Navigating Menopause: Your Guide to Managing Common Symptoms

Perimenopause is when it all starts — the mood swings, night sweats, and unintended weight gain around the belly. Unfortunately, it’s not a short-lived problem; it can take ten years to reach full menopause, with those uncomfortable symptoms scattered along the way.

Although menopause is unavoidable for women, there are ways to deal with the symptoms for a successful transition. At Artemis OB/GYN in Union, New Jersey, Dr. Nicola Pemberton offers hormone replacement therapy and vaginal rejuvenation to address menopause symptoms.

She’s an experienced OB/GYN who also offers lifestyle tips and other suggestions to help alleviate menopausal symptoms.

Common menopause symptoms

Menopause is the time in a woman’s life when their childbearing years are over. Estrogen levels become erratic as the body prepares to end menstruation and enter the next stage of life.

Estrogen and progesterone slowly decline and become inconsistent, which leads to various common symptoms that include:

• Irregular periods
• Hot flashes
• Mood swings
• Vaginal dryness
• Loss of libido
• Sleep disturbances
• Night sweats
• Weight gain
• Hair loss

Some menopausal issues aren’t as easy to notice. For instance, women’s bone density decreases as estrogen does, which leads to osteoporosis and broken bones.

Heart issues may also arise due to changes in vital hormones like estrogen and progesterone.

Lifestyle tips to alleviate symptoms

Menopause does cause uncomfortable symptoms, but you don’t have to live with them. There are various tips and tricks to make living with menopause symptoms much more comfortable, and they include:

• Eat a healthy diet full of vitamin D and calcium
• Exercise regularly to maintain a healthy weight
• Practice stress management techniques
• Keep the bedroom dark and cool
• Layer clothing to help with hot flashes
• Place a fan next to your bed
• Use over-the-counter lubricants for vaginal dryness
• Stay hydrated
• Avoid caffeine and alcohol

It’s also a good idea to find a support group if you’re struggling through the menopause transition. Yoga and meditation are also great options to help with stress and menopause symptoms.

Other treatments that help

Lifestyle treatments are enough for some women, but for others, the symptoms persist. If you’re still struggling with menopause symptoms, we offer hormone replacement therapy to help level out estrogen.

HRT comes in several forms and aims to restore estrogen, which then eliminates symptoms like hot flashes, mood swings, and night sweats. We customize HRT to your body and needs for long-term symptom relief.

We also offer a noninvasive CO2 laser treatment to address chronic vaginal irritation and dryness.

For more information about our menopause treatments, call or message our Union office in New Jersey, or use our online booking feature.