Naturopathic Support for Menopause

Getting older brings new challenges, especially as women travel through the stages of perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause. These stages most often occur between ages 45 and 55 and last between seven and 14 years.

Menopause in Calgary occurs as fertility declines with age, causing lower production of sex hormones including estrogen, progesterone, and others. It typically is considered to have officially begun 12 months after someone has their last period, though it comes with phases and a transition that can take years. The stage leading up to menopause is called perimenopause and can bring a broad range of symptoms with it.

In Canada, the average age of menopause is 51.5 years, and 80% of women have menopause symptoms. As many as one-fifth of those who report symptoms experience severe symptoms. That’s a significant amount of the population and many aren’t getting the support they need.

Did you know help is available if you’re struggling with menopause symptoms? Let’s look at some of the common symptoms and how naturopathic care can help.

Symptoms of menopause

Our naturopathic doctors will ask about the most common symptoms experienced during menopause changes, which can include but are not limited to:

• Changes to the menstrual cycle during perimenopause, followed by the absence of menstruation
• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Insomnia and other sleep concerns
• Vaginal dryness
• Pain during sexual intercourse
• Low libido
• Cognitive concerns such as troubles with memory or concentration)
• Mood changes such as irritability, anxiety, or low mood
• Weight gain

How do naturopathic doctors help treat menopause symptoms?

Our naturopathic doctors will recommend any testing that has not already been performed to ensure you have the correct diagnosis and staging of your menopause symptoms.

Our naturopathic doctors may recommend a combination of botanical medicine, nutritional supplements, diet, exercise, stress management, and other lifestyle changes to manage menopause.

These modalities, in particular, have great success in managing mild to moderate cases as well as conjunctive care alongside hormone replacement therapy in more severe cases.

Botanical medicine to support menopause care

We may recommend plant-based extracts that work through modulating estrogen receptors in the body. These can improve symptoms of low estrogen levels and improve long-term health risks associated with low estrogen levels.

Estrogen plays critical protective roles in bone health, cardiovascular health, and cognitive health. Therefore, modulating the actions of estrogen can be important for the prevention of osteoporosis, arthritis, cardiovascular events, dementia, and cognitive decline in post-/menopausal women.

Lifestyle practices to support menopause care

Lifestyle habits, including diet, exercise, and stress management, will support the actions of any botanical extracts used for menopause symptoms, improve long-term preventative health measures for bone, cardiovascular, and cognitive health.

These practices are also helpful for managing particular symptoms, including fatigue, sleep, libido, stress, memory, concentration, mood changes, weight gain, and overall quality of life.

When should people seek help with menopause symptoms?

It’s a good idea to connect with a care provider anytime you feel unwell or notice lingering symptoms that interfere with how you function or enjoy daily life. While many people think menopause symptoms simply need to be endured, it’s possible to manage symptoms and thrive with the proper care.

Naturopathic medicine can complement conventional care to help restore and maintain your overall health and well-being.

What are the benefits of naturopathic care?

Naturopathic doctors blend natural and conventional care to keep you as healthy as possible through a wide variety of treatment options and therapies. In addition, we can connect what seem to be unrelated symptoms to get to the underlying cause of your concern. Naturopaths can do complete physical exams and can work as primary care providers.

What can I expect from my first visit?

Our naturopathic doctors will take a thorough health history and menopause questionnaire. Next, they’ll conduct a physical exam and discuss the need to requisition blood work and hormone testing for appropriate diagnosis. This step helps rule out other causes of your symptoms and ensure they recommend the most appropriate treatment plan for the staging of your symptoms.

We will also discuss disease risks associated with menopausal hormone changes, including cardiovascular risk, bone loss, diabetes, cognitive decline, arthritis, and how preventative medicine will be an essential part of our plan.

NOTE: As always, our licensed practitioners at Action Health are your best source of up-to-date and accurate information regarding this and any other treatment plan we recommend.

Please call our front desk at (403) 243-8114 to book a consultation with one of our naturopathic doctors to see if naturopathic treatment is appropriate for you.