Menopause Management
Menopause marks a very important time in a woman's life. By nature, it's a natural process, but due to several contributing factors, it can be a very difficult transition fraught with uncomfortable, even debilitating symptoms.
Many women today are faced with the decision whether or not to go on conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for the alleviation of menopausal symptoms and as a precautionary step in preventing osteoporosis and heart disease. But many are concerned with side effects and increased cancer risk. For others, the idea of taking synthetic hormones or ones derived from horse urine (premarin) clashes with their personal philosophy of health. Some women already have certain health conditions that preclude them from even considering HRT.
Many women today are turning to naturopathic physicians for advice on natural alternative therapies for menopause.
Managing Menopause
Dr. Hiell believes in addressing each woman's needs, creating an individualized program that will work for her. Depending on symptoms, lifestyle factors, risk factors and other needs, Dr. Hiell may prescribe one or a combination of the following treatments:
- Dietary Changes
- Vitamins & Minerals
- Exercise
- Herbs
- Stress Reduction Techniques
- Natural Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement
Menopausal Symptoms- Hot Flashes
- Sleep Disorders
- Vaginal Dryness
- Anxiety
- Short Term Memory Loss
- Night Sweats
- Palpitations
- Mood Swings
- Headaches
- Fatigue
Hormonal Assessment
In many cases, your natural menopausal treatment can be prescribed going by symptoms alone, but when the clinical picture is a little cloudy, certain lab tests can be helpful.
- Blood Hormone Levels (FSH, LH, estrogen, progesterone and testosterone)
- Salivary Hormone Levels (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA) Based on years of experience, I have come to distrust salivary levels of estrogen and testosterone. It seems to be a useful tool for establishing baseline levels of progesterone (but almost always will report falsely high if on any progesterone), cortisol and DHEA.
Osteoporosis Risk Screening
- Assessment of Risk Factors based on family history, diet, lifestyle and medical history.
- Bone Density Tests can assess the state of your bones and predict osteoporosis risk.
- Urine Screen for Bone Resorption is sometimes necessary to answer the question: Am I losing bone right now on a daily basis? When bone is being broken down, there are certain proteins found in the urine. These proteins can be used as important markers to determine active bone loss. If bone is being lost, nutritional lifestyle and hormonal changes are made to arrest the bone loss.
Natural Plant-Derived Bio-Idential Hormones
Dr. Hiell believes in helping each woman restore hormonal balance in ways that are unique to each person based on. It is a highly individualized process and depends on the following factors:
