The extremes of a woman’s fertility, puberty, and menopause are remarkably similar. Both involve hormonal imbalances, unpredictable ovulation leading to unpredictable menstrual cycles. Despite the bad press given to one particular hormone replacement pill, Prempro, all hormone replacement therapy (HRT) has taken a big hit. HRT has its place in perimenopause, which is the 5-10 years leading up to the cessation of your menses.

The benefits are numerous, including increased feelings of well-being, prevention of osteoporosis, decreased risk of pelvic relaxation leading to hernias in the vagina, prolapse of the uterus and vagina, reduced pain with sex and reduced risk of urinary incontinence.

The major drawback that attracted the attention of the media was the increased breast cancer and coronary artery disease risk. The problem is the media leaves out important details, like your risk of breast cancer increases from 1/10,000 to 8/10,000 patients or that the breast cancer associated with HRT is caught the earliest, leading to the most favorable outcomes. The secondary benefit is that if you take HRT your doctor will not refill your prescription without a doctor’s visit, making women a captive audience, therefore required to get all the preventative treatments available to prevent ovarian, breast, uterine, colon and bladder cancer. Your yearly visit is an opportunity to check for blood disorders, elevated cholesterol, undiagnosed hypertension, or thyroid disease.

In 2002 when the hormone scare occurred it was not the OB/GYN doctors rushing to stop your hormones it was the primary care providers reading the mainstream media and not the medical literature. We have a number of low dose options for HRT that are considered safe.

For those where HRT is just not an option there are quite a few medications that improve your activities of daily living. Menopause is not the same for everyone, some women have some inconvenient hot flashes while others can have debilitating depression, anxiety and mood swings that are misdiagnosed as psychiatric issues treated with anti-depressants, anti-anxiety and even anti-psychotic medications.

Seek out your OBGYN doctor for guidance, the average age of menopause is considered to be fifty-one years old, however it can vary as much as ten years in either direction.

Office Hours

Monday: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Tuesday: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Wednesday: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Thursday: 8:30 AM-5:00 PM
Friday: 8:30 AM-1:00 PM
Saturday Closed
Sunday Closed

Get in touch

Call Us: 972-668-8300

5680 Frisco Square Blvd
Suite #2700
Frisco, TX 75034

Tel: 972-668-8300
Fax: 972-668-8301
Email: info@friscowomenshealth.com