Women's Health Texas – Austin

Menopause

Women’s Health Texas helps you manage menopause symptoms

During the period before, during and after menopause, you will have many questions. You can count on our Austin OBGYNs for help and support as you make this transition. From diagnosis to hormone therapy for menopause symptoms and hot flash treatment, we can help ease the journey.

Every woman experiences menopause differently, and our OBGYNs will design an individualized treatment plan to help you comfortably and securely move through menopause symptoms.

What is menopause?

Menopause is part of the natural cycle of women’s reproductive lives. It occurs when the ovaries stop making the estrogen needed to thicken the uterine lining and stop releasing eggs, so women no longer have menstrual periods. When a woman doesn’t have a period for one year, she is through with menopause and is considered postmenopausal.

The transitional years before menopause, when women begin to experience menopause symptoms, are called perimenopause. The average age of menopause is 51, but it can vary widely from the 40s to the late 50s.

What are the common menopause symptoms?

Perimenopause usually begins when women are in their 40s, and this is the time when women first begin to notice changes in their bodies. The most intense changes usually occur one or two years before menopause, as the production of estrogen dramatically slows down.

Women’s Health Texas OBGYNs will talk to you about what to expect, as well as how to manage your menopause symptoms.

  • Menstrual irregularity or skipped periods
  • Heavier bleeding or spotting
  • Hot flashes
  • Mood changes (including depression or irritability)
  • Sleep problems (insomnia, night sweats)
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Loss of interest in, or pain during, sexual intercourse
  • Fatigue
  • Loss of bladder control (incontinence) when laughing, sneezing or lifting
  • Weight gain (especially in the belly area)
  • Headaches

We know that every woman won’t experience all of these menopause symptoms. And, the OBGYNs at Women’s Health Texas recognize that each woman will experience symptoms at different times and in varying degrees of severity. We work with each patient to monitor her symptoms and decide what will work best to help her.

What do I need to know about hormone therapy?

At Women’s Health Texas, we know that some women have menopausal symptoms that require more intensive treatment. To help, we carefully prescribe hormone replacement therapy as necessary, usually for a period of three to four years before tapering off treatment.

Hormone therapy can be an effective hot flash treatment, and may also ease other symptoms you may experience during menopause.

We also prescribe vaginal hormone product(s) to help with symptoms, such as vaginal dryness. Our OBGYNs carefully watch every patient who is prescribed hormone therapy to ensure the most effective outcomes.

Menopause, a natural part of life, feels less stressful when you have the right information and doctors who care and understand what you are going through during this transition.

For compassionate care during menopause, contact us. Women’s Health Texas will help you through this stage of life.