In our grandmothers’ time, menopause was seen as a natural part of life and women simply had to put up with it. Some women go through it and don’t notice any symptoms and others suffer quite a bit. Today, there is much help available in the form of hormones to treat the symptoms you may experience during perimenopause and menopause.

What is perimenopause?

This is the time before menopause (anything up to several years) when a woman’s monthly cycle begins to become irregular. She may experience hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, and feel emotionally labile.

Perimenopause is what women are really enduring when they say they are going through menopause. The medical definition of menopause is when a woman has not had a period for one year. It usually occurs when a woman is in her mid-forties or early fifties. Women who have had their ovaries removed during surgery, for whatever reason, will go into sudden menopause if they are not offered hormone replacement.

At the beginning of perimenopause, some doctors prescribe birth control pills. These can help regulate or stop heavy, frequent, or unpredictable periods. They can also help with unpleasant symptoms and will prevent pregnancy. Many women think that they will not conceive since their periods are now so erratic and then they find themselves with a new baby!

What is MHT?

Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT) is the new name for Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). This is in the form of estrogen. If you still have a uterus, it will be combined with progesterone. Estrogen supplementation alone can cause uterine cancer, but the risk is virtually eliminated if it is given with a progestin supplement.

MHT can help prevent bone thinning (osteoporosis) and help with menopausal symptoms, but they can return if you stop taking it.

Controversy surrounds MHT as there are risks involved. Some women may increase their risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and gallbladder disease. If you’re considering MHT, talk to your doctor, who can help. It is recommended that hormones be given at the lowest dose that helps and taken for the shortest time needed.

Five things to know MHT August

* Does not prevent heart attacks or strokes.

* Does not prevent memory loss or Alzheimer’s disease.

* It has not been shown to prevent aging, wrinkles or, unfortunately, increase sexual desire.

* The risks and benefits of hormonal pills, patches, creams, gels, and rings may all be the same.

Herbs and other natural products should be used with caution, although more open doctors are happy for their patients to take them, and can even help with herbal options. Research the latest studies to see if they can benefit you. If you are a breast cancer survivor and your tumor was estrogen positive, you should not take anything that contains estrogen, and that includes plant estrogens. Take care and read the fine print!