When should I start hormone replacement therapy?

The menopause comes eventually to every single woman. Symptoms can begin showing as early as 35 (known as premature menopause), but the average age a woman experiences the onset of menopause tends to be 50. As each woman can experience symptoms emerging at any time, that often begs the question, when should I start taking HRT to tackle the menopause?

What is Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Menopause is caused by the gradual decline in certain hormones, with fluctuations along the way inhibiting symptoms and life altering side effects. Many women seek to remedy this with the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). It is common for menopause sufferers to use standardised HRT approaches, which target the usual hormone deficiencies – estrogen and progesterone.

However, some people would rather go for bespoke treatments that ensure their personal balance of hormones can be maintained at optimum levels. These personalised treatment plans, available through Bodyline, include gels, creams, pills, and capsules to provide the hormones.

Bespoke plans don’t just maintain estrogen and progesterone levels, but also balance the hormones DHEA and testosterone, which can cause various other side effects of the menopause.

Stages of the Menopause

A woman has slow gradual decline in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone from adulthood and throughout her premenopausal and regular reproductive life.

Then comes the perimenopause, from her last regular period to her final period, where a woman’s hormones start to drop much quicker but can fluctuate across this stage. It is at this point a woman will see the emergence of symptoms, such as hot flashes, night sweats, weight gain, mood changes, and a low sex drive.

After a woman’s final period, she has entered the menopause, where hormone levels drop rapidly, and symptoms intensify until post-menopause where hormones eventually regulate and symptoms ease.

But when should you start hormone replacement therapy?

Many women mistake the menopause as when their periods stop completely but perimenopause can impact the regularity of menstruation sometimes years before stopping.

Perimenopause, when it causes life altering symptoms, can be a great time to begin an HRT treatment designed to tackle the symptoms based on blood analysis and medical history.

Dependent on your personal menopause experience, HRT can be beneficial to target perimenopausal symptoms before they develop into menopausal symptoms. You can start taking HRT as soon as you experience those symptoms, as Bodyline accepts those who are at the beginning of their menopause journey.

That way, at all stages of the menopause, women can alleviate their symptoms using HRT treatments with Bodyline.

Call us today or fill out an enquiry form for a consultation to find out more about how HRT can get you back to feeling like you.