What causes menopause?
The aging process causes the female body to produce fewer reproductive hormones. The ovaries stop producing eggs, and your hormones become unbalanced.
Eventually, this causes the menstrual cycle to stop. Menopause symptoms are a result of your body trying to adjust to decreasing hormone levels.
When will I reach menopause?
Most women enter perimenopause in their mid- to late 40s, and remain in this stage for about four years before reaching menopause.
The average age of women reaching menopause is 52. You’ll know you are in menopause when you haven’t had a period for 12 consecutive months or more.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
Menopause is a drawn out process that can last several years before you reach postmenopause. Many women experience menopause symptoms, including hot flashes and moodiness, long before their last period, during a stage known as perimenopause.
During perimenopause, most women experience menstrual cycles that occur less frequently and further apart.
When you’ve gone a year without having a period, you’re officially in menopause. Symptoms of perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause can last several years, and include the following:
- Hot flashes
- Moodiness
- Headaches
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Night sweats
- Insomnia
- Vaginal dryness
- Weight gain
- Irritability
- Decreased libido
- Hair loss and thinning hair
- Difficulty remembering things
- Breast tenderness
Perimenopause and menopause symptoms affect a woman’s quality of life, but there are treatments available from Dr. Giles that offer relief.
Can anything be done for menopause symptoms?
You don’t have to live with menopause symptoms. Dr. Giles and her team offer patients hormone replacement therapy so you can feel like yourself again.
As one of the few Georgia providers offering bioidentical hormone therapy, patients at the practice receive an innovative treatment to replace the hormones your body no longer produces with natural hormones made from plant estrogens chemically identical to those our bodies produce.
Menopause creates a hormonal imbalance but it doesn’t have to throw your life off balance, too. To learn more about your menopause symptoms and how to get relief, call Wendy S. Giles, MD, FACOG, or use the online booking tool to schedule an appointment today.
