What is Menopause?

Menopause, commonly referred to as “the change of life,” is when a woman no longer has a period due to her ovaries no longer producing eggs and causing her to ovulate. It is also when the ovaries stop producing estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Medically, it is defined as not having a menstrual cycle for one year. After that year, a woman is considered to be postmenopausal. Most women experience menopause around their 50th birthday.

Prior to menopause, women can experience huge fluctuations in their estrogen levels that can give them menopause-type symptoms despite still having periods. This is called perimenopause. It is due to the ovaries having to work harder every year to ovulate as there are fewer and fewer eggs available to release each month. During this time, most women also have changes to their menstrual cycle – they begin to skip periods (due to times when ovulation didn’t occur) and, when they do have one, it might last a little longer or be a little heavier than normal. Eventually, their periods will space out and they enter into the medical definition of menopause. However, perimenopause can last anywhere from several months to several years and the hormonal symptoms associated with this time of a woman’s life can be unbearable.

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What are the symptoms of Perimenopause?

Due to not ovulating regularly, most perimenopausal women alternate between having symptoms of too little estrogen and progesterone (listed below under the symptoms of menopause) and having symptoms of too much estrogen. Symptoms of too much estrogen include:

• Irregular bleeding patterns due to skipping periods
• Prolonged or heavy menstrual cycles – hyperlink to the abnormal bleeding page
• Mood swings and irritability
• Food cravings
• Breast tenderness and swelling
• Breast cysts
• Water retention and bloating
• Uterine polyps
• Headaches

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What are the symptoms of menopause?

Symptoms of low estrogen and progesterone levels include:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Trouble falling asleep and/or staying asleep
• Mood changes, like anxiety, depression, and irritability
• Painful sex due to vaginal dryness
• Forgetfulness and/or difficulty concentrating
• Weight gain, especially around the abdomen
• Dry skin, eyes, and hair
• Thinning skin and increased wrinkles
• Recurrent urinary and/or vaginal infections due to vaginal dryness
• Urinary urgency due to vaginal dryness

Is Menopause Normal?

Yes. Every woman who lives long enough will eventually experience menopause. It happens when the woman no longer has viable eggs to conceive children and, therefore, no longer ovulates or has a menstrual cycle. Although menopause is completely normal and natural, many women have uncomfortable symptoms from menopause due to the significant decrease in estrogen, testosterone, and progesterone production that also occurs when the ovaries stop functioning. At Murrieta Health & Aesthetics, we are experts at helping women transition through menopause using a combination of medical-grade supplements and bioidentical hormone therapy -hyperlink the “bioidentical hormone therapy” to the BHRT page.

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Can Menopausal Symptoms be Treated?

Yes. Frequently, simple changes to your routine, such as regular exercise, losing 5-10 lbs if you are above your ideal body weight, and modifying your diet can immediately improve hot flashes and quality of sleep. Managing your daily stress through relaxation techniques, such as yoga and meditation, is also important as stress worsens many menopausal symptoms.

Our providers at Murrieta Health & Aesthetics are experts at helping women transition through the perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopausal stages of life. Our treatment plans are customized to your symptoms and your lab results. Your treatment plans may include lifestyle modifications to help ease your symptoms, medical-grade supplements, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (including pellets), and/or FDA-approved devices to alleviate vaginal dryness and/or restore sexual pleasure. If you are struggling with the symptoms of perimenopause or menopause, call us today at (951) 600-7066 and schedule your consultation.

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What services do you offer to treat menopausal symptoms?

At Murrieta Health & Aesthetics, we offer a wide range of services for women who are struggling with the symptoms of perimenopause or menopause. These include:

• Vaginal Rejuvenation: Our CO2 vaginal laser restores vaginal health and moisture to alleviate painful sex, prevent recurring vaginal and/or urinary infections, and reduce urinary leakage.
• Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: BHRT in the form of pellets, patches, and creams treats the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause by restoring your normal estrogen, progesterone, and/or testosterone levels. BHRT may also decrease your risk of osteoporosis, dementia, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease in the future.
• Treatment of Urinary Leakage: Our Kegel Chair is a Pelvic Floor physical therapy alternative that is FDA-approved to strengthen your pelvic floor and decrease urinary leakage.
• Restoration of Sexual Pleasure: Make intimate moments more pleasurable by enhancing sensation to the clitoris and treating female erectile dysfunction (difficulty with orgasm).
• Antiaging Treatments: We offer treatment options to slow the signs of aging. These include plasma skin resurfacing, wrinkle relaxers, injectable facial fillers, and painless hair restoration.
• Medical-Grade Supplements: Our providers use many natural remedies in their treatment plans. These supplements use high-quality, potent ingredients with minimal fillers to help alleviate the negative effects of menopause without adding unwanted side effects. To purchase supplements, click here: https://us.fullscript.com/welcome/mha4women

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Over-The-Counter Suggestions for Hot Flashes

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• Vitamin E 800IU daily
• Vitamin D 2000IU daily
• Chasteberry 100mg daily
• St. John’s wart 300-600mg daily (do not combine with antipsychotic or depression medications)
• Milk thistle
• Flower pollen (female, female, serelys)
• Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA, DHA, and α-linolenic acid)
• Estroven and estrovera (rhubarb) reduce hot flashes, improve sleep quality, decrease irritability, and improve mood

other recommendations for hot flashes

• Avoid alcohol, caffeine, and spicy foods
• Layer clothes and wear looser fitting clothes
• Wear breathable fabric
• Keep the ambient house/car temperature low
• Sleep with a fan and/or by the window
• Keep a handheld fan in your purse
• Clinical hypnosis decreases the frequency and intensity of hot flashes
• Acupuncture with electrical stimulation (electro-acupuncture) decreases the frequency and intensity of hot flashes
• Lose weight - 5-10lbs makes a big difference

Tips for other menopausal complaints:

• Vaginal moisturizers (Replens) to improve vaginal dryness and irritation
• Coconut oil is a great lubricant for sex because it does not have irritating preservatives
• Exercise 30 min/day improves sleep quality, mood, and stress levels
• Avoid electronics (laptop, phone, TV, etc.) 30 minutes before bed helps you fall asleep
• 400mg of magnesium citrate powder with 1200mg of calcium nightly can help you fall asleep
• 100-200mg of phosphatidyl serine with 500mg of ashwagandha nightly can help you stay asleep if you constantly wake up at 2-3AM
• Block all light from your room helps you stay asleep and improves your sleep quality
• Give your self to improve sleep quality and decrease stress
• Practice mediation and/or yoga