Menopause has long been called “the change of life” for a reason. Female hormones that regulate your libido, keep your skin smooth and youthful, and aid in metabolism and many other bodily functions suddenly shift dramatically.
The change gives rise to physical, emotional, and sexual symptoms that vary in nature, severity, and duration from one woman to the next.
At Bethel Family Medicine, our board-certified physicians and family nurse practitioners offer comprehensive women’s health services, including caring menopause help. Our team provides hormone replacement therapy geared to your individual menopause symptoms.
The following are some common effects of menopause and how hormone replacement can help ease your symptoms.
Menopause signals the end of female fertility. As your body transitions toward menopause, your female hormone levels change.
Some women are mostly unaffected by it, but a majority of women experience a variety of symptoms, many of them ranging from mild to uncomfortable to the point of great distress.
The following are five common menopause symptoms.
Hot flashes and night sweats can be mild or debilitating.
When they’re mild, you may occasionally feel a surge of heat suffusing your chest that rises to your face. Your skin gets moist with sweat.
Alternatively, hot flashes and night sweats can be severe. You may wake up at night with your pajamas and sheets drenched in sweat. It’s difficult to get back to sleep. You may develop anxiety about when it’s going to occur again, leading to insomnia. You may have frequent hot flashes during the day that cause embarrassment when clothing sticks to your skin.
Severe hot flashes interrupt every aspect of your life and make it difficult to function.
Changes in your hormones can create frequent periods of wakefulness during the night. If you experience hot flashes and night sweats, you may develop insomnia because you realize you’re going to be awakened during the night. Insomnia can lead to anxiety and depression. It can become a vicious cycle.
Two factors at work can lead to weight gain in menopause.
Lower estrogen levels cause your body to develop more abdominal fat. In addition to a larger abdomen, it’s challenging to keep a trim waistline. You may be dismayed by “love handles” on either side of your waist.
Furthermore, less estrogen decreases your muscle mass, so your skin is looser and less elastic.
In addition to physical symptoms, you may experience mood swings or feel anxious or depressed. Insomnia doesn’t help and can worsen the situation.
Your family may notice that you just aren’t yourself. You may become easily irritated over things that wouldn’t bother you previously.
Menopause can disrupt intimacy with your partner. With low levels of female hormones, you may develop vaginal dryness. You may find that drugstore lubricants just don’t do the job anymore.
When sex with your partner hurts, it’s not fun anymore. You may withdraw, and intimacy with your partner deteriorates.
Some women develop a more severe case of persistent dryness and irritation called vaginal atrophy.
In addition to vaginal dryness, you may develop low libido. Your partner misses normal intimacy, and relationship problems may ensue.
If your symptoms are severe and are disrupting your work, social, or intimate life, HRT can help you feel like yourself again. It can ease or stop any of the unwanted effects of menopause, including the top five symptoms that many women find most troublesome:
The medication rebalances your hormones throughout your body’s systems, easing your symptoms.
HRT works fast as it rebalances your female hormones. You’ll likely feel some relief within a few days, with increasing relief as your hormone levels reach a better balance.
Your HRT may be in any of the following forms:
If you choose the implant pellet, we place it just beneath your skin in the upper buttocks area. Many women like the pellet because it lasts for several months before it needs to be replaced. If you’re likely to forget to take a daily pill or change a patch at regular intervals, you may want the pellet option.
We can adjust your medication at any time to keep your menopause symptoms at bay.
If you’re having severe menopause symptoms, we have solutions. Call Bethel Family Medicine today to learn how HRT can help you manage this life change.
