Menopausal Counseling & Treatment is one of the most common services we provide at A Woman's View. Having had personal experience dealing with these issues, Dr. Lovin realizes the importance of individual treatment. There are many issues that arise at this time in a woman's life and many decisions which must be made. One of the most important is whether to take Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). There are many different options for HRT, including pills, patches, implants, and the compounded natural hormones.
Many factors must be taken into consideration: symptoms, family history, and any medical problems the woman may have. Therefore, it is important for women to be educated about the risks and benefits of HRT and that she is allowed to make the decisions with which she is most comfortable. All of the practitioners at A Woman's View are well informed about these menopausal issues and can answer any questions about HRT or other problems arising at this time in a woman's life.
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DRUGS ARE NOT ALWAYS THE ANSWER Several years ago, I became interested in learning about alternative medicine, and after much reading and researching, decided to start introducing some of these alternatives into my medical practice. I began by recommending certain nutritional supplements for conditions that we really did not have very effective medical treatments for such as PMS. As I saw patients in follow-up I was gratified by the results I was seeing and began exploring further. Today, many women request natural treatments and I believe it is imperative that we as physicians learn as much as possible about effective alternative treatments for common problems. In this column on Alternative Medicine I would like to give you some of the common conditions I treat and my recommendations for supplements to help those problems. Due to limited space I cannot go into great detail about each treatment. In future issues I will cover some of them more thoroughly, but this should give you an excellent overview.
It is very important that you talk with your physician before treating any of the above conditions with supplements. What you think is just arthritis could be more serious. After consulting with your healthcare provider you may want to try some of the above recommendations. If after 4 to 6 weeks there is no improvement in your symptoms, consult again with your healthcare provider. Back to Table of Contents |
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PERIMENOPAUSE Perimenopause is a term that is commonly used today and yet is not very easily defined. It can just refer to a certain age group ( i.e. age 40-45) or it can refer to certain symptoms (i.e. hot flashes, irritability, decreased libido) or it can refer to changes in the menstrual cycle (i.e. heavier or lighter flow, or irregular periods). No matter how you define it, it is a natural part of a woman's life for several years prior to menopause and it can present a unique set of problems to be dealt with. I see women on a daily basis who are having regular periods but believe that they may be entering menopause because they are having symptoms such as hot flashes, mood swings and insomnia. Some of them are only in their thirties and are quite concerned. The average age of menopause is 50 but there is wide variation in the age where women stop menstruating and enter menopause. If this happens before age 40 it is considered premature menopause, but this is really fairly rare. It is not rare, however, to begin experiencing hormonal symptoms several years before the actual menopause begins, and I refer to this as perimenopause. Many women have few symptoms until they actually start skipping periods or stop cycling altogether, but there is also a large number of women who experience typical symptoms of menopause off and on for years before the periods actually stop. Most often the symptoms appear about two weeks prior to their period and get somewhat better after the period and is often just treated as PMS. What I believe to be different about perimenopause are the hot flashes and other symptoms of estrogen deficiency. Typical PMS, which can even occur in teenagers, is probably not due to estrogen deficiency and may not respond or may even worsen with estrogen therapy. Symptoms of perimenopause, however, usually improve with low dose estrogen given during the premenstrual week. Many women today are frightened by the mention of estrogen and even though there are many benefits received from estrogen, they really do not want to take this unless absolutely necessary, especially starting at a fairly young age. I certainly understand their concern and try to work with women who do not want to go the route of estrogen therapy. I believe diet and exercise are very important during this time. A diet high in dietary fiber (with an emphasis on legumes) and low in saturated fat is helpful. Adding soy in any form is also helpful since it contains phytoestrogens which may help relieve symptoms. Flax seed also contains phytoestrogen and is a good source of fiber. A new supplement, Promensil, is an excellent treatment for perimenopausal symptoms as it contains four different phytoestrogens in a convenient pill form. These plant estrogens are very beneficial without the concerns about breast and uterine cancer that come with taking estrogen therapy. Promensil is available at some pharmacies and health food stores including A Woman's View Health and Wellness Pharmacy. Most importantly, I believe that women who take control of their lives during this period of time and get their bodies in good shape will enter menopause in a much more positive frame of mind and will hopefully be able to enjoy this next phase of their lives feeling happy and healthy. Back to Table of Contents
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Copyright 1996-2006 by A Woman's View, Last Updated on September 15, 2006