Menopausal Care

Menopause isn’t a one-off incident. Instead, it marks the full 12-month span during which you don’t get a period. As if a year-long process to officially reach menopause wasn’t enough, most women also experience symptoms for several years leading up to menopause. This period is called perimenopause. All told, your body’s process of stopping its menstrual cycle is usually a years-long endeavor. Most women experience unwelcome symptoms throughout it.

In the years leading up to menopause, you may notice an irregularity in your menstrual cycle. It’s common to skip periods. For most women, this process starts in their mid to late 40s.

Other symptoms of perimenopause and menopause include:

• Temperature fluctuations, including hot flashes, chills, and night sweats
• Mood changes
• Vaginal dryness
• Trouble sleeping
• Trouble focusing or remembering things
• Weight gain
• Depression
• Anxiety

You experience these symptoms because your body shifts its hormone levels to stop your menstrual cycle. Specifically, you’ll naturally produce less estrogen and progesterone.

Perimenopause usually lasts between two and eight years. Most women experience perimenopause for about four years. Adding the one-year period of menopause to the process, you can expect this transition in your body to take roughly half a decade.

Menopausal care at The Center for Women’s Health can help make this time more comfortable for you.

The Center for Women’s Health personalizes your menopausal care based on your wants and needs. If there’s a specific symptom you want to address, talk with your OB/GYN so they can target treatment there. To alleviate your symptoms, you can explore medication like low-dose hormonal birth control or hormone replacement therapy (HRT). With HRT, your OB/GYN determines how much of a specific hormone your body needs to minimize the effects of perimenopause or menopause. HRT can be administered topically or via an injection, pill, patch, or another form. Perimenopause and menopause shouldn’t be a years-long process during which you don’t feel like yourself. To get dedicated care to help you feel your best through this transitionary period, call The Center for Women’s Health or make an appointment online today.