Menopause is a natural biological process that marks the end of a woman's menstrual cycles. The term refers to the point in time when a woman has not had a menstrual period for 12 consecutive months. It signals the end of a woman's reproductive years.
The years leading up to menopause are called perimenopause. During perimenopause, hormone levels begin to fluctuate and decline, and menstrual cycles may become irregular. Many women begin to experience symptoms during perimenopause.
On average, most women reach menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. Menopause typically occurs around age 51 here in the United Kingdom. However, each woman's experience is unique - some may reach menopause earlier or later than the average age.
The declining estrogen levels that occur during perimenopause and menopause can lead to a variety of physical and emotional symptoms. Common signs and symptoms include:
Other effects of menopause may include hair thinning/loss, weight gain, slowed metabolism, breast changes, headaches, joint pain, heart palpitations, changes in libido, and dry skin or eyes. The severity and duration of symptoms varies greatly between women.
Declining estrogen during menopause increases a woman's risk for certain medical conditions, including:
Studies show that properly-timed hormone therapy can help prevent diseases, strengthen bones, improve quality of life, and even increase life expectancy.
Many aspects of health are interrelated. Ignoring menopausal symptoms often leads to weight gain, loss of fitness, social isolation, and declining mental health for women. This in turn worsens their risk for diabetes, heart disease, dementia and other conditions.
It is essential that women seek timely evaluation and treatment in order to mitigate symptoms, promote wellness, and reduce disease risks during the menopausal transition. Suffering silently can have profound effects on health and longevity.
Hormone therapy (HT), also referred to as menopausal hormone therapy or hormone replacement therapy, is the use of estrogen/progestogen medications to treat moderate to severe menopause symptoms.
When initiated at the appropriate time, hormone therapy is the most effective treatment available for hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal symptoms related to menopause. HT has also been proven to prevent bone loss and fracture risk in postmenopausal women.
The ultimate goal of hormone therapy is restoring hormone balance to optimize a woman's health and quality of life during the menopausal transition and beyond.
As the ovaries stop producing adequate levels of estrogen and progesterone, supplementary hormones can help fill the deficit. HT medications contain various forms of estrogen, progesterone or both, to bring hormone levels back up into the normal range.
Estrogen therapy is used to treat hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal symptoms, and osteoporosis. Estrogen helps regulate temperature and improves blood flow to the skin and vaginal tissues. It also works to maintain bone density.
Progestogen therapy is needed for women with intact uteruses to prevent overgrowth of the uterine lining. Every regimen uses the lowest effective hormone dose to meet a woman's treatment goals.
The best candidates for hormone therapy are women:
HT can be initiated as tablets, topical gels/creams, vaginal inserts like rings or tablets, transdermal patches, implants, or pellet injections under the skin. The route of administration depends on the specific woman's treatment priorities and needs.
Many women use combination HT approaches, such as a systemic tablet plus a vaginal cream or lubricant. The goal is tailoring therapy to the individual to maximize benefits while minimizing potential side effects.
Here at Balance Hormone Clinic in beautiful Winchester, we provide comprehensive hormone evaluation and treatment services to help women optimize their health during midlife and beyond.
We utilize cutting-edge hormone tests - including monthly hormone level monitoring for patients on pellet therapy - to design fully customized, precision treatment regimens. We closely analyze hormone balance plus biomarkers related to heart disease, diabetes, and bone loss risks to best meet each woman's needs.
Our clinicians have over 35 combined years of experience specializing in complex hormone imbalances. We stay at the forefront of all the latest clinical evidence and tailor state-of-the-art therapies specifically to improve safety and efficacy during menopause.
We know it is challenging enough to balance everything midlife throws at women, so we built our Winchester clinic to provide exceptional hormone care services close to home. Along with office visits, we also offer telemedicine appointments to increase flexibility.
Local partnerships for blood draws, bone density scans or procedures allow us to coordinate all aspects of treatment for optimal convenience. We work together with each woman to make hormone therapy as easy and effective as possible.
A little-known natural remedy that some women have found helpful for managing menopause symptoms is the herb black cohosh. Multiple studies show black cohosh can reduce hot flashes and night sweats. Since it has an excellent safety profile with few side effects, more women may want to consider adding this herb to help cope with discomfort during the menopausal transition.
While every treatment plan is fully customized, we wanted to give you an idea of what high-quality menopause protocols look like when managed by hormone experts.
For hot flash/night sweat relief plus urogenital support, consider:
For isolated vaginal symptoms consider:
We can advise on optimal duration based on response. Many women require only short-course vaginal therapy while others benefit from longer-term maintenance use.
Longer-acting methods like subcutaneous estradiol implants or testosterone pellets may be preferred by some women. We offer both options with monthly lab monitoring of hormone levels. Adjustments can be made based on how your body metabolizes therapy over time.
This allows us to truly customize and fine-tune dosing while gaining valuable insight on how hormones are functioning in cells and tissues.
We develop fully integrated, multi-modal therapies designed to enhance lifestyle, nutrition and supplement strategies for amplifying benefits during midlife and beyond. Please
Engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors serves to reduce menopausal symptoms and compound the benefits of hormone therapy during midlife. We educate and encourage women to implement simple strategies like:
Consume more plants like leafy greens, berries, nuts/seeds, oily fish, onions, garlic, olive oil, green tea. Limit processed carbs, fried foods, sugary drinks. Stay hydrated. Timely, balanced nutrition provides raw materials needed for hormone synthesis and metabolism.
Aim for 30-60 minutes of brisk walking or activities like yoga, dancing, cycling. Moving muscles stimulates positive metabolic changes and growth factors that enhance hormone balance and bone strength while relieving stress.
Practice meditation, deep breathing, healthy social connection, music or art therapy. Stress provokes inflammatory changes that inhibit hormone function. Actively reducing stress protects long term health.
Aim for 7-9 hours nightly. Do not eat too close to bedtime. Limit alcohol/caffeine. Create an ideal sleep environment - cool, very dark and quiet. Quality sleep allows hormones and health to regenerate.
When women engage in positive lifestyle upgrades while correcting hormone deficits, we have seen amplified improvements in energy, mental clarity, fitness, body composition, intimacy, productivity and overall wellbeing.
We have cultivated partnerships with exceptional local businesses to make optimizing health as easy as possible during menopause and beyond.
A community fitness studio offering therapeutic yoga, Pilates, gentle mobility classes plus stress-reduction workshops. Nutrition coaching also available.
Top-rated independent lab for convenient local blood collection and testing services, just 5 minutes from our clinic's location.
Volunteer services assisting homebound seniors including transportation, shopping/errands, light housework, friendly visits and tech help. Supports independent living.
Engaging with our community allows women to build social connections, reduce isolation and improve access to services that strongly support the foundations of hormone health during midlife. Please reach out if we can help guide you toward resources that might uplift your own menopausal journey.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has helped demonstrate why timely evaluation and proper treatment of menopause can make a profound difference for women's health, quality of life and longevity.
The board-certified experts at Balance Hormone Clinic specialize in precision hormone therapy during midlife and beyond. We invite you to
