Benefits of Hormone Imbalance Treatment During Menopause

By Raymond Westbrook, D.O.

National Medical Director at HerKare

Hormone imbalance treatment during menopause can help relieve your symptoms and help you feel better.

Hormone imbalance treatment helps many women feel better during menopause. Menopause is a normal part of aging but can come with uncomfortable symptoms. Because of this, many women notice their quality of life decreases and their mental, emotional, physical, and sexual health may suffer. If you’re experiencing moderate to severe menopause symptoms that disrupt your life, hormone replacement may offer several benefits for your wellbeing.

What is Hormone Imbalance Treatment?

Broadly speaking, hormone imbalance treatment involves using plant-based hormones to optimize your hormones to beneficial levels. During perimenopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels steadily begin to decline. This is what leads to the cessation of your menstrual cycles. Menopause occurs once you’ve reached twelve months without a period. The average age that women experience menopause is 51 years old.

HerKare uses a comprehensive approach to optimize hormone levels to improve symptoms while causing minimal to no side effects.  Our approach is based on research that increases safety, effectiveness, and looks at the overall health of your individual needs before and throughout treatment.

Relieving Menopause Symptoms

Hormones perform many important functions in your body. They are messengers that help control your cells and organs and tell them what to do. When your hormone levels are low or out of balance, this can cause many different symptoms that we often associate with menopause. For example, hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and low libido. These symptoms can also cause difficulty sleeping, brain fog, mood changes, and many other symptoms that can interrupt your life and decrease your quality of life.

Hormone imbalance treatment can help reduce or eliminate these symptoms for women who experience them. Many women notice improvements in their overall sense of wellbeing, including their emotional and sexual health, after beginning a HerKare comprehensive treatment program. In addition, hormone replacement therapy may offer other health benefits.

Other Benefits of Hormone Imbalance Treatment

In addition to helping many women reduce symptoms of menopause, women’s hormone care may also offer other health benefits. After menopause, your risk for many health conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes, increases. Many believe this is due to declining estrogen levels. However, several studies show that hormone imbalance treatment may help reduce your risk for these conditions.

Cardiovascular Benefits

Research shows that hormone replacement therapy can help reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease in some circumstances.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. However, hormone imbalance treatment can help lower the risk of future cardiovascular disease. Studies show that women under 60 years old with menopause symptoms who start treatment within ten years of menopause experience a lower risk for heart disease.

Women who experience vasomotor symptoms like hot flashes and night sweats may be more likely to experience cardiovascular events like heart attacks, angina, and strokes. Recent research indicates that women who experience such symptoms after menopause are an estimated 70% more likely to have a cardiovascular event. There may be a link between hormone imbalance treatment, as estrogen can help reduce the number and severity of vasomotor symptoms.

Hormone Imbalance Treatment with Estrogen May Reduce Diabetes Risk

Additionally, hormone imbalance treatment may help reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes after menopause. Menopause is associated with an increase in waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio. These factors can indicate an increase in abdominal fat. Also known as visceral fat, abdominal fat increases your risk for several serious health conditions, including diabetes. However, hormone replacement with estrogen can help your body redistribute fat away from the abdomen.

Also, studies show that many women also decrease the amount of physical activity they get within about two years before menopause. This could be due to declining energy levels and menopause symptoms that make it difficult to maintain an exercise regimen. Menopause symptom relief may help you feel better during menopause so that you can take part in healthy activities like working out, which can help reduce abdominal fat and your risk for diabetes.

Some research also suggests that estrogen may help improve several other factors that increase your risk for diabetes. For example, insulin secretion and insulin sensitivity may decrease after menopause. However, hormone imbalance treatment may help improve glycemic control and may improve insulin sensitivity.

“I’ve Heard Hormones are Dangerous”

This is a common phrase we hear when discussing options for relieving menopause symptoms. However, studies offer additional insights into the long-term effects of taking hormone replacement therapy. Researchers followed post-menopausal women for eighteen years to determine if they experienced higher rates of death if they used hormone therapy compared to a placebo. The women in the study took either hormone imbalance treatment or a placebo for five to seven years and then the researchers looked at the number of deaths from any cause to get a broad view of whether life-threatening outcomes are common. Instead, the study showed little difference between the hormone therapy group and the placebo group.

Overall mortality rates for the hormone imbalance treatment group were 27.1%, compared to 27.6% in the placebo group. The study also looked specifically at deaths from cancer and cardiovascular disease and found that the differences between the two groups were also small. They found a 0.1% difference between the groups for cardiovascular disease and a 0.2% difference for cancer. This research seems to indicate that, when used correctly, hormone replacement generally doesn’t create life-threatening outcomes.

Who is a Good Candidate for Hormone Imbalance Treatment?

While hormone imbalance treatment offers many benefits, not everyone should start taking hormones. It’s important to talk to a medical provider about your symptoms and overall health. This can help you and your doctor weigh the risks and benefits and how they apply to your unique circumstances. You may be a good candidate for hormone replacement if:

• You have moderate to severe menopause symptoms
• Your symptoms affect your quality of life or interfere with your normal activities
• You’re in good health overall

If you have a history of certain health issues listed below, you will want to discuss with your medical provider if hormone therapy is right for you:

• Strokes
• Blood clots
• Liver disease
• Breast cancer
• Heart disease
• Coronary artery disease

There are also lifestyle changes you can take to help reduce risks during hormone imbalance treatment. These changes can also help improve your overall health and quality of life. For example, exercising regularly, maintaining a healthy weight, and not smoking. These can help improve your wellbeing and also may reduce risks during menopausal hormone therapy.

At HerKare, our goal is to provide you with compassionate and personalized health care to help you feel your best. We understand how life-altering menopause can be. Our medical team takes the time to listen to your symptoms while considering a broad view of your health to determine the underlying causes of those symptoms. Then they will discuss a comprehensive menopause treatment plan with you which may involve lifestyle changes as well as hormone therapy. Schedule an appointment today to discuss your health status and symptoms with one of our providers. At HerKare, we’re here to help you take control of your health.