Menopause and Perimenopause Management

Symptoms of menopause can be alleviated with many different therapy options. We work with our patients in a partnership to treat them during this transition based on their personal, individualized needs. Please visit our website hormonetherapyaugusta.com to learn more about the multiple options for treating the symptoms of menopause. But first, there are some things you should know.

You already know ...you don’t feel like yourself with irregular periods, hot flashes and night sweats, sleepless nights, fatigue, irritability, depression, loss of memory, weight gain, vaginal dryness, changes in your skin and hair, loss of breast fullness, and mood swings. You can’t seem to find your libido or anything else for that matter.

You may not know ... your symptoms can be indicators of perimenopause or menopause. Every woman who enters middle age is affected by menopause. Roughly 6,000 women in the United States reach menopause every day. Many women transition without significant complications; however, countless others suffer from significant biological, physical, cognitive, psychological, vulvovaginal, urinary, and sexual dysfunctions. For many women, this time in life may represent a significant challenge. It may lead to problems in relationships with family, co-workers, and friends.

You need to know ... menopause is a time that marks the end of menstrual cycles and fertility. The true definition is the lack of a menstrual cycle for a full 12 months. Menopause is a natural biological process that usually occurs in a woman’s 40s or 50s, but the average age is 50-51.

Common symptoms of menopause

Hot flashes and night sweats, irregular and heavy periods, vaginal dryness, difficulty concentrating, anxiety, irritability and mood swings, trouble sleeping, weight gain and slowed metabolism, memory lapses, physical and mental exhaustion, incontinence, joint and muscle aches, urinary incontinence, migraine headaches, depression, cardiac arrhythmia, and loss of libido.

When you come for evaluation, you may be asked to fill out a Menopausal Rating Scale (MRS) to rate the severity of many common symptoms.

Causes of menopause

There are many causes of menopause. The most common is the natural decline of reproductive hormones as a woman approaches her late 30s. Hormones that regulate menstruation such as estrogen and progesterone begin to decline which may be noted clinically by irregular menstrual periods that become longer or shorter, heavier or lighter, more or less frequent, until eventually the ovaries stop making eggs and periods cease.

Surgical menopause occurs when the ovaries are removed at the time of a hysterectomy after which cycles stop immediately and women are likely to have hot flashes and other menopausal signs and symptoms which can be severe since hormonal changes occurred abruptly rather than over several years.

Chemotherapy and radiation therapy can also halt menstruation and fertility causing typical menopausal symptoms.

Primary ovarian failure occurs in approximately 1% of women who experience early, premature menopause.

After menopause, many medical conditions appear including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, strokes and heart attacks, type II diabestes, osteoporosis, urinary incontinence, weight gain, osteoarthritis, dementia, and sexual dysfunction.

Diagnosis

Although signs and symptoms of menopause are usually enough to tell most women changes are occurring, laboratory tests are usually obtained to confirm the diagnosis. Once the cause of the symptoms are identified and diagnosed, we can then address the best treatment options available.

Learn more at www.hormontherapyaugusta.com