Things You Can Do To Thrive Through Perimenopause

Perimenopause, the period preceding menopause, typically begins around your late 40s or early 50s and lasts a few years. This transition concludes once you’ve gone 12 consecutive months without your period. And while a lack of menstruation can be a huge relief, almost two-thirds of women experience adverse symptoms during the leadup to menopause. 

Perimenopause is often included under the umbrella term “menopause,” which includes the period before the end of reproduction as well as the period following it.

Common menopausal symptoms due to a decline in hormones include hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, mood swings, sleep disturbances, and hair loss.

Even though menopause isn’t something that requires treatment, you also don’t have to make yourself suffer through it. There are plenty of lifestyle habits you can adopt and medical treatments you can use to make sure it doesn’t hold you back from living life to the fullest. 

At Women’s Specialty Care, our team led by Karen Mass, MD, FACOG, is passionate about helping women maintain a high quality of life while going through the natural stage of reproductive decline. This month’s blog explores not only things you can do on your own, but also treatments we offer for effective menopausal management. 

Lifestyle changes for menopause management

Let’s first take a look at how these healthy habits can lower the impact menopause symptoms can have on your everyday life:

Watch what you eat

Eating a healthy and nutritious diet can address several common menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, bone loss, and weight gain. 

A menopause-friendly diet needs to include plenty of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean proteins, calcium, vitamin D, and soy, preferably from food sources and not supplements. Whenever possible, avoid or limit saturated fats, processed food, alcohol, caffeine, spicy food, and simple carbohydrates. 

Practice stress reduction

Stress can play a major role in the severity of the menopause symptoms we mentioned. Some women even develop depression or anxiety during menopause. Finding ways to lower stress levels can help. Try practicing mindfulness, using calming breathing techniques, doing yoga, or journaling to bring down stress. 

Take measures to cool hot flashes and night sweats

Daytime hot flashes and their sweaty nighttime counterparts are often a complaint during menopause. During the day, dress in light, breathable layers to combat any sudden onset of body heat. At night, dress in cotton pajamas and utilize pillows and mattresses that have cooling gels.  Use natural fibers such as cotton and linen whenever possible for your night clothes and bedding.  

Find ways to combat vaginal dryness

If sex is incredibly painful due to vaginal dryness, there are a few things you can try. The first is using vaginal lubricants during sex. You can buy water-based lubricants at your local drugstore, and they should help with friction and chafing. Another option is a vaginal moisturizer that you apply daily to reduce dryness. 

How we can help you thrive during menopause

While healthy habits can certainly lessen the severity of menopausal symptoms, some may find that they simply aren’t enough. That’s why at Women’s Specialty Care we offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). 

Because the symptoms associated with menopause are the result of declining hormones, BHRT provides a way to naturally bring those levels back up. By boosting hormone levels, you should see a reduction in symptoms as you finish going through perimenopause.  Pharmaceutical options for hormone replacement are FDA approved and covered by most insurance plans.  

If you don’t want to use hormonal treatment, we can provide treatments for specific symptoms, such as medications to help you sleep or creams to relieve vaginal dryness. 

For expert-level help when it comes to menopausal management, schedule an appointment with our team by calling our Lake Forest or Grayslake, Illinois, office or using our online booking feature.