For most women, menopause is not just a phase signaling a new chapter. It is characterized by changes that, if left unchecked, significantly decline their physical and mental wellness, impacting the quality of their lives. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can help you remain healthier and active during San Antonio menopause. Hormones affect virtually every process and organ. As menopause kicks in, progesterone and estrogen produced in the ovaries decline. Besides the hormones’ impact on your reproductive health, they play a part in maintaining healthy blood cholesterol levels, regulating blood pressure, influencing how your body uses calcium, and impacting your sleep and mood. Among the reasons your doctor may recommend HRT menopause treatment includes:
Mitigate symptoms severity
Moderate to severe menopause symptoms, mainly hot flashes and night sweats, can turn your life inside out. You will often experience difficulty falling and staying asleep for quality rest, which impacts your physical and mental wellness. This is more so considering the impacted moods. As sleep deprivation becomes the order of the day, stress, anxiety, and depression creep in, which is aggravated by fatigue since you can hardly rest well. Troublesome menopausal symptoms can be effectively managed through systemic estrogen therapy, making it easier to lead an active lifestyle through the phase.
Improve sexual health
Besides the night sweats and hot flashes, you could struggle with other menopause symptoms, including vaginal dryness, thinning, and itching. Such symptoms make intercourse uncomfortable or even painful. Sucking the pleasure out of your sexual endeavors denies you many benefits considering its impacts on your emotional and mental wellness. HRT helps ease vaginal symptoms, allowing you to maintain a level of sexual normalcy during menopause.
Minimize health risk
Are you at an increased risk of medical conditions like cancer, diabetes, heart disease, or osteoporosis? The risk could be due to family history or current health considerations. Menopause increases the risk as the hormone level drops, a reason your doctor may recommend HRT. The therapy helps manage menopause symptoms and facilitate a better hormonal balance, minimizing the risks.
Manage estrogen deficiency
While menopause is the typical reason more women seek HRT, it is not the only time it is recommended. For instance, you may have your ovaries removed before your periods have stopped or menopause or lost normal ovary functions at or earlier than 40 years. This means you have less estrogen, which increases the risks of various health concerns like dementia, heart disease, stroke, and osteoporosis. If you experience estrogen deficiency or early menopause, HRT can help reduce the risks and improve the quality of your life.
Menopause means your reproductive phase has come to an end. You may have prepared for it, but the stage is not easy emotionally or physically, which prompts many to seek menopause treatment. Your age, menopause symptoms severity, and medical and family history could be the main reasons you are considering HRT. They are valid reasons, and the therapy offers notable benefits that help you manage the situation, but HRT is beneficial before, during, and beyond menopause and managing the symptoms. Contact Aurora OB/GYN today to learn more about hormone replacement therapy, if you are a good candidate, and how it can help.