Menopause

Menopause is the natural stage in life when you stop having menstrual cycles. At OU Health in Oklahoma City, you benefit from a team of women’s health experts — that includes doctors licensed as Certified Menopause Practitioners (NCMP) with the North American Menopause Society — who understand your unique health care needs and provide complete care during your menopause journey.

Compassionate Care for Menopause

When you choose OU Health for your menopause care, you’ll find the support you seek that will provide a total health experience to help you manage menopause symptoms that affect your quality of life.

Your symptoms may range from mild and tolerable to disruptive and unpleasant. Whatever your situation, you and your doctor will find the solution that best fits your specific needs and goals to help control symptoms and reduce the discomfort you may experience as you enter menopause.

Stages of Menopause

Menopause is a stage of life that marks a season of change. You may experience natural menopause (between ages 45 and 55), early menopause due to the removal of ovaries or hysterectomy, or premature menopause (before age 40). Whatever your situation, the women’s health experts at OU Health will be there to support you through every phase.

Perimenopause

Perimenopause is the time before menopause — that usually occurs in your mid to late 40s — when you begin to experience symptoms such as hot flashes and irregular periods. Symptoms of perimenopause include:

• Hot flashes

• Irregular periods

• Loss of breast fullness

• Mood changes

• Night sweats

• Sleep problems

• Thinning hair and dry skin

• Vaginal dryness

• Weight gain and slowed metabolism

Menopause

Menopause marks the end of your reproductive years and is defined by 12 consecutive months without a menstrual cycle. Although this usually occurs in your late 40s or early 50s, the average age women experience menopause is 51.

Postmenopause

Your body now produces fewer reproductive hormones — and there are both benefits and risks to hormone replacement — so it’s important to talk with your doctor about the changes in your health needs during the postmenopausal phase of life.

Comprehensive Approach to Menopause Treatment

Get back to feeling like yourself. When you choose OU Health, you’ll get compassionate care and support from medical experts who understand your unique needs during menopause and provide a holistic, evidence-based approach to health for life after menopause.

Count on your doctor to help you make sense of — often confusing and conflicting — information and understand the full scope of benefits and risks for each menopause treatment. Together, you’ll find the best regimen for you, which may include some combination of:

• Alternative wellness therapies – Helps reduce physical and mental stress through relaxation practices like yoga, aromatherapy, acupuncture, massage, mindfulness training

• Hormonal medication – Supplies your body with the female hormones (estrogen and progesterone) your body no longer makes after menopause to reduce symptoms like hot flashes

• Lifestyle modifications – Empowers you to embrace a healthy diet and exercise routine that can reduce menopause discomfort as well as simple steps you can take to stay healthy, such as adequate calcium and Vitamin D supplements

• Non-hormonal supplements – Guidance on proper supplementation for your body’s needs as well as over-the-counter vitamins and herbal products (botanicals) may provide some relief from symptoms

• Symptom management – Gives you tips and ideas for temporary relief of symptoms when they arise

Your Menopause Care Plan

The lower reproductive hormones associated with menopause may increase the risk of osteoporosis (bone loss), bone fractures and cardiovascular diseases. Your menopause care plan is designed to improve your mental and emotional wellbeing and monitor your current physical condition to ensure optimal health for your unique situation. Your care plan may include tests, scans and exams such as:

• Annual well-woman exams

• Bone density

• Colonoscopies

• Regular mammograms

You’ll benefit from the women’s health specialists who focus on your total body health — physical, mental and emotional — and help you maintain a healthy lifestyle through nutrition, exercise and mental wellness practices.

In addition, this integrative approach to menopausal symptom management gives you expert guidance and recommendations for traditional treatments like hormone replacement and complementary therapies that may include supplements, exercise or diet modification.

Your Experienced Menopause Team

At OU Health, you get compassionate care and support from medical experts who understand your unique health care requirements as your body goes through menopause. Your menopause specialists provide comprehensive management of your symptoms as well as an individualized treatment approach designed for your specific needs and goals.

You’ll gain access to a multidisciplinary team that includes doctors with expertise in the care of peri-menopausal and menopausal women who will coordinate care as needed with breast radiologists, bone density experts, gastroenterologists, cardiovascular specialists and nutritional experts.