Menopause…A Period of Transition
No doubt you have heard women talk about “going through the change.”
What exactly is “the change”? It is called Menopause and it occurs when a woman goes 12 months without menstruation. However, there can be years before menopause where women experience menopausal symptoms.
Menopause---Three Stages of Transition
A woman can experience changes in their lives that are similar to PMS (pre-menstrual symptom) beginning as early as their mid-30’s. This period of time is called Pre-Menopause. Then, typically, the next stage occurs in a woman’s 40’s when the symptoms become more noticeable and sometimes more severe. This second period is called Menopause Transition. The final stage is Menopause, which is defined by not having a period in 12 months. Dr. Frank Isabelle and his associates at Women’s Contemporary Health-Care have prided themselves in making these transitional stages of Menopause in a woman’s life their specialty.
What Are The Symptoms of These Stages of Menopause?
The symptoms of Menopause starting with Pre-Menopause, continuing on to Menopause Transition and ending with Menopause, are the following:
- Irregular periods each month
- Insomnia
- Changes in migraine headache frequency or intensity
- Development of urinary incontinence (or worsening of pre-existing incontinence)
- Increased symptoms of PMS
- Emotional ups and downs
- Depression
- Hot flashes and/or night sweats
- Vaginal dryness or infections
- Decreased libido
As with any transitions women experience in their lives, the symptoms vary…some women experience all the symptoms listed above and some experience only a couple. Also, the degree to which each woman experience the symptoms are different. For an example, one woman in Pre-Menopause may get her period every two weeks while another woman gets her period every six weeks…no rhyme or reason.
What Can You Do To Alleviate The Symptoms?
According to Dr. Isabelle, there are several options to easing the symptoms of Menopause. He says, “What modality a patient may pick will depend upon the severity of her symptoms as well as her health history.”
There are two hormone related treatments, one a traditional therapy using bio-identical hormones from a regular pharmacy combining estrogen and progesterone and the other bio-identical therapy made by a compounding pharmacist. Dr. Isabelle states, “The distinction between these two modalities is blurred because of the wide therapeutic windows of effectiveness. They both work, but insurance will traditionally cover the traditional therapy and not always the bio-identical therapy because there isn’t a patent on compounded medications.” He adds, “The primary goal of hormone therapy is the reduction of hot flashes and night sweats.”
Is There A Non-Hormonal Therapy Available? The three non-hormonal approaches are botanicals such as black cohash, SSRI’s like Lexapro (anti-depressants) and beta blockers (high blood pressure medication). Dr. Isabelle also suggests, “You can do simple things to alleviate the symptoms like take Vitamin E, B-complexes, adjust the temperature of your home (especially your bedroom), use room or ceiling fans and layer your clothing.”
Is There Truth To Hormonal Therapy Being Connected To Breast Cancer? Dr. Isabelle’s advice is to stay away from hormonal therapy if you have had breast cancer. “It used to be that family history of breast cancer would be the criteria for women to try a non-hormonal approach to Menopause, but that has changed.” It is comforting to know that through the stages of Menopause, no matter how slight or severe, that Dr. Isabelle and his associates at Women’s Contemporary Health-Care regard this transition in a woman’s life as very real and are available to do whatever they can to educate and comfort their patients as they complete the cycle. They are committed to providing the Care of a Lifetime and a Lifetime of Care for you, their dedicated patients.
Additional Information
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