Menopause is when you don't have your period at all for 12 months. Most people will come into my office during perimenopause, which typically starts five to 10 years before menopause. That’s the transition time, which is that rocky time when your hormones are like a lava lamp. They’re all over the place, and that’s the worst time. The average age that perimenopause begins is 51 or 52, but people can start having symptoms even earlier.
We actually call it hormone therapy because we are not replacing the exact doses of hormones that you had when your ovaries were working at full capacity as a young woman. Hormone therapy is estrogen and progesterone. The estrogen that we use most commonly is estradiol, which is one of the estrogens that your ovaries used to produce.
Many of my patients struggled with intimacy and I realized that I had nobody to ask questions of when it came to sexual health. This drove me to further my education and become a certified sex counselor.
Dr. Ruth once told me that it’s important to keep an open dialogue about sexual health, especially as we age. Enjoying intimacy is possible and important, and I aim to help my patients understand that.
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