How Hormone Therapy Can Benefit Postmenopausal Women

Hormone replacement therapy may be the least understood solution that most women need and want, both before and after menopause. Myths about HRT have kept it out of the hands of women who could have benefited, but those myths shouldn’t stop you.

Hormones are chemical messengers that control almost every process and system in your body. Your reproductive hormones — such as estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone — are the chemicals that tell your body to grow breasts, ripen eggs, and menstruate.

During your reproductive years, hormonal fluctuations may have caused the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, such as heavy periods and fatigue. As you near the end of your reproductive cycle, the downshifting of the hormones also creates symptoms, such as:

Hot flashes
Night sweats
Insomnia
Weight gain
Fatigue
Depression
Brain fog
Loose, dry skin
Low libido
Painful sex

At Natural Health Specialists, our holistic medicine specialist, Christopher J. Fischer, ND, rejects the idea that the symptoms of menopause are something women just have to accept. When you balance your hormones with HRT during perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause, you could live your best life yet.

It’s (probably) not too late

A very flawed study in 2002 that looked at the long-term effects of HRT on older women ended up frightening both doctors and women away from balancing their hormones. The study seemed to find a correlation between older age and an increased risk for breast cancer and heart disease while on HRT.

Even though those findings have since been debunked, and today’s HRT is quite different from the original formulation, some doctors still recommend refraining from HRT if it’s been more than 10 years since you entered menopause. But there’s no scientific basis for that caution.

Today’s HRT is bioidentical, which means it’s structurally identical to human hormones, even though it’s synthesized from plants. Unless you have a medical history that precludes the use of hormones, you could benefit from HRT, no matter how long ago you entered menopause.

HRT protects your bones

One of the most important benefits of balancing your hormones is that it protects your bones from osteopenia, osteoporosis, and potentially dangerous or life-threatening fractures. The drop in estrogen when you hit menopause drastically increases your risk for osteoporosis.

When you supply your body (and bones) with the hormones they need, you continue to produce new bone cells. As long as your bones replace old bone cells with new ones, they stay healthy, dense, and strong.

HRT protects your brain

Brain fog and senior moments are no joke. Nor are they a normal part of aging.

When you balance your hormones, though, the brain fog lifts. Your brain can function more optimally, so you stay focused and retain your memories. You’re less likely to develop dementia if you keep your hormones balanced as you age.

HRT revs you up

If your libido’s flagging and your orgasms are long in coming (if they come at all), the good news is that HRT gives you back your mojo. A lack of estrogen is behind the symptoms that have made sex uncomfortable or even unbearable, such as:

Dry, itchy vagina
Painful intercourse
Weak orgasms

Regular sex is an essential part of health, whether it’s with a partner or by yourself. HRT turns on your libido, increases lubrication to your vagina, and enhances blood flow to the vulva and clitoris. You also have more energy overall when on HRT.

HRT improves your skin and hair

Balancing your hormones makes your body act like it’s younger than your chronological age. If you’ve been bothered by the physical symptoms of aging, HRT can halt or even reverse them. Once on HRT, you notice improvements such as:

Smoother skin
Tighter skin
Moister skin
Less hair loss

If you’ve noticed increased facial hair since menopause, that also diminishes with HRT.

HRT helps you sleep

One of the biggest complaints about perimenopause and menopause is insomnia. Whether you have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping long enough to get adequate rest, balanced hormones increase your relaxation so you can sleep as much as you need.

Once you have estrogen circulating in your bloodstream, you also stop having hot flashes and their disruptive bedtime equivalent, night sweats. With HRT, you don’t wake up in the middle of the night in soaking sheets. Better sleep also helps your brain and body function during the day.

Whether you notice the classic symptoms of menopause or not, if you’re postmenopausal and don’t feel or look as vibrant and healthy as you did in your youth, HRT can help. Contact us for a hormone evaluation today by calling 631-742-6697 or sending us a message online.

We’re based in East Northport, New York, but Dr. Fischer sees patients virtually. Subscribe to our new client spring special for monthly telehealth sessions.