UNDERSTANDING PERIMENOPAUSE TREATMENTS AND WHAT TO EXPECT

“Perimenopause is nature’s way of reminding you that you’re no longer a spring chicken. Now you’re a hormonal rotisserie chicken.”
—Carrie Fisher, actress

By describing perimenopause as making a woman feel like a “hormonal rotisserie chicken,” Carrie Fisher of “Star Wars” fame ascribed both its cause and some of its symptoms. As the transitional period leading up to menopause, perimenopause ensues due to hormonal changes. From a symptomatic standpoint, Carrie was probably alluding to hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, and discomfort.

Internal medicine specialist Dr. Diane Brzezinski, D.O., can relate to Carrie Fisher’s perimenopausal sentiments through her own experience and by helping develop perimenopause treatment strategies for her Southwest Florida area patients. “None of my Naples-area patients have described their perimenopause symptoms akin to being a ‘hormonal rotisserie chicken,” but the comparison works,” she says. In response, she, her partner physician, Dr. Michael Hellman, D.O., and Kelly Fennemore MSN, ARNP, offer a holistic approach to ease the symptoms of perimenopause and effectively guide their Naples patients through the smoothest change-of-life menopausal journey possible.

Dr. B notes that menopause is just one of the many “facts of life” and aims to help women better understand what they can expect leading up to it.

WHAT IS PERIMENOPAUSE?

Perimenopause is the first of three stages of menopause, the inevitable life change all women face with aging, as their ability to reproduce naturally ceases. Perimenopause comes into play when a woman’s reproductive estrogen and progesterone hormone production starts diminishing. During this stage, a woman remains fertile and still menstruates, though sometimes erratically.

The second phase of menopause, typically referred to as “menopause,” is clinically called “climacteric” and marks the transition from perimenopause to postmenopause. Technically speaking, this stage is the single day a woman has gone a complete year without menstruating.

The answer to your inevitable question of “How long does perimenopause last?” varies as each woman’s distinct hormonal changes dictate perimenopause duration and associated symptoms. For some women, it can last up to 10 years, though four years is the mean average. Most women enter perimenopause in their 40s, though some women’s hormone production initiates “the change” in their 30s or even their 20s due to health or medical issues.

Disruptions to the menstrual cycle are often the first of many symptoms of perimenopause. Other symptoms women face as they transit through perimenopause include:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Brain fog
• Insomnia
• Mood swings
• Depression
• Vaginal dryness and discomfort
• Decreased libido
• Urinary issues

Dr. B notes that women seeking more information about their current or imminent perimenopause journey in Naples can consult with her. They can also turn to a slew of recently released books—some best sellers—on the topic.

• “Dare I Say It: Everything I Wish I’d Known About Menopause,” by Naomi Watts.
• “How to Menopause: Take Charge of Your Health, Reclaim Your Life, and Feel Even Better Than Before,” by Tamsen Fadal.
• “The New Menopause,” by Mary Claire Haver.
• “The Menopause Brain,” by Lisa Mosconi.

Along with helping guide women through their menopausal journeys, these books bemoan the apparent lack of public awareness about menopause, which leaves many women blindsided when they enter perimenopause. Indeed, as posited by a recent New Yorker review of these books, public discourse about menopause flares and recedes over the decades “like a series of cultural hot flashes, each time presented as if nobody had talked about menopause before.”

EFFECTIVE PERIMENOPAUSE TREATMENT FOR SYMPTOMS IN NAPLES

Dr. B and her team in Naples use a holistic approach to address healthcare issues—including perimenopause—experienced by their patients. While diet, exercise, and other lifestyle modifications help ease perimenopause symptoms, Dr. B says her patients benefit the most from bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) in Naples. BHRT helps restore and maintain women’s hormone levels that have been disrupted due to perimenopause. Also known as hormone pellet therapy, the treatment involves the insertion of rice-grain-size pellets under the skin, which release crucial hormones that the body absorbs as needed to restore hormone balance.

While doctors have used hormone replacement therapy for decades to treat perimenopause symptoms, demand for the treatment plunged in the early 2000s due to a flawed study—Women’s Health Initiative—that linked HRT to breast cancer and other health issues. With follow-up studies debunking the study’s statistical findings, HRT demand is resurging, and women can choose between different types of HRT.

The renewed interest in HRT for menopause treatment is highlighted in the previously mentioned books. Naomi Watts noted that HRT wasn’t a “silver bullet” for all her perimenopause symptoms, “but it did provide instant, massive relief”—“I no longer woke up sweating in the middle of the night convinced my blankets were trying to kill me.” In describing what HRT did for her, Tamsen Fadal simply said, “I was alive again.”

Dr. B and Dr. Hellman believe their bioidentical hormone pellet treatment is the most effective form of HRT. The bioidentical hormones used in their pellets are derived from natural plant sources, giving them the exact same molecular and chemical structure as the natural hormones they replace. This gives them better absorption and utilization rates than synthetic hormones used in other therapies and allows for better patient-specific hormone dosing. Additionally, unlike the fluctuations in hormone levels that occur with other treatments, the pellets ensure 24-hour absorption that maintains consistent hormone levels throughout the day.

PERIMENOPAUSE TREATMENT IN NAPLES WITH DR. B

If you would like to learn more about how BHRT can help ease your perimenopause symptoms in Naples, consult with Dr. B, Dr. Hellman, or Kelly Fennemore MSN, ARNP. Their proactive, holistic approach is designed to strategize the most effective treatment plan to address each patient’s unique healthcare needs. Rebalance your perimenopause hormones and reclaim your health by scheduling an appointment online or by calling (239) 261-9990.