Menopause is a typical biological process that every woman undergoes when she attains a certain age. Although menopause in itself does not need any treatment, it arrives with the symptoms of discomfort impacting the daily lives of women undergoing menopause. If these symptoms turn out unbearable, then consulting with a physician about hormone therapy is the best thing to do.
Reportedly, it is found through a 2023 survey that there are around 30% of menopausal or postmenopausal women in the United States whose menopause started between the ages of 50 and 54.
Although a few women do not encounter any symptoms whenever they enter the menopausal stage, others often experience issues like night sweats and hot flashes. These are often relieved with the help of HRT or hormone replacement therapy. So, what is HRT for women, and is it the best option for you? Here we will answer all your doubts to give you the best details you need.
Overview of Menopause
Menopause is a typical term that is used to describe the physical transitions happening to the body of a woman, often before or after she stops having her periods. It normally happens at the ages between 45 and 55. However, estrogen loss would occur earlier if a woman enters the menopausal stage or if she got her ovaries removed through invasive procedures.
Eventually, the ovaries generate less estrogen with the approaching menopause, which leads to changes in the menstrual cycle and other physical conditions. Night sweats, hot flashes, dryness and thinning of vaginal walls, and emotional changes are the common symptoms of this condition.
It is the stage that is technically the end of a woman’s reproductive cycle when her ovaries fail to produce eggs, and she is in the last phase of her menstrual cycle. When a woman fails to have her period for six months to a year, then it is when a doctor confirms their diagnosis of menopause.
What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy?
After a woman enters menopause, your body stops generating estrogen. The reduced amount of estrogen would lead to several symptoms and signs of menopause. It is during the hormone replacement therapy in Dallas that medications are prescribed containing the necessary female hormones. When taken regularly, the treatment relieves you of the troubling menopausal symptoms. Hormone therapy comes with its additional perks since it is effective in preventing bone loss while minimizing the scope of getting fractures.
How Does Hormone Replacement Therapy Work?
The ovaries in a woman’s body produce the reproductive hormones that control the period. The aging ovaries slowly stop generating hormones. It slows down the period and comes to a stop. Hormonal replacement therapies work similarly to the progesterone and estrogen that are produced by the ovaries. The elevated levels of hormones can help to minimize the symptoms of menipause and lead to several other health benefits too.
HRT fertility therapy is addressed in numerous dosages. Dosing relies on whether you are getting your regular periods or not. The following are the two common approaches:
- Cyclical dosing: It is streamlined for individuals with menopausal symptoms who still get periods. Varied forms of hormonal doses are often used during the specific tenure of your menstrual cycle.
- Continuous dosing: This is typically addressed for individuals who have completed their menopausal cycle. During continuous dosing, you take the appropriate hormonal dose daily without any breaks.
Signs that You Need Hormone Replacement Therapy
A few women would enter their menopausal stage without any or very mild symptoms. But, if your symptoms make your daily life complex, then you should consult with your healthcare professionals.
Let us now check out the following signs that focus on the need for an HRT replacement therapy near me:
Reduced Sex Drive
Lack of estrogen would lead to changes in sexual drives, while a few women would find it tough to get sexually aroused. Menopause would often lead to dryness in the vagina and thinning of the vaginal tissues, which makes sex life painful and uncomfortable. However, this is not always the case. A few women had reported having a satisfying sex life even after menopause.
Chronic Vaginal Itching & Burning
Initially, there are numerous effective reasons behind burning and itching in the vagina, including a yeast infection to, a sexually transmitted disease. Therefore, if you undergo any chronic vaginal discomfort, then schedule an appointment with your healthcare expert. Estrogen is the primary hormone to help lubricate your vagina. Additionally, it assists in maintaining the elasticity and thickness of your vagina. Lower levels of estrogen leads to vaginal thinning and inflammation that results in the condition known as vaginal atrophy. It would lead to burning and itching.
Night Sweats
Hormonal levels would often impact the internal temperature control of your body. As a consequence, the blood vessels start expanding, creating a heat wave resulting in red skin and sweating. Night sweats are extremely common among women undergoing perimenopause or the years that lead to menopause.
Mood Swings
Mood swings are common among women; however, during menopause, hormonal changes would often happen more frequently. The intensity of these mood swings makes it tough to finish the regular activities. Often you may find appropriate relief with the help of exercises, practicing relaxation tactics like meditation and yoga, and eating nutritious food. But, there are times when these methods do not suffice. In such instances, it is important to schedule an appointment with your doctor to discuss your options.
Chronic Insomnia
It comes as no secret that Americans as a whole are often derived from sleep; however, what might astound you is that menopause can lead to difficulty falling and staying asleep.
The following are the issues that take place due to lack of sleep:
- Difficulty in Focusing
- Memory-Related Issues
- Greater Risk of Accidents While Driving
- Anxiety or Depression
- Greater Risk of Chronic Diseases like High Blood Pressure or Heart Disease
Hot Flashes
It is one of the common issues among menopausal women. Hot flashes occur whenever the lack of estrogen impacts the internal temperature of your body to the slightest changes or sensitivity to the body temperature. As a consequence, your hypothalamus misjudges how cold or hot you are and starts a series of events leading to hot flashes.
Hair Loss
Whenever there is a loss of estrogen during menopause, women experience hair loss. For sure, there are different reasons for hair loss, including age, genetics, nutritional deficiencies, and illness. If you feel that menopause is leading to your hair loss, then get in touch with the physicians to check out everything that HRT for women can offer.
Urinary Issues
Lower estrogen levels occur in women during their menopausal stage, weakening the urethra. The urethra is the narrow tube enabling urine from the kidneys to pass right out of the body. As a consequence, some women often need help to enter the bathroom in a timely manner. It is also not unnatural for urine to leak while sneezing, coughing, or laughing.
Types Of Hormones Used In HRT
HRT is mainly estrogen plus progestin or only estrogen. The following are what the different treatments are called:
- Estrogen-only HRT: It is a treatment including estrogen without any added progestin. It is mainly for individuals having their uterus removed through the process of hysterectomy. Estrogen-based medications are, at times, used right into the vagina.
- Combined HRT (estrogen and progestin): It is the treatment, including progestin and estrogen. Several individuals would take combined HRT when they have a uterus. It is because a lot of estrogen would lead to greater chances of uterine cancer, while progestin would balance estrogen and safeguard the uterine lining from developing rapidly.
Estrogen
Estrogen is the best hormonal treatment for the menopausal symptoms. It is either administered to the entire body medication or gets placed right into the vagina.
- Whole-body estrogen: It is the kind of estrogen that is often consumed by mouth, often rendered as an implant or shot, or gets applied to your skin. It comprises the greater doses of estrogen circulating throughout your body. It aids in numerous menopausal symptoms with thinning of bones.
- Vaginal estrogen: It is the kind of estrogen that is placed right into the vagina. It is applied in the form of a cream or as a hormone-releasing device. It is the kind of medication that remains in the vagina and never circulates massively all around the body, indicating that it does not have the same amount of risks as whole-body estrogen. It aids with the urinary and vaginal menopausal symptoms happening at any age.
Progestin (progesterone)
Progestin is primarily used as an additional treatment with entire-body estrogen. If you have a uterus while using whole-body estrogen, then you might have to take progestin to safeguard yourself from uterine lining cancer. You might not have to take progestin if you get your uterus removed or use just vaginal estrogen. A device known as levonorgestrel intrauterine is the other option for safeguarding the uterus lining.
Benefits of HRT?
Relieves From Menopause Symptoms
HRT replacement therapy near me is the highly potential mode of treatment for your menopause symptoms. The body-wide HRT helps with numerous symptoms, including:
- Hot flashes
- Poor sleep
- Irritability
- Brain fog
Vaginal estrogen is specifically appropriate to aid with vaginal dryness and pain while having physical intimacy. Vaginal estrogen would even aid with the urinary tract symptoms like recurrent UTIs and overactive bladder.
Safeguarding Bones & Colon
Numerous people would often experience bone loss after menopause. It would eventually lead to osteoporosis, which is a condition where your bones become weak and brittle. Individuals with osteoporosis are often likely to have bone fractures, leading to other potential issues.
Systemic or body-wide estrogen can help in safeguarding you against osteoporosis. Although other forms of medications even aid in safeguarding your bones, HRT for women is the ideal option if your osteoporosis medications fail to work or if there is a reason why you cannot take this kind of medication. It is the ideal pick for protecting your bones if you are dealing with other menopausal symptoms like night sweats, hot flashes, or mood changes. There are proofs that combination HRT fertility therapy might minimize the risk of colon cancer.
Reduced Chance of Diabetes and Heart Diseases
Individuals initiating hormonal replacement therapy in Dallas before the age of 60 might reduce the risk of type-2 diabetes and heart diseases later in life. HRT might aid in slowing down the disease in people with type 2 diabetes or if diabetes is present in their family medical history.
Safeguarding Brain
For a few individuals, hot flashes are significantly more than feeling hot. In reality, hot flashes might have a huge impact on your thought processes and memory. Evidence are using HRT to keep hot flashes under control would safeguard your brain from premature signs of aging.
Safeguarding People Experiencing Early Menopause
A few individuals would undergo early menopause before the age of 45. It might be due to an illness, genetics, or surgery, or it may fail to have a clear reason. Irrespective of the cause, early menopause indicates that you are not naturally exposed to greater levels of estrogen all around your lifetime. For individuals experiencing early menopause, HRT for women is recommended to minimize the chances of these complications.
Is Hormone Therapy Right For Me?
Suppose you are younger or at the age of 60 and experience night sweats, hot flashes, vaginal dryness, or sleep disturbances, and your final menstrual period was about less than 10 years ago. In that case, hormone therapy is the best solution for you.
HRT is not suggested if you are older than 60 and did not have had a menstrual cycle in more than a decade. It is also not advised for people with a history of blood clots in the lungs or legs, heart attack, or breast cancer, or if you have coronary artery disease, uncontrolled high blood pressure, active liver disease, or undiagnosed genital bleeding.
Take the Hormone Replacement Therapy Now!
Hormonal Replacement Therapy or HRT for women might arrive with complex perks; however, it is the potential method often recommended for numerous menopausal women. Ensure to consult with the right specialists to understand the condition of your body thoroughly and whether you can take hormone therapy.
Locating the proper specialist and treatment plan can help you live a happier and healthier life, even during your menopausal stage. Rejuvenate HRT is here to offer you top-notch menopausal treatments. Connect with us today to learn more about the therapies we offer and schedule an appointment!
