Menopause

What Symptoms Can Be Caused By Menopause?

Menopause begins when the body slows down its production of estrogen and progesterone, two hormones essential for reproduction but which also play important roles in other bodily functions. As hormonal production slows down, women can experience an array of symptoms, including:

• Abnormal periods - including irregular cycles, very heavy periods, or spotting between periods
• Night sweats
• Hot flashes
• Sleep problems
• Memory problems and difficulty focusing
• Weight gain
• Hair loss and facial hair growth
• Dry, itchy skin
• Sore or tender breasts or nipples
• Achy joints
• Vaginal dryness
• Painful intercourse

Medically speaking, menopause occurs when menstruation has not occurred for 12 consecutive months. The time leading up to menopause, when most symptoms appear, is referred to as perimenopause.

Can I Become Pregnant in Perimenopause?

Yes. Although fertility declines significantly during the time leading up to menopause (the complete cessation of periods), a woman can still become pregnant during this time, and birth control should still be used to prevent unintended pregnancy.

How is Menopause Treated?

Menopause treatment is focused on relieving the symptoms of menopause. Some women opt for treatments focused on specific symptoms, like using vaginal creams or lubricants for painful intercourse of vaginal dryness. Many women prefer hormone replacement therapy (HRT) with bioidentical hormones to replace some of the hormones that are no longer being produced naturally by the body. Today’s bioidentical HRT uses synthetic hormones that are created to be chemically identical to the hormones produced by the body. That means the body “recognizes” these hormones in the same way it recognizes the ones produced naturally, and it uses them and eliminates them in the same ways as well. As a result, HRT with bioidentical hormones is associated with far fewer side effects compared to traditional HRT, where the synthetic hormones were not as easily processed and eliminated by the body, resulting in excess accumulation of the chemicals. Women who opt for HRT with bioidentical hormones will have regular testing and evaluation to ensure their dosing remains optimized for their needs.