Treatment

There are a number of options to consider when deciding how to manage your menopausal symptoms. No one choice is right for everyone. You’ll need to talk to your healthcare professional to determine what is right for you based on your lifestyle, medical history and symptoms.

Health and Lifestyle

• Eat a well-balanced diet that includes calcium, fruits and vegetables, iron, and fiber (found in whole-grain breads, cereals, pasta and rice)
• Ask your healthcare provider about calcium and vitamin D supplementation
• Reduce your intake of foods that are high in fat—and avoid foods that contain trans fat
• Drink plenty of water every day
• Exercise regularly with weight-bearing exercises and try to maintain a healthy weight (women who are overweight tend to have more symptoms with menopause)
• Use sugar, sugar substitutes, and salt in moderation
• Limit your intake of alcoholic beverages
• Manage stress levels
• Don’t smokeⁱⁱⁱ

Estrogen Therapy (ET)

Prescription estrogens—alone or in combination with progesterone—continue to be the most effective option for relieving the discomfort of hot flashes and night sweats associated with menopause. In fact, estrogen therapy has been found to effectively reduce hot flashes by approximately 80% to 90%. ^iii,vii

Estrogen therapy can be a good choice for many women, but it is not for everyone. There are both benefits and risks to consider. Leading health authorities agree that estrogen therapy should be used at the lowest dose for the shortest time possible to meet the individual woman’s goals for treating her symptoms.^viii,ix

Today there are bioidentical estrogen options administered through various delivery methods that are approved by the FDA. Transdermal estrogen, or estrogen applied to the skin in the form of a gel, lotion or spray, is a method gaining popularity with medical experts, healthcare professionals and patients.

Not all estrogen therapies are approved to treat symptoms associated with menopause and not all estrogen therapies have the same indications. Talk to your healthcare providers about which one may be best for your individual needs.

Progestogen Therapy (PT)

Adding progestogen to estrogen therapy prevents the uterine lining (endometrium) from thickening and reduces the increased risks for developing uterine cancer when estrogen therapy is taken alone. It reduces the risk to the equivalent risk level of using no hormones. Women who have had their uterus removed (hysterectomy) are not at any risk for uterine cancer and thus have no reason to take progestogen with estrogen therapy.ⁱⁱⁱ