When Menopause Treatment Should Be Considered

You may need menopause treatment to help you manage the different changes you will go through. The transition toward menopause can be difficult for some women. That is why some need a little help. If you want to know when you should consider menopause treatment, here are the details.

Occurrence of hot flashes

Hot flashes cause a woman to feel a sudden hot feeling in the upper body. This is common during menopause. This may start in the chest, neck, and face. It can also progress downward or upward. Red patches on the skin may start to appear on the arms, chest, and back.

Some women have cold flashes and night sweats. These may happen in the year after a woman’s menstruation ends. Hot flashes may continue for about 14 years after the end of menopause. These are due to the different changes in estrogen levels.

Some hot flashes are so intense that a menopausal woman may wake up at night because of the discomfort. Hot flashes often last for up to 10 minutes. The bouts of heat can occur many times in an hour, either once a week or a few times in one day. Hot flashes may not fade right away. Keeping cool and getting menopause treatment can help manage it.

A lower level of fertility and irregular periods

Menopause can lead to a lower chance of becoming pregnant. Estrogen levels begin to fall. This changes the menstrual cycle. The woman’s period becomes less regular or less frequent. It will involve either lighter or heavier menstrual flow.

Vaginal discomfort or dryness

Perimenopause and menopause can also trigger vaginal discomfort, dryness, and itching. Experiencing any of these symptoms may have pain or chafing during the sexual act. Atrophic vaginitis makes the skin vulnerable to breaking. It is the thinning, swelling, and drying of the vaginal wall. This makes the area prone to infection. Menopause treatment can help correct this.

Low-quality of sleep

A woman may consider menopause treatment as well if she experiences more frequent urination. Some women also deal with night sweats. Waking up at night because of discomfort and anxiety can leave women with inadequate, low-quality sleep. Refraining from eating heavy meals before bedtime and getting regular exercise can help manage these symptoms.

Emotional crisis

Most women go through an emotional roller coaster during menopause. Anxiety and depression are common emotions. Women tend to have crying spells and irritability as well. These happen because of thoughts about the end of childbearing years and low libido. Inadequate sleep and hormonal fluctuations make these feelings worse. Doctors recommend seeing a doctor if sadness or low mood lasts for at least two weeks.

Physical changes

Menopause treatment can also help women manage some of the physical changes they go through. Lifestyle and age also contribute to these physical changes. Weight gain, changes in hair volume, and breast tenderness are a few of them. This part of the transition can be difficult to manage, especially in the workplace.

Treating menopause and perimenopause

Menopause can creep up, especially if a woman leads a busy lifestyle. Some women have worse symptoms than others. That is why they need to have HRT (hormonal replacement therapy) for menopause and perimenopause. Most women find HRT effective. This treatment uses estrogen and progesterone to replace the lost levels of these natural hormones in the body.

The benefits

HRT can help relieve most of the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause. These symptoms include vaginal dryness and hot flashes. Treating these symptoms may take a few weeks to a few months. This can result in a more pleasant menopause or perimenopause experience. The doctor can also use HRT to lower the patient’s risk for different conditions like heart disease and osteoporosis.

The risks

Like any medical treatment, HRT has risks. The treatment can cause the growth of unwanted hair and acne. There could also be vaginal discomfort and dryness. Some women may also experience vaginal itching.

Non-hormone treatments

Some women choose not to have HRT. For them, non-hormone treatments are available. The patient’s night sweats and hot flashes can go away with some medications, like blood pressure medications. The doctor can check if these medications are suitable for the patient.

Antidepressants can help a patient who develops mood disorders, such as anxiety or depression. CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) is an effective therapy for these conditions as well. It can also help the patient go through joint pain and hot flashes. The patient can tell the doctor if this is the preferred type of therapy.

Menopause treatment can help women deal with the changes of menopause

Physical, physiological, mental, and emotional changes are normal events in menopause. Some women have a more difficult time than others. For them, menopause treatment can make things easier. Seeing your doctor is ideal if the changes seem overwhelming.

Get more information about Camilla L. Marquez, MD in Fresno at https://fresnoobgyn.com.

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