Hormone Replacement Therapy
How BHRT Helps Relieve Joint Pain
Menopause is a significant life change that comes with risk factors.
During the natural transition to menopause, also known as perimenopause, the female body slows the production of eggs, and female hormone levels drop, creating various issues that can disrupt sleep and life.
Women face new health concerns during post-menopause once the ovaries stop producing estrogen and releasing eggs.
During perimenopause
Most women experience signs of perimenopause in their forties, but it starts in their thirties for some when they encounter a drop in estrogen.
The list of signs and symptoms varies from woman to woman in the menopausal transition.
The most common include irregular periods, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, chills, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, slowed metabolism, weight gain, urinary incontinence, thinning hair, and dry skin.
Irregular periods
As hormone levels change, menstruation can be heavier or lighter, shorter or longer.
Sometimes a period is missed for a month or two.
However, women who miss a month should know that pregnancy can still happen during perimenopause.
Menopause is not confirmed until twelve consecutive months without a period.
Vaginal dryness
Estrogen is the primary hormone that keeps the vagina well lubricated, elastic, and firm.
As estrogen levels drop, women can experience dryness.
Additionally, the walls of the vagina become thinner. This combination of dryness and thinning walls can cause painful sex.
Hot flashes and chills
Mention “menopause,” and most people envision flushed women fanning themselves.
As the ovaries reduce their estrogen production, the resulting hormonal imbalance confuses the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body temperature.
So although symptoms such as hot flashes are the most discussed temperature malfunction, some women also experience chills or cold flashes.
Night sweats
A cousin of hot flashes, sweating in the middle of the night is another common and stereotypical sign of perimenopause.
Night sweats and temperature fluctuations negatively affect sleep during perimenopause.
Sleep problems
As if hot flashes and night sweats weren’t enough to disrupt sleep, women going through perimenopause may experience increased anxiety or depression, reducing sleep quality.
Additionally, the decreasing estrogen levels can cause joint aches and create a need to pass urine during the night, interrupting a good night’s sleep.
Mood changes
Many perimenopausal women experience mood swings as their bodies adapt to the changing hormonal levels.
Women experience increased stress due to hormonal imbalances, reduced sleep quality, and concerns about body image affect their mood.
The blues, crying, and irritability are the most commonly reported mood changes.
Slowed metabolism and weight gain
As we age, our metabolism slows, and many women become less active in their forties and fifties.
The double-whammy of a slower metabolism and reduced activity causes weight gain during perimenopausal years.
However, lowered estrogen levels also contribute to the re-distribution of weight, from a pear-shaped body (more weight below the waist) to an apple-shaped body (more weight at the abdomen).
Thinning hair and dry skin
Estrogen helps the skin retain water, keeping it moisturized and promoting hair growth and fullness.
Once again, lower estrogen levels affect women’s health.
During perimenopause, women may experience drier skin and hair loss.
Post Menopause
The road to perimenopause is fraught with inconvenient body changes that affect their well-being.
Once a woman misses twelve consecutive periods, she enters post-menopause, and many perimenopause signs and symptoms ease or go away.
However, new health risks arise for postmenopausal women now that the ovaries don’t produce estrogen.
Cardiovascular disease
One of estrogen’s benefits is that it helps protect against heart diseases, heart attacks, and strokes.
Many adult women do less physical exercise, increasing the risk of heart disease after menopause.
Osteoporosis
Decreased estrogen reduces bone density.
During post-menopause, women can lose up to 25 percent of their bone density, which increases the risk of fractures, especially of the wrist, hip, and spine.
Vaginal atrophy
Perimenopausal vaginal dryness and thinning of the vaginal walls often continue during post-menopause.
For some women, discomfort during sex can cause inflammation, which may be severe enough that they want to avoid intercourse.
Diabetes
The risk for diabetes is mainly related to age and weight.
However, because the hormonal changes during perimenopause can increase abdominal weight, there could be a correlation between menopause and diabetes.
What Can a Woman Do?
Women can’t prevent the bodily changes that come with age, but they can take steps to manage the signs and symptoms of perimenopause and post-menopause with hormone therapy.
Reduced estrogen levels are at the root of the menopause side effects, from sudden body temperature changes to weight gain to mood swings.
However, taking bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), following a proper diet, and exercising can ease the signs and symptoms of perimenopause and post-menopause.
On a molecular level, bioidentical hormones match those made naturally in the body, so they match the body’s hormone receptors.
Because bioidentical hormones work harmoniously with the body, BHRT is an effective and safe way to minimize hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and other symptoms, decreasing the risks of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, and diabetes.
Menopause is a significant life change that comes with risk factors.
During the natural transition to menopause, also known as perimenopause, the female body slows the production of eggs, and female hormone levels drop, creating various issues that can disrupt sleep and life.
Women face new health concerns during post-menopause once the ovaries stop producing estrogen and releasing eggs.
During perimenopause
Most women experience signs of perimenopause in their forties, but it starts in their thirties for some when they encounter a drop in estrogen.
The list of signs and symptoms varies from woman to woman in the menopausal transition.
The most common include irregular periods, vaginal dryness, hot flashes, chills, night sweats, difficulty sleeping, mood changes, slowed metabolism, weight gain, urinary incontinence, thinning hair, and dry skin.
Irregular periods
As hormone levels change, menstruation can be heavier or lighter, shorter or longer.
Sometimes a period is missed for a month or two.
However, women who miss a month should know that pregnancy can still happen during perimenopause.
Menopause is not confirmed until twelve consecutive months without a period.
Vaginal dryness
Estrogen is the primary hormone that keeps the vagina well lubricated, elastic, and firm.
As estrogen levels drop, women can experience dryness.
Additionally, the walls of the vagina become thinner. This combination of dryness and thinning walls can cause painful sex.
Hot flashes and chills
Mention “menopause,” and most people envision flushed women fanning themselves.
As the ovaries reduce their estrogen production, the resulting hormonal imbalance confuses the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that regulates body temperature.
So although symptoms such as hot flashes are the most discussed temperature malfunction, some women also experience chills or cold flashes.
Night sweats
A cousin of hot flashes, sweating in the middle of the night is another common and stereotypical sign of perimenopause.
Night sweats and temperature fluctuations negatively affect sleep during perimenopause.
Sleep problems
As if hot flashes and night sweats weren’t enough to disrupt sleep, women going through perimenopause may experience increased anxiety or depression, reducing sleep quality.
Additionally, the decreasing estrogen levels can cause joint aches and create a need to pass urine during the night, interrupting a good night’s sleep.
Mood changes
Many perimenopausal women experience mood swings as their bodies adapt to the changing hormonal levels.
Women experience increased stress due to hormonal imbalances, reduced sleep quality, and concerns about body image affect their mood.
The blues, crying, and irritability are the most commonly reported mood changes.
Slowed metabolism and weight gain
As we age, our metabolism slows, and many women become less active in their forties and fifties.
The double-whammy of a slower metabolism and reduced activity causes weight gain during perimenopausal years.
However, lowered estrogen levels also contribute to the re-distribution of weight, from a pear-shaped body (more weight below the waist) to an apple-shaped body (more weight at the abdomen).
Thinning hair and dry skin
Estrogen helps the skin retain water, keeping it moisturized and promoting hair growth and fullness.
Once again, lower estrogen levels affect women’s health.
During perimenopause, women may experience drier skin and hair loss.
Post Menopause
The road to perimenopause is fraught with inconvenient body changes that affect their well-being.
Once a woman misses twelve consecutive periods, she enters post-menopause, and many perimenopause signs and symptoms ease or go away.
However, new health risks arise for postmenopausal women now that the ovaries don’t produce estrogen.
Cardiovascular disease
One of estrogen’s benefits is that it helps protect against heart diseases, heart attacks, and strokes.
Many adult women do less physical exercise, increasing the risk of heart disease after menopause.
Osteoporosis
Decreased estrogen reduces bone density.
During post-menopause, women can lose up to 25 percent of their bone density, which increases the risk of fractures, especially of the wrist, hip, and spine.
Vaginal atrophy
Perimenopausal vaginal dryness and thinning of the vaginal walls often continue during post-menopause.
For some women, discomfort during sex can cause inflammation, which may be severe enough that they want to avoid intercourse.
Diabetes
The risk for diabetes is mainly related to age and weight.
However, because the hormonal changes during perimenopause can increase abdominal weight, there could be a correlation between menopause and diabetes.
What Can a Woman Do?
Women can’t prevent the bodily changes that come with age, but they can take steps to manage the signs and symptoms of perimenopause and post-menopause with hormone therapy.
Reduced estrogen levels are at the root of the menopause side effects, from sudden body temperature changes to weight gain to mood swings.
However, taking bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), following a proper diet, and exercising can ease the signs and symptoms of perimenopause and post-menopause.
On a molecular level, bioidentical hormones match those made naturally in the body, so they match the body’s hormone receptors.
Because bioidentical hormones work harmoniously with the body, BHRT is an effective and safe way to minimize hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and other symptoms, decreasing the risks of cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, vaginal atrophy, and diabetes.
