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    • Managing Menopause
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    • Allergies & Intolerances
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Effectively Managing Menopause     

All women will experience menopause, however each experience will be unique.  The age it starts varies, with the average age in healthy women being in their 50th year.  Menopause is defined specifically as the cessation of ovulation and menstruation.

Perimenopause is the time of intermittent symptoms that first becomes apparent as egg numbers in the ovaries fall.  Irregularity in the menstrual cycle is usually the first sign during the fourth or fifth decade ​and marks the entry into perimenopause.

Menopausal symptoms vary widely between women.  Some women sail through it, while some experience severe and debilitating symptoms.

Symptoms are varied, and some can take women by surprise.  Menopause symptoms may include:
  • Hot flushes
  • Night Sweats
  • Anxiety
  • Aggression
  • Agitation
  • Depression
  • Mood Swings
  • Emotional hypersensitivity
  • Impaired memory
  • Impaired concentration
  • Breast tenderness
  • Heavy bleeding
  • Dry vagina
  • Low libido
  • Oedema & abdominal bloating
  • Headaches and migraine
  • Heart palpitations
  • Itchy skin
Picture
  • Insomnia
  • Weight gain
  • Thinning of the skin
  • Bladder infections
  • Body aches
  • Hair loss
  • Increased facial hair
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Fatigue

The aim of herbal medicines and nutritional supplements during menopause is:
To reduce the individual symptoms 
To support the underlying organs that are influencing the hormonal changes
To move you through the menopausal transition as quickly and smoothly as possible

To improve general health and vitality
Reduction of individual symptoms
During your consultation, a review of the symptoms will take place.  Some of these you may feel are manageable, others you may need some relief from immediately!  These will be factored into your treatment protocol.
​
Supporting the underlying organs
​
Essentially what is happening during perimenopause, is that the ovaries are retiring from active service and their level of hormone production is falling dramatically.  During this time, the adrenal glands step forward to take up the slack.  Put very simply, how quickly the body adapts to this and is able to again efficiently regulate its hormone levels, is how long your menopausal symptoms will last.  We put herbal medicines to work in this category to support the adrenal glands which are now working harder to balance the bodies endocrine function.

The liver is another major organ that needs additional support (doesn't it always!).  The liver's role in perimenopause is in the conjugation of hormones to remove them out of the system.  The excess of some of these hormones lead to many of the symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, and mood swings.

We also need to take a look at the functioning of the reproductive system.  This is a time when pelvic organ problems can manifest due to the imbalance of hormones.  

Improving general health and vitality
Other factors also need consideration during this time.  These include emotional, nutritional and lifestyle factors as these can play a role in keeping our symptoms at bay, as well as supporting our major organs.

Our digestive function fits in this category also.  If we do not have good digestion we will not have adequate breakdown and assimilation of nutrients, no matter how good our diet is.
HRT withdrawal support is also available.
A protocol for herbal support during HRT withdrawal is advisable as the withdrawal period can be challenging.​

​I'm what is known as perimenopausal. 
"Peri", as some of you may know, 
is a Latin prefix meaning SHUT YOUR FLIPPIN' CAKE HOLE
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