070 Could it be MENOPAUSE? How to Know and Your HRT Options

In this episode of The Strong Bones Coach Podcast, Carly discusses how to recognize the signs of menopause, why it’s essential to understand what’s happening in your body, and how you can take charge of your health.

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Transcript

Carly: 0:37

Hello, and welcome back to the Strong Bones Coach podcast. I'm Carly Killen, your host, and today we are heading into a topic that so many of us are facing, but not always talking about, and that is recognizing your menopause. So you might be wondering, am I in menopause? How do I know? Or maybe you fell off for a while and you're just not sure what's going on. what So in today's episode we'll explore what menopause is, how to recognise it and confirm it, and why understanding it early can empower you to make informed decisions about your health. I'll also talk about strength training, nourishing your body, and how connecting with your needs can be so vital during this transition. So before we get into the details, a quick reminder, this episode is intended to support and inform that it's not meant to replace any medical advice. So please always consult with your healthcare provider for guidance or medical treatments for your conditions. So with that said, let's grab a cuppa, settle in, and let's talk about what menopause really looks like, how it feels, and how to begin making choices that support you through this natural transition. So let's start by understanding what menopause is and how it happens in the body. So menopause is a natural biological process for the most part that signifies the end of a woman's reproductive years. So for those Others assigned female at birth with female reproductive organs. It is marked by the cessation of a menstrual cycle after 12 consecutive months, so that's no bleed for 12 months in a row and followed by one day, which is your menopause day. And following this, you are postmenopausal. What's also important to recognize is that often. Menopause is preceded by the perimenopause. This is a transitional phase where hormone levels fluctuate. So these hormone fluctuations involving oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone can begin many years before you enter menopause or post menopause. And for some Perimenopause symptoms may start in the 40s. For others, it can be earlier. So if you find yourself experiencing these signs and symptoms from what you hear about in this episode and you are under 45, just know it may involve a few more tests, a few more questions and considerations with your, your healthcare provider. before that age it's considered to be an early menopause. Of course there's other reasons why we may experience menopause outside of these conditions. So not everybody will experience perimenopause. Some ladies may have a hysterectomy due to medical conditions or choice. So depending on how the hysterectomy is done. This may bring on the menopause quite quickly. You may feel they are literally dropped into it, which is how my clients explain it to me for those that have experienced the hysterectomy. And others may experience a very early menopause from primary ovarian insufficiency, which can be caused by many different reasons. And then there is also a medical menopause too. So there are various treatments that that support endometriosis can bring on menopause symptoms and also things like various cancers where the treatment may also trigger an early menopause. situations may lead to an early or perhaps quite a sudden menopause. So not everybody's journey will be exactly the same, but you are not alone in your path. So as I mentioned, natural menopause. officially occurs the day after you have gone 12 months without a period. But the physical, emotional, and mental effects can start much earlier, even up to 10 years earlier, and that's pretty common. So it's key to note that these Hormonal fluctuations They can creep up over time and they can affect the body in different ways, including your bone density, muscle mass, and even our emotions and mood. This is why it's so important to recognize the symptoms or the signs of menopause early on. I do like to say signs quite often for menopause because symptoms to me feels like this is a medical condition. So although Menopause is a natural part of our lives as women. it can also bring along medical conditions. So I may refer to this more as signs of menopause, but if it feels like symptoms to you that's also okay. But recognizing these signs can give us a lot of options and how we approach our health and well being. So when we understand your menopause it means you have the choice to make empowered decisions. When we don't recognize the signs it's easier for these signs to be dismissed, perhaps ignored or maybe misdiagnosed and other treatments put in place that might not best serve you. This is why it's so important to consult a medical practitioner that is also experienced in menopause so they can help you make decisions from a place of empowered choice. For example, many women I work with already have osteoporosis. And often they say they sailed through menopause. As we dig deeper, they often realize that there were signs there, like mood changes, changes in their eating behavior has shifted. They've had a loss of confidence that they'd experienced that they hadn't really attributed to menopause. So, being aware of these signs gives you more time to choose your path for your health and make choices that will support you for the long term. So, let's talk about the menopause signs, or symptoms, whichever word you prefer. Many people think that menopause is just about hot flushes and night sweats, but in reality there are over 40 symptoms that can show up in various combinations. Some might be more obvious, but others are much more subtle. So, So, here are a few of the signs for you to be aware of. So, of course, yes, the most talked about, hot flushes and night sweats. Now, these can often feel like sudden feelings of heat, often followed by sweating. Night sweats occur during sleep. They can disrupt your rest, leading to a lot of fatigue. They can also happen in the daytime too. Mood swings and anxiety. So hormone fluctuations can cause significant mood swings. You can perhaps feel really irritable by the slightest thing. You might notice more anxiety coming up, perhaps in situations where you wouldn't normally expect to feel. Anxious. You might find yourself feeling more emotional than usual or having a harder time managing stress. And then we have sleep disruptions. So insomnia, waking up in the night are really common. The hormonal changes can make it difficult to get a full restful night's sleep. Next we have brain fog and memory loss. I think I'm struggling with this today. As you may notice, I'm struggling to find my words. So this can be This can look like forgetfulness, difficulty concentrating, even mental fatigue are super common during menopause or perimenopause and it can be really frustrating when you feel like your mind isn't as sharp as it used to be, you struggle to recall words or perhaps just the wrong word just flies out of your mouth when you know that's just not what you want to say. This is my problem today, I think. So yeah, just know that. If this is happening for you, that you're not alone and perhaps give yourself a little compassion, a bit of kindness because actually when we can be kinder to ourselves some of these things become a little easier to handle. Next, we can sometimes see weight gain and changes in body shape. So many women notice they start to gain more body fat around the midsection, and this again is a direct result of hormonal changes. They can affect your metabolism. Again, your muscle mass can reduce over time as we're aging on a day to day basis. If we're not Implementing resistance training or weight bearing exercises, then we will start to lose our muscle mass or muscle volume as we age. And as we know, or perhaps we don't know, that our muscle mass does burn a few more calories. It helps to keep our metabolism running a little bit faster, essentially because there is more of you to provide that nourishment too. Thank you. So, when we maintain our muscle mass, this can really help to keep us metabolically healthy, to reduce our chances of getting diabetes or heart disease, but also it can help to boost our mood as, as well. So yes, while calories in and calories out may still be a factor, the hormonal changes and shifts do still have a, a, considerable impact in your ability to maintain a healthy weight and body fat stores, as we navigate perimenopause. And this is why it's really important to find somebody that uses a holistic approach in these areas. Another sign that we may notice is extra joint pain and stiffness. So, with decreased oestrogen levels, inflammation can increase. And this can bring about joint pain or muscle stiffness, which is a really common complaint. This is where strength training becomes really helpful to support the muscles and bones. So yes, even with the pain and stiffness, there are movements that can support. This can help the body continue to move well, even if those oestrogen levels being low has increased the inflammation in the body. So there are many ways we can manage all of these signs, and if you're listening in to this you may also have considered or maybe weighing up the options of hormone replacement therapy to manage these symptoms. So let's clarify a few things here. So hormone replacement therapy, HRT, or menopause hormone therapy, MHT, can be a great option for some women, especially if you're struggling with symptoms that I've mentioned earlier and the many more symptoms that can occur. If you're not sure If you are experiencing these symptoms or if you would like to give yourself a good check in on this, I do have a menopause symptom guide and that will be within the show notes. You can download that for free. It's called Could it be menopause? And this is to help you assess for yourself what you might be experiencing. It's also a great way to track if things are changing as well. So what options do we have? So today I'm going to briefly cover the types of options we may have, and what you might want to consider if this is something you are considering for yourself. So if you If you do not have a womb, if you have had a hysterectomy, then the choice of HRT would just need to be an oestrogen only preparation. And if you do still have your womb, you'll need to take both an oestrogen and a progesterone to protect against any endometrial progesterone just helps to keep the womb lining healthy. So once you've stabilised on oestrogen or oestrogen progesterone, depending on what is needed for you, if there are still some ongoing symptoms that might benefit from the replacement of testosterone, this is something you can also consider with your healthcare provider. So testosterone therapy can be supportive when there are just those final little things that might want clearing up, So this is something to talk over with your health care provider. So let's talk about what the benefits of HRT might be. So just reminding you at this point that as much as I am a menopause coach, I'm not here to push you one way or another. Uh, As a coach, I'm here to support your decision making from an empowered place, which is helping you to understand the benefits, the risks, the pros and the cons of all options that may be open to you. And from this place, it's up to you to make your decision. So let's cover up a little bit about the benefits and some of the risks that there may be. from HRT. So the benefits of HRT can include improving symptoms, such as sleep disturbances, reducing hot flushes, alleviating vaginal dryness, which can be highly beneficial when our life is being disturbed from these different menopause signs. So the goal here is that you feel liberated and free to live your life So it's a question of, um, being able to do your job properly, and hopefully uninterrupted, or at least feeling much better, not having the discomfort, being able to properly rest and recover so that you can do your life. So in terms of risks, these are questions that I get asked quite often. So the risks are generally relatively low, but there was some significant amount of fear generated by the 2002 Women's Health Initiative study, which inaccurately linked HRT to breast cancer. breast cancer and cardiovascular issues in a disproportionate way. However, there's a lot more evidence come out since, and the current evidence shows that HRT is safe for many women, depending on your own individual health risks. So as much as I'm not here to tell you whether HRT is the right choice for you, I do encourage you to connect with your healthcare provider who is knowledgeable also. Is about menopause, is it only then can you make that proper informed decision that aligns with your personal health history, your health goals your family history and your wants needs desires for your life and your healthcare provision. So when we're looking at creating that healthy foundation for menopause, it's important to note that understanding menopause isn't just about the idea of automatically starting HRT. So before considering HRT, you might want to build a solid foundation of self care. Really wants to be a good focus to start from. So you can start by looking into how you're moving. So looking at strength training, regular movement. And this is where I really emphasize the strength training for women at any age, but especially during menopause. Strength training supports your bone health, muscle mass. It helps reduce your risk of osteoporosis. It helps you feel overall stronger and more confident. So this is why it's so integral to my coaching. It helps to support you in your life going forward. You'll also want to consider your nutrition too, so with my history as a dietitian, this has been at the forefront of what I do for quite some time. But you'll want to make sure you're having a good balanced diet, rich in vitamins, minerals, and you can always refer back to the episode I did on the Mediterranean diet, which is highly supportive, perimenopause and menopause years. But this is to support your whole body health. So, when we are supporting ourselves and nourishing our whole body, this also includes emotional nourishment too. So, we don't need to focus on eating the perfect diet all the time, such a thing just doesn't exist. So, as much as we want a balanced diet with plenty of protein, our carbohydrates, our vitamins and minerals from plenty of roots, fruits, veggies, herbs and spices. It's important that we make sure we are enjoying our food too. So yes, that can include the chocolate, the ice cream, the occasional pizza. On balance, making sure we are getting that full balance for our diet to support ourselves. Because your overall happiness will influence your food choices going forward as well. so let's not approach this from a place of restriction or feeling like we need to be perfect. look at your nutrition on a whole. How does it affect your whole life and how does it support your body overall? And last but not least, self connection. So it's really important to stay in tune with your body, listen to your feelings, to really learn to understand what you need. So this is a key part of my coaching, because self awareness is a tool that really helps you understand what's happening in your body. When you can connect to yourself, you can really understand how you feel now. How these signs or symptoms are affecting you, where you're starting from, before we start to introduce other interventions, like HRT or MHT. And some of the tools I might use for this might be something like Breathwork. This is why I mention it quite often. It's a great tool to not only manage stress, anxiety, but it can really help you to connect with yourself, to become more sensitive to the needs of your body. Because when we can sense this, it's much easier to know that any interventions we introduce, such as HRT, what effect they're having on us. So this is just one of the ways you can support yourself holistically. You may also wish to consider some supplements and different herbs and spices that can also support your body from that nourishment place as well. So if you wanted any more information about any of these, because this is a whistle stop tour today, please just get in touch, just send over an email at hello at carlykillen. com or get in touch through my website which is carlykillen. com. And if you do decide to download my could it be menopause guide, you'll also be able to receive my emails and access further support from there too. So this guide that I've created is to help you track your symptoms and just recognize the signs of menopause so you can have more productive conversations with your GP or healthcare provider. And you can download that through the link in my show notes or head over to my website at carlykillen. com. Well, thank you for joining me today. I hope this episode gave you some insight into recognizing the signs of menopause and has empowered you to take the next steps towards understanding your body. Remember, whether you choose HLT or not, there are many ways to support yourself through this transition, and you're not alone. And until next time, stay strong and take care.