Ladies, you don’t have to suffer with symptoms!

Many women who have gone through or are going through menopause may wonder why anyone would want to create World Menopause awareness events.

To spotlight women’s midlife health, the World Menopause Society and the World Health Organization have designated October as World Menopause Awareness Month.

One out of three women experiencing a variety of menopause symptoms – anxiety, insomnia, headaches, night flashes, moodiness, weight gain, joint pain, low sex drive, increased cardiovascular risk, hot flashes and more – are likely already very aware of menopause and its impact.

In the decade after menopause, defined as a full year without having a period, women also become vulnerable to chronic diseases such as osteoporosis, cognitive decline and cancer.

When I talk about menopause awareness, I want women to be aware they don’t have to suffer. There are ways to relieve the symptoms of menopause and improve their quality of life and well-being. After all, about one-third of women’s lives are lived after menopause!

The whole key to a healthy body is balance. Shifting hormones, complicated by stress, lack of exercise and poor diets with too many carbs, sugars and alcohol, put our bodies out of balance, resulting in various symptoms associated with PMS, perimenopause and menopause.

As women age, sex hormones estrogen, testosterone and progesterone can drop by 90%! Hormones are tricky chemical messengers that change every day and are so important because they regulate many bodily processes, particularly impacting how we feel.

As a natural health practitioner, I believe that lifestyle choices impact well-being. Getting adequate sleep, drinking plenty of water, reducing alcohol intake and stress and not smoking will help keep the body in balance. Lifestyle measures including a healthy diet, exercise and regular health checks for chronic conditions are critical.

During perimenopause and menopause, many doctors prescribe synthetic hormones to get the body back in balance through medications that replace female hormones the body no longer makes.

At Cypress Pharmacy, we offer another option: bioidentical hormone replacement, hormones that are identical in molecular structure to the hormones women make in their bodies in combinations not commercially available.

As a compounding pharmacy, our pharmacists can create bioidentical hormone formulations to fit the unique needs of each biochemically diverse woman. Bioidenticals are natural and closely mimic what the hormones the body produces on its own.

The formulas are created with a doctor’s prescription following blood or saliva tests to determine hormone levels. Tests can be ordered by a doctor, or Cypress Pharmacy offers a saliva test kit that can be completed at home. Once lab results pinpoint hormonal imbalances, we can work with your doctor or connect you with a bioidentical prescribing doctor who can talk about treatment options.

Be aware of this: the key to quality of life is balance. It’s important to make sure the symphony is in tune.