Hormone Therapy & Menopause

Menopausal Hormone Therapy (MHT), also known as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is mostly focused on the replacement of our primary sex hormones, estrogen and progesterone.  MHT includes body identical prescriptive hormones that are similar to the hormones we naturally produce in our body.

Our sex hormones naturally decline as we age and our ovarian function declines. Progesterone starts to decline first, between the ages of 30 and 50, and estrogen declines later on, in our mid 40’s to mid 50’s. These two hormones alone are responsible for hundreds of functions in the body, and have specificity to widely distributed tissues such as the brain, ovaries, vagina, bladder, uterus, bone, skin, heart, and blood vessels. When our sex hormones decline, we may develop bothersome symptoms such as menstrual irregularities, pronounced PMS, hot flashes, genitourinary concerns, and mood and sleep disturbances. We also become at risk for health concerns such as osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. 

Many woman benefit from the use of hormone therapy to help ease symptoms and improve quality of life throughout perimenopause, menopause and postmenopause.  Dr. Meghan van Drimmelen's approach to supporting midlife health includes the use of hormone therapy when indicated, but also includes dietary and lifestyle interventions, and nutritional and herbal supplementation that is customized to the individual's health needs.