and Antiaging Medicine. With over 15 years focusing specifically on hormone balance, Dr Wells leads a compassionate care team dedicated to menopause treatment.
You can trust our staff will leverage medical advances at the forefront of the field to create fully customized therapy for your needs. We stay up to date on the latest peer reviewed studies and conferences to incorporate cutting edge protocols.
We thoroughly test hormone, nutrition and genomic biomarkers related to menopause and aging to best personalize care. Examples include:
Reviewing lab analysis together allows us to precisely target where your hormone balance is suboptimal. Testing also monitors progress during treatment so protocols can be adjusted based on your unique response.
In addition to HT, we offer evidence based lifestyle guidance and treatments to enhance hormone therapy, such as:
Our integrative approach addresses the interrelated factors that
We realize this transition can be challenging to navigate. We work closely with you over months and years to ensure understanding, progress, and satisfaction.
Our staff strives to empower patients with knowledge, tools, compassion, and accountability during each phase. We’re here to help smooth the process with empathy.
Studies show that practicing yoga can help relieve many menopausal symptoms. Specific poses that twist, invert, or incorporate forward bends may be especially helpful by increasing circulation and regulating hormones. Yoga's focus on breathing and meditation also counteracts stress, anxiety, and mood swings.
Seeking timely evaluation and treatment for menopause is crucial. There are brief windows early on when interventions can achieve:
These aspects often decline when menopause progresses untreated:
Therefore, partnering with a doctor who treats menopause during earliest stages means advantages for resilience and longevity. Have candid conversations with your doctor about all symptoms you’re experiencing. Together you can develop solutions allowing you to feel and function at your best long term.
Detecting hormonal imbalance early on leads to more favorable outcomes. Symptoms are the clearest signal for declining hormones. Track your experiences to identify deficiency signs like:
Keeping detailed notes and escalating patterns to your menopause expert means faster prevention of worsening discomfort. Know you don’t need to struggle through this transition silently. Relief is readily available when you reach out.
There are opportunities to intervene during perimenopause before changes accelerate. Understanding typical events by stage helps determine ideal timing for hormone therapy.
This phase allows preparation for managing symptoms and health risks down the road. Discuss family history, medical needs, lifestyle habits, and goals for quality of life with your doctor specializing in menopause. Develop an action plan for diet, exercise, stress reduction and hormone testing.
Once disruptive symptoms emerge, hormone therapy can stabilize levels allowing substantial relief. Supportive treatments like vaginal estrogens also help targeted issues. Monitor labs to ensure proper dosage. Adjust nutrition, fitness and stress levels accordingly.
Sustaining hormone therapy during the first years after menstruation ceases prevents worsening symptoms and rapid bone loss. This stage requires vigilance through testing and follow up to prevent long term harm from hormonal deficiency. Consider adding testosterone or DHEA if needed.
As a clinic specializing in hormone therapy for menopause, we’ve distilled key suggestions to support women during this transition. These include:
We encourage utilizing all resources to take a proactive stance, protect future wellbeing, and thrive through perimenopause into longevity.
Optimal Hormone Solutions focuses exclusively on hormone balance for women and men utilizing an integrative approach under licensed medical supervision. Our passion is enhancing wellness during age-related transitions.
We’re conveniently located in Leander to serve central Texas communities. Our new patient coordinators can answer all questions and guide next steps.
