Menopause
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Umaima Jamaluddin, MD, FACOG
Gynecologist & Obstetrician located in Bakersfield, CA
Menopause is an inevitable part of a woman's life, often triggering intense emotions while leading to physical issues, including atrophic vaginitis. The symptoms associated with menopause interfere with your life, but Dr. Umaima Jamaluddin of Bakersfield, California offers solutions like estrogen replacement therapy to help you. Call her office or schedule an appointment through the online booking tool to find relief from your menopause symptoms today.
Menopause Q & A
What is menopause?
Women go through menopause later in life. This condition occurs when their ovaries stop producing estrogen and progesterone, the hormones necessary for creating and releasing a healthy egg.
Usually, menopause occurs after age 45, and once it happens, you’re no longer able to get pregnant. Although it happens naturally for most women, a hysterectomy, primary ovarian insufficiency, chemotherapy, or radiation therapy can cause menopause.
The hormone change begins before and during menopause, causing a range of symptoms, including:
- Changes in length or flow of periods
- Changes in time between periods
- Night sweats
- Hot flashes
- Difficulty sleeping
- Vaginal dryness
- Hair thinning
- Increase in facial hair
- Loss of fullness in breasts
Usually, the presence of symptoms is enough for Dr. Jamaluddin to diagnose menopause.
But if you’re experiencing irregular periods or hot flashes and she suspects another issue besides menopause, she may order a blood test to check your follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) or estrogen levels since FSH increases during menopause, while estrogen decreases. She may also order a thyroid-stimulating hormone test because the symptoms of hypothyroidism mimic the symptoms of menopause.
How is hormone replacement therapy used for menopause?
Menopause doesn’t require any treatment, but Dr. Jamaluddin can ease your symptoms. One method of doing this is hormone replacement therapy, which replenishes lost estrogen.
The treatment consists of estrogen and progestin, which prevent your body from reacting to the hormone change. Hormone replacement therapy is given orally or via injection, implant, or vaginal ring. Vaginal estrogen creams or tablets are available as well.
What are other options for treating the symptoms of menopause?
Dr. Jamaluddin prescribes antidepressants, gabapentin, or clonidine to ease your symptoms if you can't use estrogen therapy. She might recommend over-the-counter lubricants or moisturizers for vaginal dryness. Additionally, exercise and other lifestyle changes can ease some of the symptoms.
Laser therapy is now available to help correct damage to the vagina caused by menopause. One type is MonaLisa TouchⓇ, which uses a laser to reduce vaginal dryness, itching, and irritation. It can increase the tightness of the vagina, relieve burning, and treat urinary incontinence.
Schedule an appointment with Dr. Jamaluddin at her Bakersfield office to relieve your menopause symptoms by calling or using the online booking form.
