However, you may prefer to go through menopause without using hormonal treatments. In addition, women with a history of hormone-dependent cancer should not use hormone therapy. Longoria on the advantages and disadvantages of hormone replacement for you. Therefore, menopause often surprises people with all the different symptoms they may experience, so first of all, as menopause approaches, a lot of menstrual anomalies usually appear, such as irregular periods, very heavy periods, only unusual bleeding, people also notice hot flashes and night sweats, something that I think most people are aware of.
With mood swings, especially anger and irritability, people often say, “I hate my husband.” Sleep problems, libido problems, vaginal dryness, mental confusion, which is difficult when you're at the peak of your career, because you're in your late forties or early fifties, and you're supposed to be doing really well, and you can't do it anymore. People also notice changes in their hair, skin, and weight that they consider to be unfavorable. And what other relief methods could someone use for those hot flashes, such as dressing in layers or using fans? Yes, I mean to control your environment as much as possible, especially at night, when you really need to rest, I mean that the temperature of your room has to be low, and there is good evidence that, in general, we all sleep better when the room is quite cold, I would say that even 65 is a good thing to aim for, if you can, open the windows in winter, many times people fight with their loved ones if they are not going through menopause at the same time as the temperature of the room, but I would say that the menopausal person should win. Also be sure to have a fan in the bedroom to help cool the environment.
Make sure that the covers, nightgown and others are made of natural fibers, since synthetic fibers retain heat. Think: do you have a memory foam pad in bed that retains heat? And could you buy a cooling mattress topper instead? Therefore, there are quite a few options that are useful, that are not hormonal, and that are safe to primarily treat hot flashes, night sweats, and mood changes. The real trigger is, as I think they commented in the last episode, that as their estrogen levels decrease, non-hormonal things can't replace estrogen, but they can mediate the neurological changes that occur in response to a lack of estrogen. So, there are a couple of drugs that are approved by the FDA, and the first one that has been approved the longest by the FDA is a drug called paroxetine.
This is an SSRI, which is normally considered an antidepressant medication, but has actually been approved by the FDA for vasomotor symptoms of menopause and is given only at a lower dose than that given for depression. It usually helps to fall asleep. This lower dose won't help with mood, but it can help with hot flashes and night sweats. There are several other SSRI or SNRI medications that belong to this class that are also useful, which you should talk to your doctor about. There are a couple of other medications that aren't antidepressants, so gabapentin has been studied.
You may have heard of gabapentin, which is an anticonvulsant medication, but in reality we generally use it for nerve pain. Therefore, it makes sense that it also helps with the neurological impairment of estrogen withdrawal. It can help you fall asleep; in fact, gabapentin is often very sedative. All of these medications, you can take their negative side effects and change them and see the positive side of menopause.
And then what about the new drug on the market? Has there been a lot of press about fezolinetant? How does that work? What is the evidence of that? For most of life, these neurons are nearly the same and opposite in the way they are activated by both estrogen and the neuronal receptor called NKB. Therefore, as you go through menopause and your estrogen levels decrease, these neurons receive unbalanced information and become hypertrophied or become too large and active. Therefore, this drug targets the NK3R antagonist, targets receptors that are more or less the same as and opposite estrogen, and helps calm and relax that neuron. Therefore, melatonin itself is a hormone that is produced in the brain, in the pineal gland, which is the gland that controls much of our circadian rhythm and our response to, for example, the light that enters the brain.
So, it controls your internal sleep and body clock, if you take it about two hours before you go to sleep, and then do all those things before sleeping, you know, a relaxing and calm environment, maybe taking a warm bath, going to a dark, non-stimulating room, can help. You want to take a low dose of melatonin, many of these supplements in the grocery store, you know, are safe, but they weigh like 10 milligrams, you'd really rather take a dose of one to three milligrams. Try it, and if it doesn't help after a week or so, don't use it. And then, can you talk a little bit about vaginal dryness and menopause-related changes in the vagina? Yes, they're difficult because, on the one hand, there are herbs that have been around for, you know, hundreds, thousands of years, you know, and they probably have a very good track record of popular use, but you don't always have, as a doctor, who's a scientist, I can't always back them up with data. So, in general, when I approach supplements with my patients, I think there's something that I think poses a risk to you.
So, you know, you'll always want to have an ingredient list if you ask your doctor about something. And there it is, the data will always be contradictory. What may surprise many women is that these changes can start at any time starting at age 35. In fact, one study1 showed that yoga could increase estrogen levels in post-menopausal women. And other research2 explored the positive effects of yoga and sleep on middle-aged women. In addition, another study3 showed that yoga was useful for both hot flashes and psychological symptoms.
A study published in the journal Menopause4 showed that slow and deep diaphragmatic breathing (called rapid breathing) helps to avoid symptoms. For anxiety and panic attacks, 4-7-8 breathing is our best option. Most women begin to experience symptoms of perimenopause in their mid-forties. Progesterone levels decrease after age 30, but it's usually around the age of 40 when the rest of the sex hormones they begin to do the same.
It's important to note that perimenopause lasts, on average, four to 10 years. The transition is usually a gradual process, and many women enter perimenopause without realizing it. HRT was once thought to be the panacea for all menopausal problems, but over the years, studies have revealed certain risks associated with its long-term use. However, there's something else you can add to your arsenal when considering surviving menopause without the need for hormone replacement therapy: Provitalize.
This is the time when menstruation has finally ended, the ovaries have stopped producing high levels of sex hormones and, for many women, the symptoms of perimenopause disappear. Perimenopause is the period in the years before menopause, when estrogen levels drop significantly. However, what is unequivocal is the growing tendency of women to seek alternative and natural ways to cope with menopause. The hormonal changes your body goes through during perimenopause and menopause can cause you to go through a mess, both physically and emotionally. In addition, hormone replacement therapy is not the only treatment for menopause and should not be administered in isolation without considering other treatments and lifestyle interventions.
The decision not to opt for hormone therapy during menopause is a decision that many women make, whether for health problems, personal beliefs or other reasons. But does the promise of calm waters compensate for potential hidden eddies? Can menopause be overcome without hormone therapy or is it an essential ally on this path?Provitalize is emerging as a beacon of hope for women, as it promises a natural transition to menopause without resorting to hormone replacement therapy (HRT). However, here's a quick review of each of these options to get you up to speed on the main topic at hand: Can you overcome menopause without hormone therapy? One of the most common treatment options for menopausal symptoms is hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which complements hormone levels to rebalance the system. We'll talk about how it can help you survive menopause without resorting to hormone replacement therapy. Focusing on yourself and focusing on mindfulness practices can be transformative for surviving menopause without the need.
of hormone replacement therapy.