By Andrew Middlin (B.Pharm).
At 45 years old, Stacey was really struggling with her weight. She was feeling very low in energy, her mood was up and down, she wasn’t sleeping properly and she was getting concerned about her memory. Despite this she was exercising religiously 3 times per week and sticking to a strict diet. Nothing was working, and she was feeling progressively worse.
She didn’t care about the weight from a vanity perspective…she just knew she didn’t feel right, and her lack of energy and brain fog was more than just being sleep deprived…
Every woman at some stage of life will be affected by hormone imbalance in some way, with over 80% believed to experience physical symptoms at some time. Despite these symptoms being so common, we still have many queries from women confused about what treatment options are available. This might be because there is a wide range of conflicting information available that can leave women too nervous to seek help and as a result, they unnecessarily suffer from symptoms that may last for up to 10 years.
Menopause is the term used when you haven’t ovulated for 12 months – the average age of women to reach menopause is 51, most are between 45 and 55 however up to 10% of women reach menopause outside of this age range. Perimenopause is the term used to describe the leadup to menopause – in some cases women experience symptoms up to 10 years prior to menopause occurring, meaning that treatment is often started way too late as they wait for menopause to occur before seeking help.
Often menopause and peri-menopause are considered synonymous with hot flushes – at which point most women will see their doctor. However, these hot flushes may not necessarily occur but other symptoms can which leaves many women not seeking treatment. These include:
The menopausal transition is important, as it is a period of intense hormonal changes and symptomatic stress, which, when untreated, may be related to cognitive decline. There are however, a wide range of treatment options available to assist women through this transition.
At Formulae we work collaboratively with Doctors and use a 5-step process to reduce menopause symptoms and allow women to thrive and enjoy this wonderful time of life, rather than simply trying to “survive” it.
The treatment process takes an integrative health approach and aims to treat several underlying causes rather then simply diving straight into Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).
“HRT is not always needed”
By boosting your underlying health and wellbeing HRT is not always needed. If it is, these pre-steps can help reduce the dosages needed of HRT, meaning less risk of side effects. If you still need further assistance following this process, we work with a wide range of health professionals that we can refer you to for alternative treatment options.
Currently the “Gold standard” HRT treatment is conjugated oestrogens and progestogens in patches, tablets, or creams. These can be prescribed by your GP, if needed, and are produced commercially. These treatments can be effective for many women however, just like the contraceptive pill, one size does not fit all, meaning specialised formulas or dose adjustments are often needed.
When standard HRT is not effective or not tolerated, Formulae can compound individualised treatments with a dosage based on your specific test results. We are also able to compound “Bio-identical HRT (BHRT)” as these treatments are not currently commercially available in Australia.
“Our goal is to provide you with all the information needed to make an informed choice about what is right for you”
BHRT has shown significant efficacy and safety in several studies but unfortunately it can still seem to be taboo to mention to some health professionals. Formulae believes in evidence-based practice and personal choice, so our goal is to provide you with all the information needed to make an informed choice about what is right for you.
If you would like to learn about practical ways to boost your health and wellbeing, and have a two-way discussion with a dedicated health professional who will listen to you and your needs, then organise a chat with one of our pharmacists or at one of our locations here…
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