Menopause causes many changes in the body and many of these changes affect you in the wrong way. This includes having hot flashes, feeling tired all the time, anxiety, vaginal dryness, irritableness, and more. Fortunately there are ways you can feel better, one of which is hormone replacement therapy and vaginal hormones.
Hormone Replacement Therapy
Being low on estrogen, which is a hormone, is the main cause of the problems you feel with menopause. One type of treatment that can help with this is hormone replacement therapy (HRT). This is a medication that you will take to replace the estrogen that your body creates. HRT can help with a variety of menopausal symptoms. If your doctor suggests HRT, they will first do tests to determine the estrogen levels in your body. This is generally done by a blood test. This tells the doctor the amount of estrogen you need so you will be given the right medication. There is systematic hormone medication that the doctor may suggest. You can receive this medication in your body in different ways a gel and skin patch.
HRT Side Effects
If your doctor suggests HRT, you may have side effects. These side effects may go away once your body adjusts to the medication, however. One side effect is fluid retention that is generally in your abdominal area. You may also notice fluid build up in your ankles. Bloating is another symptom and feeling breast tenderness or your breasts may swell. You may notice that you have more headaches than normal or more indigestion when eating spicy foods. Some women may also have depression in the beginning.
Vaginal Hormones
Being low on estrogen can also cause vaginal dryness. This will cause pain while you are having sex. This is because your vaginal walls become dried out. There is a low dose estrogen that you place in your vagina. This will come in a cream, vaginal ring, or a tablet. This type is only used for vaginal symptoms because it is low dose. Very little estrogen will get into your blood stream so you will not get it throughout your entire body. When starting vaginal hormones you will take it every day for 10 to 14 days. You will then generally use it twice per week.
Your gynecologist can give you much more information about HRT and vaginal estrogen to help you decide if you would like this type of treatment.
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