If you’re a woman, you’ll face menopause at some point in your life. For most women in the United States, this life transition occurs around age 51, but it typically begins long before that. The physical and emotional changes of menopause can leave you feeling like your world has flipped upside-down.
At Gynecology and Obstetrics Medical Group in Long Beach, California, Dr. Essam Taymour understands what you’re going through and offers treatments to effectively help you manage unpleasant symptoms. In this blog, discover how hormone replacement therapy can help you through menopause.
Before you consider treatment for menopause, it helps to understand the common symptoms many women experience in perimenopause, or the time leading up to menopause. These symptoms often begin months or even years before you enter into full menopause, which is defined as 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle.
Physical changes of perimenopause often include:
Emotional changes may include:
Everyone experiences menopause differently, but any combination of symptoms is possible as a result of the natural process of declining reproductive hormones in your body.
While menopause isn’t considered a condition for which medical treatment is absolutely necessary, if you suffer from symptoms that disrupt your life and relationships, know that you can get help.
Dr. Taymour typically prescribes a combination of therapies and lifestyle changes based on your individual needs. Lifestyle changes may include adjustments to your diet and exercise routine, relaxation techniques, and low-dose antidepressants.
Hormone replacement therapy, or estrogen therapy, as part of your menopause management can help relieve hot flashes and reduce vaginal dryness. Hormone therapy replaces lost estrogen and helps alleviate the associated symptoms.
Low-dose hormone therapy, which is typically a cream or tablet you apply vaginally, can help with vaginal dryness and urinary issues such as incontinence associated with menopause. Higher-dose hormone therapy that comes in the form of pills, skin patches, and creams, treats your whole body, and is often effective at reducing a variety of common menopause symptoms.
Some women have concerns about the risks associated with long-term hormone replacement therapy. For most women under age 59, however, the benefits outweigh the risks.
It’s important to know that many of the risks of hormone replacement therapy, such as increased risk of blood clots, are similar to those associated with taking birth control pills. Many medical experts agree that short-term hormone replacement therapy is safe and effective at helping you manage the symptoms of menopause.
If the quality of your life is suffering as a result of the natural life changes that occur with menopause, you don’t have to endure it in silence. Dr. Taymour has many years of experience helping women cope and improving their overall health and wellness during this time.
Call our office today at 562-247-3038 to schedule a menopause consultation, or use our convenient online booking tool to request an appointment.
