Hormone replacement therapy can help women who have entered menopause control many of their uncomfortable symptoms. With 30 years of experience providing excellent OBGYN care to women in the South Chicago, IL area, the doctors at Women's Health Group can offer women a personalized treatment plan to help them through menopause.
When a woman reaches the age of menopause, her natural hormone production slows. This can cause numerous uncomfortable symptoms, such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness, and osteoporosis. While most women do not have severe symptoms, those that do are eligible for hormone replacement to relieve discomfort.
Menopausal hormone therapy involves using either a patch or pill to restore women's hormonal levels. With the levels back in balance, the symptoms of menopause can lessen or disappear entirely.
When the body begins to go through menopause, estrogen and progesterone are the two main hormones that are lacking. Estrogen is an important hormone for regulating a menstrual cycle, but it has other important uses too. It regulates how the body uses and stores calcium, meaning that it can help slow osteoporosis. Estrogen also positively affects the levels of good cholesterol in the bloodstream.
Women who take estrogen also need to take progesterone. If they do not, their risk for cancer of the uterus greatly increases. This is because progesterone naturally thins the lining of the uterus. For women of child-bearing age, this is the hormone that helps the lining of the uterus shed during a period.
Systemic hormone therapy can come in a spray, pill, patch, cream, or gel and is the most effective way of delivering hormones to menopausal women. Doctors typically prescribe these methods it to give estrogen to their patients, which helps to relieve hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal issues.
Low-dose vaginal therapy typically comes in a tablet, cream, or ring and help to deliver estrogen into the body. They also help with vaginal symptoms of menopause as well as urinary tract issues. Women's Health Group seeks to find the most appropriate therapy for each individual patient.
Listed are the major insurance providers we accept. For more information regarding specific plans, please call our office.