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Health & Fitness

The Best Gift a Menopausal Mom Can Get

One of the biggest mistakes women commonly make is sacrificin­­g their own health. By the time they go into menopause, many women have reached the point...

One of the biggest mistakes women commonly make is sacrificin­­g their own health.  By the time they go into menopause, many women have reached the point in their lives where they are ready to put their health first but they are confused about how to treat menopause and whether or not it should even be treated in the first place. So, unfortunately, many suffer in silence or attempt to laugh it off.

Menopause is a chronic disease.  It causes PERMANENT estrogen and progesterone hormone deficiencies for the rest of a woman's life.  These hormone deficiencies cause many symptoms (not just hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and loss of the menstrual cycle), reduce a woman's quality of life, and increase the risk of accelerated atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, dementia, and rate of aging which people frequently right off as "just aging." So, there's really no such thing as "postmenopause."

Even if a woman believes she has no menopause symptoms, menopause is still a chronic disease.  Unfortunely, this concept is still foreign to the modern woman and her doctor.  But, think about it, many chronic diseases don't have any obvious symptoms (high blood pressure, osteopenia/osteoporosis), and yet they are still considered chronic diseases.

But, isn't menopause natural?
Yes, menopause occurs due to a natural process.  However, only in the past 100 years or so has it been natural for women to routinely live past menopause.  And, it is not natural to live in the permanent hormone deficient state in which menopause leaves a woman. See attached graph.
Furthermore, "natural" is not the standard. Life and health are the standard. When people go to the eye doctor for vision problems as they get older, the doctor doesn't say "Oh, it's natural, you're just getting older. Tough it out, eat right, and exercise." No, what happens is that you quickly get treatment.


In my practice, I use bioidentical hormones which mimic how a woman's body released estrogen and progesterone before going into menopause.  I think this is the safest, most effective, way to treat menopause.  This holiday season, make it a point to learn about menopause and find a doctor who can help you treat it appropriately.  

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It's the best gift you can give yourself.  And those who love you will appreciate it too.


Happy Holidays!

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