#060 Should I Use Hormone Replacement Therapy

In This Episode

In this episode, I interview Dr. Karen Wolowick to discuss how your hormones affect you during menopause and how hormone replacement therapy, HRT, could potentially help midlife women during this stage in their lives. Dr. Wolowick also shared some tips for managing symptoms of menopause and balancing your overall health and wellness.

Key Takeaways

• In the current healthcare landscape, physicians are measured by business-centric metrics like revenue and profit. This often leads to higher physician burnout, lower patient experience, and lower quality of health care provided.
• Sleep is the number one most important thing for your health. If you are not getting good sleep every night, the body has a hard time keeping up. Your body, your memory, your energy levels—everything will suffer.
• Your hormone levels change daily when you still have a normal period. But when you reach menopause, your estrogen can be constantly low, which can cause hot flashes, night sweats, and other symptoms.
• It's important to remember that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to menopause. If you're experiencing symptoms that make it hard for you to live your life, hormone replacement therapy can be helpful in treating the overwhelming symptoms that affect your quality of life.
• Common signs of menopause include hot flashes, dry skin, vaginal dryness, night sweats, sleeping problems, and hair thinning.
• Hormone replacement therapy is a medical treatment that literally means replacing the hormones that are lost after menopause. It gives you back the estrogen and progesterone you've lost during menopause and helps you feel like yourself again.
• Hormone replacement therapy is a safe and effective treatment for the majority of women. If you decide to try it, talk to your doctor about what's right for you. Consider your quality of life, menopause symptoms, family history, and risk factors—the whole picture.
• It's not uncommon to experience a little bleeding after menopause. But if you notice any bleeding that seems like more than just a one-time thing, you should get evaluated. It could be just one last period, or it could be something more serious—you need to know.
• It's hard to give up the things that make you feel good, but sometimes the answer is not a magic pill or an expensive treatment, but the obvious: sleep more, exercise more, and eat healthy foods.

Learn More About Our Guest

Dr. Karen Wolowick is a Board-certified OB/GYN who did her residency training at Rush University in Chicago. She worked for a large multispecialty physician group for over 12 years, but she now runs her own gynecology practice called "Wolowick Women's Health" in Chicago.  She is happily married with three beautiful kids and loves having the freedom to spend time with her family and run her own practice. Dr. Wolowick is a die-hard feminist and is passionate about empowering women with the knowledge to take control of their own health. Learn more about her work in the following channels:

 

https://www.instagram.com/WolowickWomensHealth/

https://www.facebook.com/Wolowickwomenshealth/ 

 

Additional Resources

 

• 5 Hormones to Monitor When Trying to Lose Weight
• 5 Ingredients That Can Lead to a Hormone Imbalance

 

About Hello, Hot Flash

Hello, Hot Flash Podcast, where we discuss menopause, perimenopause, weight, sleep, stress, and all things impacting midlife women.  Expert interviews, life-impacting topics, and the latest tips on living your best mid-life! Find us on Apple, Spotify, and Podbean.

Looking to get your product in front of women ages 35 and up?  Why not become a sponsor?  Contact me at Stephanie@StephanieLynnShaw.com for additional information. 

You can learn more about our host by visiting Hello, Hot Flash.