Many issues lead to hormone imbalances, including menopause. Women entering menopause notice a shift in how they feel and often experience symptoms like hot flashes and vaginal dryness.
While not everyone with a hormone imbalance needs treatment, some might want to discuss hormone replacement therapy. At Collaborative Women's Care in Miami, Florida, Dr. Eduardo Valdes provides HRT for women who can benefit from it.
Dr. Valdes is an experienced and board-certified OB/GYN providing various lifestyle tips and treatments for hormonal imbalances in women.
Hormones are essential for many bodily processes and come from the endocrine glands. They're chemical messengers that form in the endocrine glands and travel through the bloodstream to the organs.
In the organs, the hormones regulate various processes and functions. However, some medical conditions and life changes cause hormones to shift, leading to different signs and symptoms.
Hormone replacement therapy is a treatment that provides the hormones your body is lacking through a pill, patch, or cream. The goal is to get your body's hormone levels back to normal to prevent uncomfortable symptoms.
Menopause is one of the times women may need HRT. During menopause, estrogen levels drop dramatically, leading to hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings.
HRT addresses these symptoms by replacing estrogen levels with either traditional or bioidentical hormones that are similar to those the body produces. There is estrogen-only HRT and estrogen and progesterone HRT.
HRT isn't for everyone going through menopause, but it's an option to consider. Some women mitigate menopause symptoms through lifestyle tips and changes, but that doesn't work for every woman.
If you're going through menopause or have low estrogen levels, you may want to consider HRT. Five signs that you're a great candidate for HRT include:
Estrogen helps keep the bones strong and healthy, so when it declines, osteoporosis is a genuine concern. If you're already at risk for osteoporosis and are now going through menopause, we recommend HRT to prevent broken bones and other complications of the disease.
HRT replaces lost estrogen to keep the bones healthy and prevent osteoporosis from forming or worsening.
Women experiencing moderate to severe menopause symptoms are great candidates for HRT. The dip in estrogen during perimenopause causes symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and weight gain.
HRT helps even out estrogen levels to address bothersome symptoms that make daily life difficult.
Most women don't go through menopause until their 50s, but some begin as early as their late 30s and early 40s. Going through menopause too early can lead to serious long-term health consequences, which is why we recommend HRT for women who have lost their ovaries or are going through menopause before 40.
Lifestyle changes can help relieve some menopause symptoms, but when that doesn't work, HRT is an option. If you've tried cooling techniques, relaxation methods, and diets without any changes in symptoms, HRT may be just what you need.
Vaginal dryness is one of the adverse effects of low estrogen – and it can negatively impact your sex life. HRT helps with vaginal dryness and pain during intercourse by increasing estrogen, which provides lubrication inside the vagina.
While HRT is an excellent option, it isn't for every woman going through menopause. We take your overall health into account as well as any past medical issues to determine if HRT is best for your needs.
To learn more about menopause and HRT, call our Miami, Florida, office to speak with Dr. Valdes or request an appointment using our convenient online booking feature.
