Menopause: What It Is & What You Need to Know

Menopause is a natural process that women go through in their 40’s or 50’s. It is the natural decline in a woman’s reproductive organs and is the end of a woman’s menstrual cycles. The time before menopause is considered perimenopause. This is the time period leading up to menopause when you naturally start to run out of eggs and your hormones begin to change. A woman’s ovaries store eggs and produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone.

These hormones control menstruation as well as ovulation (the releasing of the eggs). Menopause occurs once a female is out of eggs and no longer releasing them each month. Menopause not only affects your physical health, but your mental as well.

Symptoms of Menopause

Many women are often misled when it comes to learning about menopause and don’t know when or what to expect. According to The Mayo Clinic, the start of menopause is signaled by 12 months since a woman’s last menstruation. Symptoms of menopause include the following:

• Hot flashes
• Vaginal dryness
• Sleep disturbances
• Night sweats
• Chills
• Thinning hair
• Weight gain

Those are just the physical changes though. Many women often experience depression, anxiety, mood swings, brain fog, lack of focus, and memory loss during this time as well. Menopause can really take a toll on a women’s body which is why it’s recommended to seek treatment to help with the symptoms caused by menopause.

How to Treat

When you’re going through menopause (before/during/after), it’s extremely important to make sure  your hormones are  balanced. A few ways to balance your hormones are:

• Eat protein. Protein influences the hormones that regulate your appetite. Eating a high protein meal is shown to reduce your appetite throughout the day and help you feel more full after eating. Eggs are a good source or protein and are especially nutritious. You don’t have just eat them for breakfast! A hardboiled egg is portable and can serve a protein boost any time of day.
• Avoid sugar and high fat foods. A low-carbohydrate, high fiber diet is the best way to keep your insulin levels balanced. Drinking green tea is also shown to reduce your insulin levels. It’s also a great caffeine alternative to replace drinking sodas.
• Regular exercise doesn’t have to be vigorous to contribute to hormonal balance. Regular walking mixed with strength training helps maintain your muscle-building hormones that can decrease with age.
• Manage stress. Stress increases cortisol, your “fight or flight” hormone. You can naturally reduce your cortisol levels by practicing yoga, meditating, or going on peaceful walks to work on self-care and calming your stress.
• Get enough sleep. Poor sleep and hormones go hand in hand. Hormones can cause you to have difficulty sleeping and poor sleep can cause hormonal imbalance.  Hormones such as insulin, cortisol, leptin, ghrelin and growth hormone are all linked to the amount and quality of your sleep.
• Bioidentical hormone therapy. With bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, you can find out which hormones are out of balance and take the necessary supplements to balance them out. Bioidentical hormones are identical to the hormones which are produced naturally in your body. They are so identical, in fact, that your body can’t distinguish the difference. They have an identical molecular structure to the hormones that your body produces, making them safe and indistinguishable from your real hormones. Both women and men can benefit from this natural and holistic approach to hormone therapy.

At The Riegel Center, we will schedule an initial consultation with you to discover what concerns you are having. From there we will schedule a blood test to determine your hormone levels and which hormones are out of balance. Dr. Riegel will develop a plan of care for you and provide the hormone supplements to bring your hormone levels back in balance. With hormone therapy you will start to feel like your pre-menopausal self.

The Riegel Center

The Riegel Center is located in Plano, Texas but offers virtual hormone therapy sessions to clients all across the United States. Dr. Riegel is highly trained in natural bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. We specialize in treating both women and men in hormone therapy. Take our quiz to see if you might benefit from bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.