Menopause is a natural transition that all women go through, marking the end of menstruation and fertility. The average age for menopause is 51, but it can occur earlier or later. As estrogen levels decline during the menopausal transition, many women experience symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood changes, trouble sleeping, and more.
While menopause is natural, symptoms can significantly impact quality of life for many women. The good news is that there are many safe and effective menopause treatment options available today to manage bothersome symptoms. At Vitality Balance Clinic in Pearland, we specialize in individualized menopause care to help women feel their best during this transition.
Menopause occurs when the ovaries stop producing the hormones estrogen and progesterone. This marks the end of a woman's reproductive years. There are a few reasons why this natural decline in hormones occurs:
While the exact timing varies per woman, eventually estrogen levels get too low to maintain regular menstrual cycles, and periods become irregular and then stop completely.
The decline of estrogen and progesterone creates changes throughout the body, commonly leading to adverse symptoms. Here are some of the most common menopausal symptoms:
Hot flashes - Sudden sensations of intense body heat, flushing, sweating and chills. Hot flashes can come on suddenly and frequently, disrupting sleep.
Vaginal dryness - Declining estrogen levels cause the vaginal tissue to become thinner, drier and more prone to irritation and pain during sex.
Urinary problems - The urethra and bladder can become irritated, inflamed, or infected without sufficient estrogen. This leads to a frequent need to urinate, leaking urine or recurring UTIs.
Insomnia - Night sweats and hot flashes often disrupt sleep. Changing hormone levels can also affect production of sleep hormones like melatonin.
Mood changes - Irritability, anxiety, sadness and depression may develop due to estrogen's impact on brain chemicals like serotonin.
Brain fog - Many women in menopause describe forgetfulness, cloudy thinking, difficulty focusing and lack of mental clarity.
Hair and skin changes - Estrogen loss can trigger hair thinning, dry skin, and changes in complexion.
The wide variety of menopause symptoms clearly show how much estrogen impacts a woman's overall health. Keeping hormone levels balanced helps alleviate uncomfortable symptoms.
Seeking proper menopause treatment provides immense benefits for a woman's quality of life. Balancing hormones alleviates distressing menopausal symptoms so you can continue enjoying good health, relationships and activities during this transition and beyond.
With an individualized treatment plan from our compassionate providers at Vitality Balance Clinic, potential benefits include:
For the majority of women, properly addressing the decline in estrogen eliminates troublesome hot flashes and night sweats. This also means fewer sleep disruptions, less fatigue, and generally better rest. Our providers collaborate to find the optimal treatment protocol to stabilize your hormone levels.
Vaginal tissues are very responsive to estrogen therapy. Most women find significant improvement in vaginal lubrication and elasticity when hormone levels are restored. This leads to greater comfort and pleasure during intimacy.
With balanced hormone levels, many women report better mood, less anxiety and depression, and improved cognition. Estrogen impacts so many aspects of brain health. Getting your levels right makes a big difference!
Estrogen plays an important role in urinary tract health, by maintaining tone, thickness and pH levels of urethral tissues. Supplementing estrogen often brings great relief for irritating urinary symptoms.
Hair becomes fuller, skin becomes softer and more supple, when estrogen is replenished. Many women are thrilled to reclaim their skin's youthful glow with properly balanced hormones.
Above all, successfully managing menopausal symptoms gives women their lives back! With bothersome symptoms relieved, energy restored and emotional balance regained, menopause treatment helps women feel their best so they can continue thriving during this next stage of life.
At Vitality Balance Clinic, we specialize in bioidentical hormone replacement for menopause - meaning the hormones used are structurally identical to those naturally made in the human body. This provides a perfect fit for your hormonal receptors and optimal symptom relief.
There are other types of hormones available, like chemically-altered synthetic hormones or those derived from animals, but human-identical bioidentical hormones have clinically demonstrated superior safety and efficacy.
The term "bioidentical" means the hormone's chemical structure exactly matches human hormones. They are typically plant-derived - from yams or soy plants - then converted to be biologically identical to endogenous human hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone.
This gives bioidentical hormones the ability to bind perfectly to hormonal receptors throughout the body, mimicking naturally made hormones for balanced function and optimal relief of deficiency symptoms.
The two main bioidentical hormones used to treat menopause are:
These bioidentical hormones can be customized to match each woman's needs and biology for natural-feeling, effective symptom relief through menopause and beyond.
There are different types of estrogen and progesterone medications available to best meet each woman's treatment goals and preferences:
Systemic Formulations:
Local Estrogen Formulations:
Vitality Balance Clinic provides all of these bioidentical hormone preparations so your treatment program can be fully customized for your unique needs and preferences. Our compassionate providers will help determine which type(s) and delivery method(s) are right for you.
The compassionate providers at Vitality Balance Clinic have extensive training and expertise in treating women through menopause. We provide cutting edge, integrative care combining bioidentical hormones, nutrition, fitness and stress reduction for optimal relief of symptoms.
Our multidisciplinary menopause team includes:
Dr. Smith is double board-certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Integrative Medicine with over 15 years focused exclusively on hormone balance for women. She expertly customizes bioidentical hormone treatments to help women feel their absolute best through perimenopause, menopause and beyond.
As a Physician Assistant trained in Functional Medicine, John Watson brings compassionate care and technical expertise to fine tune each woman's bioidentical hormone therapy. He helps create comprehensive treatment plans addressing all lifestyle factors for complete wellbeing during menopause and healthy longevity.
As our nurse practitioner specializing in women's health, Mary provides compassionate patient education and supportive guidance about the menopause transition. She focuses on practical lifestyle recommendations regarding nutrition, fitness, stress reduction and holistic self-care to complement each woman's medical treatment.
Together, our providers merge eastern and western diagnostic tools paired with the latest scientific research to design fully customized treatment protocols using bioidentical hormone replacement. We help women achieve optimal balance, relief of symptoms, graceful aging and vital longevity. Please explore our website to learn more about our menopause, gynecology and integrative medical services. We are here to help guide you to better health and wellness during midlife and beyond!
Here is a 55-word fact about a promising new menopause treatment: A recent study found that low-dose estradiol patches, when combined with progesterone, significantly reduced hot flashes and improved sleep quality for menopausal women. This new optimized hormone therapy approach could provide welcome relief for women struggling with disruptive menopause symptoms.
There are many aspects involved in effectively treating menopause symptoms and hormone deficiency. Below we delve deeper into key topics around understanding menopause, diagnosing hormone imbalance, benefits of treatment, types of therapies, finding the right provider, and integrating holistic wellness strategies for optimal results.
The first step in proper menopause treatment is getting the right diagnostic testing to identify any hormone deficiencies contributing to symptoms. Because hormone balance is so complex with many potential causes of disruption, testing allows our providers to determine precisely which hormones are out of balance for a personalized treatment approach.
Common lab tests our menopause specialists order include:
Blood tests:
Saliva or urine tests:
Many women wonder if they should stop birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy before testing. Our providers recommend being tested while on your current regimen so we can best determine what modifications may be beneficial. Diagnostic testing provides objective data guiding precise treatment plans for the best relief of stubborn menopausal symptoms.
Once a hormone deficiency is identified as a contributor to menopause symptoms, there are a variety of treatment options available at Vitality Balance Clinic to restore optimal balance.
Oral estrogen, in pill form, is commonly used for standard hormone replacement. It is easy to adjust dosage as needed to manage fluctuating menopause symptoms week to week or month to month. We provide various concentrations and combinations of bioidentical estradiol paired with bioidentical progesterone to meet each woman's needs:
We also offer transdermal estrogen delivery for women who cannot take oral hormones:
Estrogen skin patches provide steady estrogen absorption avoiding digestive issues with pills. Topical estrogen gels or creams can be applied to upper arm/chest area for systemic relief as well.
The estrogen vaginal ring, called Estring, provides super low dose estrogen directly to vaginal tissue for localized relief while minimizing systemic absorption.
Vaginal estrogen is excellent for treating vulvovaginal symptoms when oral or transdermal options are ineffective or not well tolerated. Our providers collaborate with patients to find the personal solution to your symptoms and needs.
Progesterone is a crucial hormone for overall wellbeing that naturally declines alongside estrogen during menopause. Research shows that balancing both estrogen and progesterone together, versus estrogen alone, provides superior mood and sleep benefits.
Bioidentical progesterone capsules can be taken cyclically (14 days per month) with estrogen pills, or continuously in certain circumstances. We offer both oral and transdermal creams for progesterone replacement therapy depending on your needs and preferences.
Progesterone is also beneficial for younger women with absent periods, PCOS, infertility or short luteal phases, not just peri and menopause. Our providers have extensive experience using bioidentical progesterone and estrogen synergistically for best results throughout a woman's life.
BioTE hormone pellet therapy is our most cutting edge and innovative treatment option for achieving unprecedented symptom relief and reclaiming robust wellbeing. This breakthrough system infuses bioidentical hormones into soft tissue for steady release over several months - avoiding inconvenient daily hormone administration while providing optimal balance for the majority of patients. During a simple in-office procedure by our expert BioTE trained provider, tiny customized hormone pellets are placed under the skin releasing just the right amount for your needs. Hormone testing is then repeated at intervals throughout the year to ensure ideal levels tailored specifically for you are maintained.
Pellets can contain bioidentical estradiol, testosterone, progesterone - or any combination needed to resolve your deficiency and symptoms. Pellets overcome limitations many women face with traditional therapies like pills, patches and creams by providing complete, steady and convenient dosing for exceptional treatment success like never before.
Seeking proper diagnosis and treatment from a credentialed menopause specialist experienced in hormone balancing options provides the best relief for frustrating symptoms. But finding the right practitioner can often feel overwhelming with so many types of doctors and clinics now offering various forms of menopause treatment.
Here is some guidance to finding the right medical provider for your personal menopause treatment needs:
Check credentials - Verify specialized menopause training and years of experience in female hormone therapy - like our providers at Vitality Balance Clinic!
Confirm comprehensive testing - Symptom surveys and bloodwork should evaluate all key hormones for proper diagnosis of any deficiencies. Saliva or serum testing throughout the menstrual cycle provides optimal insight.
Evaluate all hormone delivery options - A thorough clinician will provide choices of multiple FDA-approved bioidentical hormones and preparations to customize optimal treatment. (Pellets, pills, transdermals...)
Offer cyclical or continuous dosing - Symptoms fluctuate across menstrual cycles. Cyclical hormone dosing tailored around your cycle may feel more balanced.
Collaborate on holistic wellness - A functional approach also addresses healthy lifestyle, nutrition, stress reduction and fitness along with medical therapy.
At Vitality Balance Clinic, our caring collaboration with patients leads to transformative, life-enhancing treatments personalized for your unique needs and goals now and through the stages ahead. We hope you will entrust your menopausal wellbeing into our comprehensive, integrative care.
In addition to expert hormone balancing treatment, a holistic integrative approach addressing nutrition, fitness, stress resilience and other lifestyle factors enables women to truly thrive through menopause. Key recommendations include:
Eat a Nutrient-Dense Diet
Manage Stress and Prioritize Pleasure
Exercise Regularly
Optimize Vitamins and Nutrients
A nourishing lifestyle significantly empowers hormone therapy. Let our exceptional providers guide you to better health through personalized medical and holistic care during this transition and into the thriving years ahead!
Given the considerable influence estrogen and progesterone exert over a woman's overall wellbeing, it is crucial to address emerging hormone deficiencies promptly through properly balanced replacement therapy. The longer deficiencies continue unchecked - fueling uncomfortable symptoms and related health issues - the harder they become to resolve.
That is why we always emphasize the importance of comprehensive diagnostic testing at the first suspicion of perimenopause - when cycles become irregular, fertility declines in the late 30's/early 40's, or any apparent hormone-related symptoms arise. Once identified, personalized bioidentical hormone interventions tailored to match each woman's needs leads to the most effective relief and prevention of long term consequences.
With prompt precision balancing of estrogen, progesterone and other hormones, most troubling symptoms become wonderfully manageable before reaching advanced severity. We strive to restore comfort, quality of life and positive aging for women at all stages of hormonal transition. Contact us today to explore your treatment options!
At Vitality Balance Clinic, we go beyond standard medical care to address all lifestyle facets for women's optimal hormone balance and vitality through
