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Our hormone changes drastically at different stages of our life cycle, causing changes in the body. They are natural and are to be expected—even hormone imbalances or deficiencies are also a part of natural aging. While they are normal, they can affect our health and cause myriads of negative symptoms. Fortunately, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) benefits can help reduce many of these unwanted symptoms.
Studies have shown that HRT can improve both body and mind for women, and that’s not even the best part yet. The most crucial feature that HRT can offer you is tailored services. Your provider will have to tailor HRT services based on your body’s needs.
The better your provider is, the more they can better tailor to your needs. That’s nice and all, but do you actually need HRT? What are the signs that you need hormone replacement therapy, and how does it make you whole again?
What Is Hormone Therapy?
Hormone therapy is a medication that contains female hormones, and you will take this medication to replace the estrogen and progesterone levels that your body stops producing during menopause. Depending on your needs or preferences, the treatment will often come as a patch, cream, spray, and a pill—you and your provider will have to discuss that.
Who’s Prone To Hormone Imbalances?
Your hormones regulate almost everything, including metabolism, hunger, sleep patterns, etc. If you practice an improper diet, sleep, and exercise, you may deprive your body of essential needs and create hormone imbalances. These imbalances can cause stress, sexual reproduction issues, sleep issues, and weight gain.
It’s safe to say that hormone imbalances can happen to anyone, especially those that don’t keep track of their health. However, even if you are quite physically well, you can still experience imbalances. For teenagers, it may be sleep issues during their puberty, or for women, changes in menstruation and pregnancy.
Changes in hormones can change our moods and behavior. That’s why when somebody takes HRT, they frequently comment that the therapy made them feel better and whole again. Your provider will be the one to determine what are your hormone levels and provide the means to balance them appropriately.
What Are The Signs That You Need HRT?
Hormone decline and imbalances are natural when you experience aging. However, certain health conditions may cause unnatural hormones, causing the need for HRT therapy. These health conditions include:
Early Menopause Or Estrogen Deficiency
Suppose you had your ovaries surgically removed before age 45, lost normal ovarian function, or have stopped having periods before that age. In that case, your body is exposed to lower amounts of estrogen than most menopausal women would.
Pursuing HRT decreases the risks of hormone imbalances and prevents other health conditions such as osteoporosis, heart disease, stroke, mood changes, and dementia.
Prevent Bone Loss Or Fractures
Balancing estrogen levels helps prevent the bone-thinning disease, osteoporosis. However, typically, doctors would use HRT as an alternative treatment. Doctors usually recommend medications called bisphosphonates to treat osteoporosis. But if your body can’t tolerate those medications, HRT may be used to prevent osteoporosis if none of the other treatments work.
Severe Symptoms Of Menopause
Menopause is a natural biological process, and it is the time that marks the end of your menstrual cycle. Ordinary as it may be, it can disrupt your day-to-day life and may even cause severe symptoms. Physical symptoms like hot flashes can disrupt your sleep, mood changes affect emotional health, and itching and dryness cause discomfort during intercourse.
In the months or years leading to your menopause, you will experience a lot of symptoms, including:
- Weight gain and slower metabolism
- Dry skin and thinning hair
- Loss of breast fullness
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Irregular periods
Many of these symptoms are normal, but they can become quite severe. If you think that you have any of these symptoms but are more severe, you may benefit from hormone replacement therapy.
Lower Libido
Hormone deficiencies affect your sex life since hormones directly correlate to libido and sex drive. They help affect your performance and pleasure, but it just isn’t the same once it’s lacking. Not only is it lacking, but it becomes uncomfortable and even painful due to vaginal dryness.
Restore your libido and experience by taking HRT.
When To See Medical Attention
Many people find menopause uncomfortable but not unbearable, and most live with it. It is expected due to aging, and you should anticipate it. However, if you find the experience of menopause happening early or you consider them unbearable, you can consult with a doctor and discuss how to proceed.
Likewise, if you have symptoms related to hormone imbalances before you are 45, you should seek medical attention to determine the cause of these symptoms. Your doctor will then determine if HRT is the best course to take.
Diagnosis
If you are over 45, your doctor will not perform some examinations for your signs and symptoms of menopause. Instead, they will examine you personally, checking your medical history and lifestyle factors and seeing if any of those are causing those symptoms. After that, they will recommend lifestyle and diet changes that will help alleviate those symptoms.
On the other hand, if you are under 45, your doctor will perform blood tests to see your hormone levels. Physical and ultrasound tests may be used to find the cause of your hormone deficiency. They will then recommend hormone replacement therapy.
Case to case will be different, and it’s up to the medical experts to determine if you need HRT or not. But if you had any of those severe signs and symptoms above, you will most likely be recommended with HRT. Your doctor will first lower doses and then increase them if no adverse issues are observed.
Takeaway
If you think that you have hormone imbalances affecting your day-to-day living, you need not look further and contact our clinic, Sei Tu Bella. We offer hormone replacement therapy and other services that can help address other skin and health wellness concerns.
