How to Naturally Balance Hormones During Perimenopause & Menopause

At any stage of life, maintaining healthy hormone levels is important for optimal health and well-being. But this becomes especially important during menopause when ovaries start producing lower levels of estrogen and progesterone.

There are a number of different treatment options for managing perimenopause and menopause symptoms, including herbal remedies, dietary changes, exercise, acupuncture, and bio-identical hormone replacement therapy.

At Sage, our naturopathic medicine clinic in Edmonds, WA, we offer a wide range of anti-aging treatments and therapies to help balance hormones naturally. Some of our most popular treatments include:

• Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Injections: This treatment uses a combination of growth factors and collagen to help boost tissue regeneration and healing, making it an effective option for reducing wrinkles and other signs of aging.
• Vitamin Infusions: This therapy includes a high-dose injection of vitamins and minerals that help to support overall health and well-being.
• Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: In Edmonds, WA, our naturopathic doctors specialize in this treatment, which involves the use of hormones that are chemically identical to those produced naturally by the body. This therapy can help to reduce common menopause symptoms, such as hot flashes, sleep problems, and mood changes.

If you are experiencing perimenopause or menopause symptoms, talk to your naturopathic doctor at Sage Integrative Medicine Clinic about anti-aging treatments in Edmonds, WA! Contact us today to learn more!

SHOW NOTES & OUTLINE

1. What is menopause/perimenopause?
   • Ovarian failure – decrease in levels of progesterone and estrogens
   • A shift from ovarian sex hormone production to adrenal hormone production
2. Symptoms of Perimenopause/Menopause:
   • Perimenopause changes 
     1. Hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, irritability, low libido, abnormal bleeding, musculoskeletal symptoms, cognitive changes, headaches 
   • Early menopause changes 
     1. Vaginal atrophy, urinary incontinence, skin atrophy, hair thinning, facial hair 
   • Postmenopausal changes (PMP) 
     1. Osteoporosis, CVD, Alzheimer’s dementia, colon cancer, age-related macular degeneration 

3. Options for treatment
   1. Non-hormonal:
      • Herbal:
        • Progesteronic herbs: Wild yam, Chaste tree
        • Estrogenic herbs: Black cohosh, Maca, Hops
        • Phytoestrogens: Evening Primrose Oil, Borage Oil, Flax oil, Hemp seeds
      • Exercise
      • Weight Loss
      • SSRIs
      • Acupuncture
      • Stop smoking
   2. Food: Seed cycling diet, increase oils, 35-40g fiber/day, reduce alcohol, figure out food sensitivities
   3. Hormonal:
      • Bio-identical hormones:
        • Natural Progesterone (Oral – better for sleep, topical)
        • Natural estrogens – combinations of weak/normal estrogen – Estriol/Estradiol – oral and topical
        • Natural testosterone – topical and vaginal
        • Libido: Compounded Scream Cream

Benefits of Estrogen 

• Heart: antioxidant effect, prevents vascular damage, decreases vascular constriction, decreases total and LDL cholesterol, increases HDL 
• Bone: prevents bone resorption by shortening lifespan of osteoclasts, maintains normal vitamin D levels 
• Colon: prevents neoplastic transformation in intestinal mucosa 
• Brain: affects the serotonergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, and cholinergic systems; improves short-term verbal memory, improves fine motor and spatial performance 
• Urogenital Tract: increases the connective tissue layer of the urethra, improves vaginal integrity 
• Skin: increases collagen production 

Benefits of Progesterone 

• Decreases hot flashes 
• Decreases abnormal bleeding 
• Decreases insomnia and anxiety 
• Decreases coronary vasospasm 
• Protects the endometrium 
• Improves HDL cholesterol

4. Testing:
   1. Estradiol, Estriol, Estrone, SHBG, FSH, LH, Progesterone, Free and Total Testosterone
   2. Dutch Test