Many OB/GYNs offer hormone therapy as part of their service. The best board-certified obstetrics & gynecology in Napa certainly should.
As every woman gets older, their body produces less estrogen and progesterone, which are the two hormones responsible for controlling their monthly cycle. The hormones also have an effect on the health of your heart, bones, and vagina.
Hormone therapy is usually done in combination with other natural treatments to ensure that you remain healthy and vibrant during menopause. It involves using synthetic hormones, often acquired from plants, to address your hormonal imbalance. Hormone therapy can help you in certain ways as you approach and enter menopause including:
Reducing the Effects of Menopause
Menopause in women has many physical manifestations many of which are adverse. Such symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, and chills. These manifestations can be very uncomfortable. In extreme cases, they may even damage your health, such as when you are unable to sleep.
Hormone therapy will reduce the intensity of the above symptoms and in some cases, eradicate them completely. Then your menopause years do not have to be as cumbersome as they are to others especially those who do not undergo hormone therapy.
Addressing Vaginal Issues
Having more estrogen in your body can help address vaginal issues that appear during menopause. When your estrogen levels decline, certain elements of your vagina also change including the pH, lining, and tissue composition.
The most prevalent of these issues is vaginal dryness. Atrophic vaginitis is a condition that is caused by dryness and inflammation of the vagina. Vaginal dryness makes sex very painful hence the reduction of libido in menopausal women.
You may also experience a condition known as vulvar atrophy which can lead to incontinence, soreness and dryness of the vagina. Hormone therapy can help address all the conditions above.
Alleviate Ovary Issues
It is not only your vagina that is affected by menopause but also your ovaries. Your ovaries are responsible for producing estrogen, the hormone that is depleted during menopause.
If the ovaries fail to produce enough estrogen or are affected by other issues, then hormone therapy is necessary. Such issues may include reduced function or complete failure of the ovaries.
Some women have their ovaries completely removed. In a situation such as a hysterectomy in which both the uterus and ovaries are removed, then premature menopause may occur and hormone therapy can be used to alleviate the symptoms.
Healthier Bones
Another part of your body that suffers tremendously as a result of menopause is your bones. You lose a lot of bone density once you enter menopause and it progresses until your death. Hormone therapy can be used to prevent bone loss in a menopausal woman. On the other hand, there is new medication that can not only prevent bone loss but actually reverse it so hormone therapy is slowly becoming obsolete in this regard.
However, these medications are not always effective and hormone therapy will be used instead. Strong bones are necessary for proper health and for you to continue living a prosperous life.