Menopause

What is menopause?

People often think menopause is a blanket term for the process your body undergoes as its menstrual cycle slows to a stop. Actually, though, menopause is technically a one-year period during which you don’t get a period or experience any spotting. 

If you experience symptoms of menopause before you’re in that year-long period, you’re experiencing perimenopause. Perimenopause usually starts in your mid-to-late-40s and often lasts a few years or more. 

You may also experience symptoms well after menopause. This period is called postmenopause. 

What should I expect during perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause?

Your body transitions through perimenopause and menopause to postmenopause because your hormone levels are changing. As you age, your body produces less vital reproductive hormones like estrogen and progesterone. 

These decreasing hormone levels don’t just affect your menstrual cycle. They can also cause symptoms like:

• Sleep troubles
• Vaginal dryness
• Hot flashes and night sweats
• Mood changes
• Decreased energy
• Weight gain
• Anxiety
• Thinning hair
• Lower libido
• Dry skin

Perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause can take a toll on the way you look and feel. Fortunately, you don’t have to live with all of these symptoms. 

Can menopause symptoms be treated?

Yes. At Women’s Health Care Center of Houston, the team offers bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to treat these symptoms. This treatment works by replenishing your hormone levels.

Although your body produces less estrogen and progesterone, your hormone therapy introduces a bioidentical version of these hormones — meaning your body can’t tell them apart from the hormones it naturally makes — and keep your hormone levels balanced. 

Many women choose hormone therapy during perimenopause or menopause so they can enjoy:

• Increased energy
• Decreased irritability
• Increased vaginal lubrication, libido, and pleasure during sex
• Fewer weight challenges
• Better sleep
• Fewer or no hot flashes

If you’d like these benefits in your life, don’t hesitate to talk to your Women’s Health Care Center of Houston provider about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. They can help you decide if this treatment is right for you. 

For dedicated care before, during, and after menopause designed to help you protect your quality of life, call the Women’s Health Center of Houston office nearest you or schedule an appointment online today.