Why Mainstream Medicine Often Falls Short
Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA – Why Mainstream Medicine Often Falls Short
Mainstream healthcare protocols are often built around the more predictable stages of reproductive aging, such as menopause and post-menopause (debatable as well). However, perimenopause is fundamentally different and demands a specialized approach. Traditional medical training frequently omits detailed instruction on perimenopause, leading many general practitioners to either overlook the condition entirely or treat individual symptoms without addressing the hormonal root causes.
We take a much different stance. We recognize that perimenopause treatment requires ongoing evaluation, individualized care, and a broad understanding of how hormone fluctuations interact with every system in the body.
The Role of Androgens and the Impact of Deprivation
Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA – The Role of Androgens and the Impact of Deprivation
A crucial yet frequently overlooked aspect of perimenopause is the sharp decline in androgen levels, particularly testosterone, during the initial years. While often associated with male health, androgens play a vital role in maintaining female vitality. These hormones contribute to energy, libido, cognitive clarity, muscle mass, and emotional resilience. The onset of androgen deprivation during perimenopause can lead to a cascade of debilitating symptoms that drastically lower a woman’s quality of life. The experience can be so destabilizing that it impacts personal relationships, professional productivity, and overall well-being. This is why a comprehensive perimenopause treatment program must include strategies to monitor and address androgen depletion proactively and compassionately.
Specialized Perimenopause Treatment vs. Standard Menopause Treatment
Specialized Perimenopause Treatment vs. Standard Menopause Treatment Programs
It is essential to distinguish between perimenopause treatment and menopause or post-menopause treatment. Menopause programs typically aim to replace or balance hormone levels after they have stabilized at a lower baseline. In contrast, perimenopause treatment must navigate a volatile hormonal environment where levels are in constant flux. This requires dynamic treatment plans that may involve cycle tracking, lifestyle modifications, targeted hormone therapy, and integrative modalities, nutrition, and stress management. Our perimenopause treatment clinic and its MD directed clinicians tailor perimenopause treatment programs to address the immediate and evolving needs of each woman, ensuring that care remains relevant and responsive as her body transitions.
Dedicated Perimenopause Treatment Clinics, Perimenopause Treatment, Early Intervention, and Its Benefits
One of the most empowering messages we share with our patients is the value of early intervention. The earlier perimenopause treatment begins, the better the outcomes tend to be. By stabilizing hormone fluctuations early, we can mitigate the severity of symptoms and prevent long-term physiological stress. Women who engage in perimenopause treatment in Reading MA early in their journey often report smoother transitions into menopause and experience fewer complications in their post-menopausal years. They maintain stronger bone density, more consistent mood, better cardiovascular health, and improved cognitive function. Just as importantly, they feel validated and supported through a time that many describe as isolating or confusing when left unaddressed.
The Mental and Emotional Toll of Perimenopause
Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA – The Mental and Emotional Toll of Perimenopause on Women
Beyond physical symptoms, perimenopause can take a deep emotional toll. The combination of sleep disturbances, mood swings, anxiety, and hormonal shifts can lead to a crisis of identity and purpose. Women may feel overwhelmed by the unpredictability of their bodies, struggle with relationships, or face diminished self-esteem. This is why our perimenopause treatment program and approach offers mental health support as a component. Our clinicians understand the importance of validating each woman’s experience during this vulnerable period.
Necessity of Comprehensive and Customized Perimenopause Treatment
The Necessity of Comprehensive and Customized Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA
Every woman experiences perimenopause differently, which is why a one-size-fits-all treatment model fails to deliver effective results. Our specialized perimenopause treatment programs are rooted in the principle of individualized health care and treatment protocols. We utilize detailed symptom tracking, functional lab assessments, and ongoing consultations to refine our approach continually. Whether a patient needs bioidentical hormone therapy, adrenal support, dietary changes, or sleep interventions, our goal is to prescribe a plan that aligns with her personal physiology and life circumstances. By addressing perimenopause in a holistic manner, we empower women to regain control of their health and reclaim their vitality.
Dedicated Perimenopause Treatment and Clinics in Reading MA – Bridging the Gap in Women’s Healthcare
Perimenopause has long existed in a healthcare limbo between reproductive age and menopause. As a result, millions of women suffer needlessly from symptoms that could be addressed through proper perimenopause treatment. At our perimenopause, menopause, and post-menopause clinic, we are committed to bridging this gap by making perimenopause treatment a central focus of our women’s health services. We believe that recognizing and respecting this transition period is not only a matter of medical accuracy but a matter of social justice. Women deserve to be seen, heard, and treated with care during every stage of their hormonal journey.
Physician Directed Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA – A Call to Action for Women’s Proactive Health
If you are a woman in your mid-30s to mid-40s and are noticing changes in your energy, mood, or menstrual cycle, now is the time to seek expert guidance. Perimenopause treatment is not something to delay until symptoms become unbearable. At Integrated Health Alliance, we encourage women to start the conversation early so we can offer support before the challenges of perimenopause become overwhelming.
The sooner we can implement a tailored perimenopause treatment strategy, the more resilient your body and mind will be as you move through this transformative stage.
Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA as Preventative Healthcare
It is time to reframe perimenopause treatment as a form of preventative healthcare rather than crisis management. Just as we emphasize regular screenings and wellness checks in other areas of medicine, we must normalize early and proactive perimenopause treatment. Doing so can reduce the incidence of chronic conditions later in life such as osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease, and cognitive decline. At our perimenopause treatment clinic we view perimenopause treatment as an investment in a woman’s long-term health, energy, and joy. The return on that investment is a future marked by strength rather than struggle.
Specialist Perimenopause Clinics and Tailored Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA – Testosterone as a Critical Hormone That Leads to Success
Perimenopause is a complex hormonal transition that affects every aspect of a woman’s body, mind, and emotions. At the heart of this transition are several hormones, with estrogen and testosterone playing two of the most crucial roles. While estrogen has long been the focus of traditional perimenopause treatment, recent clinical understanding highlights the pivotal role of testosterone in achieving truly effective and life-altering care for women navigating perimenopause. At our perimenopause treatment clinic, our perimenopause treatment philosophy centers around a thorough understanding of these key hormones and how their shifts uniquely affect women before, during, and after menopause.
Estrogen is widely known as the primary female sex hormone and has been the cornerstone of hormone replacement therapy for decades. During perimenopause, estrogen levels begin to fluctuate wildly. These fluctuations can lead to a variety of symptoms including irregular periods, hot flashes, night sweats, mood instability, and sleep disturbances. Traditional perimenopause treatment in Reading MA often focuses on stabilizing these estrogen levels in an attempt to minimize symptoms. However, focusing on estrogen alone misses the broader picture, particularly as it relates to energy, strength, libido, cognition, and emotional stability.
Testosterone, while present in smaller quantities in women than in men, plays an equally vital role in female health. It supports muscle mass, bone density, mental clarity, libido, and mood regulation. As women enter perimenopause, their testosterone levels decline sharply, often earlier and more dramatically than estrogen. This early and significant drop in testosterone leads to symptoms that are frequently misdiagnosed or left untreated altogether. Fatigue, brain fog, decreased motivation, anxiety, loss of sexual desire, and physical weakness are all directly connected to testosterone deficiency. These symptoms often continue to escalate into post-menopause when left unaddressed by appropriate perimenopause treatment.
Unfortunately, mainstream medicine has traditionally overlooked testosterone as a key hormone in female hormone therapy.
Most general protocols for perimenopause treatment and post-menopause care emphasize estrogen and sometimes progesterone while ignoring testosterone altogether. This omission stems in part from outdated gender assumptions in medical research and a lack of training among general practitioners in the subtleties of female androgen support. As a result, millions of women are prescribed incomplete therapies that fail to resolve their most debilitating symptoms. At Integrated Health Alliance, we believe that perimenopause treatment without testosterone is simply inadequate and does not reflect the full complexity of hormonal change that women face.
In our clinical experience, integrating testosterone into perimenopause treatment makes a profound difference. Women who receive properly dosed testosterone therapy report significant improvements in energy, mood, focus, muscle tone, and libido. They feel more like themselves again. Their relationships improve, their ability to manage stress is enhanced, and their sense of purpose often returns. These are not just marginal improvements but fundamental shifts in quality of life. When testosterone is included as a central feature in perimenopause treatment, the results are not only more comprehensive but also more enduring.
Moreover, testosterone must be administered thoughtfully and precisely. This is where specialized care becomes essential. At our perimenopause treatment clinic, our clinicians are trained to understand the nuances of hormonal cycles and the ways in which testosterone interacts with estrogen and other bodily systems. We monitor symptoms and hormone levels closely and adapt perimenopause treatment plans accordingly. This level of attention and expertise is what sets apart a truly effective perimenopause treatment program from generic or insufficient protocols.
Treatments that fail to include testosterone are missing a key ingredient. They may provide temporary relief but will not address the deeper androgen deficits that cause many of the most distressing perimenopausal symptoms. Comprehensive perimenopause treatment must acknowledge the crucial role testosterone plays in maintaining a woman’s vitality, emotional balance, and resilience. At Integrated Health Alliance, we advocate strongly for an integrated approach that places testosterone alongside estrogen as a core part of perimenopause treatment. This is the path to helping women not just survive perimenopause but thrive through it and well beyond.
Why Isn’t Primary Care or OBGYN Care Addressing Perimenopause Treatment?
Why Isn’t Primary Care or OBGYN Care Addressing Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA Properly, or even at all, and why Isn’t Testosterone Being Discussed When it is
We frequently encounter women who have spent years suffering through symptoms of perimenopause without ever receiving a proper diagnosis or treatment plan. Despite significant advancements in medical science, primary care and OBGYN providers continue to overlook the importance of specialized perimenopause treatment. The problem lies not in a lack of care or concern, but rather in a medical system that has historically minimized and misunderstood women’s health, particularly in the realm of hormonal transitions. The legacy of ignoring perimenopause in clinical settings is deeply rooted in outdated training, limited research, and a systemic reliance on symptom management rather than root-cause analysis.
Most primary care physicians and even many OBGYNs receive minimal education on the intricacies of perimenopause. In most medical schools, the focus remains on reproduction and menopause, with perimenopause reduced to a vague transitional period.
As a result, symptoms such as anxiety, depression, weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, and brain fog are often treated in isolation with antidepressants, sleep aids, or diet recommendations rather than recognized as interconnected outcomes of hormonal fluctuation. Perimenopause treatment is rarely presented as a cohesive clinical framework, and the deeper hormonal shifts that drive these symptoms are frequently ignored altogether.
A significant part of the problem stems from the long-standing view that estrogen alone is the cornerstone of female hormone therapy. For decades, mainstream medicine has operated under the assumption that estrogen deficiency is the primary hormonal challenge facing women in midlife. This legacy approach has created a reluctance among general practitioners to incorporate testosterone into perimenopause treatment, even though the research and clinical outcomes supporting its use have become increasingly compelling. Testosterone supplementation for women was historically viewed as unnecessary or even inappropriate, a bias stemming more from cultural discomfort and gender assumptions than scientific evidence.
At Integrated Health Alliance, our MD-directed women’s health practice differentiates itself from med spa-style clinics and vanity based centers by grounding our perimenopause treatment in medical science, comprehensive diagnostics, and evidence-based protocols. We are seeing a notable shift, however, as even mainstream providers begin to take notice of the success of perimenopause treatment strategies that include testosterone. What was once considered fringe or controversial is now gaining traction as clinical results speak for themselves. Women treated with customized hormone therapy that includes testosterone report greater vitality, mood stability, and cognitive clarity. While the mainstream medical community has been slow to change, there is growing acknowledgment that a more holistic and androgen-inclusive approach to perimenopause treatment is essential.
Why MD Directed Perimenopausal Treatment is Critical in Solving the Health Challenges Women Experience During Perimenopause
At Integrated Health Alliance, we firmly believe that physician-directed care is essential when selecting a clinic for perimenopause treatment. The perimenopausal phase involves complex and rapidly changing hormonal dynamics that affect nearly every physiological system in the body. Without deep clinical insight and medical training, these shifts are often misinterpreted or overlooked. MD or physician-directed care ensures that each woman receives a diagnosis based on a comprehensive understanding of endocrine function, hormonal interplay, and the broader context of her overall health. When perimenopause treatment is overseen by a physician, it becomes far more than symptom management, it becomes a personalized, evidence-based approach that addresses the root causes of change occurring in the body.
Physician oversight is particularly critical in the diagnostic process. Perimenopause is not a condition that can be reliably diagnosed through a single lab test or superficial symptom checklist. It requires an understanding of patterns, subtleties, and the ability to distinguish hormonal imbalance from other possible medical concerns. Our MD-directed team has the training to rule out other health conditions, assess risks, and create a safe and tailored plan for each patient. This level of precision is difficult to achieve in non-physician environments where the focus may lean more toward aesthetics or generalized wellness rather than true hormonal medicine.
Clinics that operate without physician leadership often lack the ability to conduct or interpret advanced diagnostics and may miss the window for early and effective perimenopause treatment.
Treatment planning is another area where physician-directed care makes a significant difference. Safe and effective perimenopause treatment requires more than simply prescribing hormones. It demands careful evaluation of the type, dose, delivery method, and monitoring process. An MD brings a full understanding of pharmacology, contraindications, and how hormone therapy interacts with other medications or pre-existing conditions. Our expertise allows us to craft perimenopause treatment plans that are not only highly effective but also medically sound. This creates better long-term outcomes and reduces the risk of complications or imbalances that can arise from poorly managed hormone therapy.
By choosing an MD-directed clinic like Integrated Health Alliance, women gain access to a level of care that reflects the seriousness and complexity of the perimenopausal transition. Our approach to perimenopause treatment is rooted in science, guided by experience, and delivered with the understanding that women deserve expert care during this pivotal stage of life.
The Difference Between Perimenopause Treatment Centers
When it Comes to Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA Choose Clinics That Offer Perimenopause Treatment Services and is not Simply Selling you Hormones and Supplements – The Difference Between Perimenopause Treatment Centers, Business Models, and Your Treatment Success
When choosing a perimenopause treatment clinic, one of the most important factors to consider is the clinic’s business model and how it aligns with your healthcare goals. We believe the best approach to perimenopause treatment begins with transparency and a commitment to prioritizing the patient’s health rather than product sales. Many clinics that advertise minimal or no service fees often make up for that lost revenue by heavily promoting hormones, supplements, and proprietary products as their main source of profit. This creates an environment where the clinic is financially motivated to sell you more, not necessarily what you need. In these settings, perimenopause treatment can become less about your specific health requirements and more about fulfilling sales quotas, and that can spell disaster for your health outcome.
This model is counterintuitive to quality care. When profit is driven by the volume of prescriptions, dosages, or supplements, patients may find themselves recommended unnecessary products and dosages that do not serve their health goals. The real costs only become clear after receiving your first treatment protocol, when the price of prescriptions and supplements reveals the true expense. Clinics that operate without transparent pricing often leave patients surprised and frustrated by how expensive their care has become. Treatment costs can vary widely, and without upfront clarity, it is difficult to assess whether you are receiving good value for your investment.
Our perimenopause treatment philosophy, as it is with all treatment, is rooted in fairness and clarity. We charge a reasonable monthly service fee that covers your care, and we commit to offering prescription medications and supplements at the lowest possible cost. Our goal is always as little as you need to get healthy and stay healthy. By focusing on healthcare, not sales, we provide the most effective perimenopause treatment with the lowest overall cost and the highest standard of care available anywhere.
We are Committed to Empowering Women Through Specialized Perimenopause Treatment in Reading MA
Perimenopause is a distinct and significant phase that demands attention, expertise, and compassion. Integrated Health Alliance is proud to lead the way in offering specialized perimenopause treatment that acknowledges the full complexity of this transition. By recognizing hormonal changes, the profound psychological impact, and the long-term health implications of perimenopause, we deliver care that honors the entire woman. Our perimenopause treatment programs are not simply about symptom relief, they are about empowering women to thrive at every stage of life. Through early intervention, personalized care, and a deep understanding of hormone dynamics, we make the journey through perimenopause and beyond one of renewal, resilience, and restored well-being.
Understanding Perimenopause
Understanding Perimenopause – Why Perimenopause is Debilitating and Needs Treatment
This is the stage when a woman starts to notice a shift in, well, everything. Her energy may be plummeting, she has weight gain particularly in the midriff area, mental fog is prominent, libido starts to tank, and she generally may not “feel like herself”. This stage typically starts in the 40’s, but may be as early as 30’s. This is the beginning of the menopausal shift, known as perimenopause. The severity of symptoms varies from woman to woman. Unfortunately, stress is a known trigger to perimenopausal symptoms and in this age of “chronic stress” more and more women are experiencing these hormonal symptoms at a younger age. Perimenopause can last several months or up to a decade before menopause is complete.
So, what is happening in her body?
As a woman’s reproductive years come to an end, her ovaries start to run out of viable eggs. The remaining eggs are resistant to FSH and therefore, resistant to ovulation.
Ovulation then becomes irregular, or absent. In response, the ovaries start to decease their production of sex hormones: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. This fluctuation of hormones causes a myriad of unwanted symptoms and can be made worse by diet and lifestyle. We will review the most common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause in depth shortly.
Women looking for menopause treatment can count on IHAC to help limit unwanted symptoms from Menopause and Perimenopause.
The Transition out of Perimenopause – When Hormones Fall of a Cliff, That’s Menopause
The natural standard for determining menopause is the absence of a menstrual cycle for 12 continuous months. During the menopausal transition, women’s sex hormone levels take a dramatic drop. Refer to the chart below. Even though this graph is depicted as a smooth transition, the hormones are varying greatly throughout the cycle, but overall, the total amounts eventually decrease.
Read more on Menopause

Perimenopause and Menopause – A Deeper Perspective
“You cannot outrun. You cannot out-earn. You cannot out-exercise. You cannot out-yoga. You cannot out-fox the Big M. You cannot. The menopause train is coming no matter what.” – Oprah Winfrey
Every single woman, 49.5% of the world’s population, will inevitably go through menopause. And yet, an egregious lack of information and treatment options persist.
(United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022: Summary of Results. UN DESA/POP/2022/TR/NO. 3.)
Susan Dominus, NY Times writer, in a recent interview about her article “You’ve Been Lied to About Menopause”, recounts her own experience,
“There were plenty of doctors who just were like, yeah, you’ve reached menopause. Nothing we can do about it. I do think that there was a lot of casual “suck it up” tone that took over.”
(Stevis-Gridneff, M., & Dominus, S. The Daily – Menopause is Having a Moment. broadcast. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/28/podcasts/the-daily/menopause-symptoms-treatment.html.)
Dr. Abudulmaged Traish, Editor in Chief for the Journal of Andrology writes about this problem, “Health care providers (HCPs) may avoid initiating conversations on sexual health because of a lack of confidence, personal discomfort, or a sense of discomfort on the part of the patient, and the lack of education in this area compounds the problem. In addition, HCPs may assume women’s sexual function is less relevant after the reproductive years.”
(Traish, A. (2023, February). History of Testosterone Therapy in Women. Harvard Medical School Continuing Education. Orlando; Florida.)
This lack of access to needed treatments for menopause is baffling at best, and cruel at worst.
What are the reasons for this disparity?
Although there are numerous contributing factors, of which I have covered extensively in previous essays, here are the top causes:
-The field of women’s sexual health is rarely included in many medical schools across the USA. A 2019 Mayo Clinic survey reports that less than 7% of general practitioners are equipped to handle matters of hormone health.
Needed conversations are not happening in the doctor’s office.
-The 2002 Women’s Health Study started a media frenzy reporting harms of hormonal therapy, despite failing to display clinically significant findings, and since has been recounted and challenged by numerous researchers. The damage was done.
– That to-date, FDA has failed to take any action on approving even one testosterone formulation for women, despite research since the 1930’s showing it as an effective treatment for women suffering from perimenopause and menopause. In 1947 researcher Carter et al writes, “In the intervening decade they (androgen therapy) have been widely used in the management of a variety of derangements of female sex physiology and more recently for numerous metabolic disorders. The literature which has accumulated is now sufficiently extensive to permit a tentative evaluation of the present status of androgens as therapeutic agents in women”.
– Bias persists. Women’s hormonal health, and certainly their sexual health, is considered less relevant after a woman’s reproductive years have passed, regardless of her experience and symptoms.
(Traish, A. M., & Morgentaler, A. (2022). Androgen therapy in women with testosterone insufficiency: Looking back and looking ahead. Androgens: Clinical Research and Therapeutics, 3(1), 2–13. https://doi.org/10.1089/andro.2021.0030)
Enough. This needs to change immediately.
At IHAC, this change starts with us. We are on a mission to provide women with education and access to treatment options for menopause.
But first, what is menopause?
The conventional definition for menopause is one year without menstruation. Although this is accurate, this is about all women are told about menopause.
(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). What is menopause? National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-
Menopause)
Maybe a better question is, what does menopause MEAN?
As women age, their ovaries slow down production of sex hormones until it comes to a complete halt. When these hormones cease, the body no longer ovulates, and menses is shut-off.
So, we know this lack of hormones causes the end of menstruation, but what else does it do to a woman’s body?
Women’s sexual health advocate and urologist, Dr. Rachel Rubin, has been researching this very question. She noticed that many of the symptoms menopausal women suffer from are the same symptoms that men with testosterone deficiency suffer with. She describes menopause as being an “androgen deficiency syndrome”.
That is, a decline in estrogen AND testosterone.
(Rubin, R. (2023, February). How to diagnose testosterone deficiency in women. Testosterone Therapy and Sexual Dysfunction – Harvard Medical School Continuing Education. Orlando Fl.)
Ahh, well that is certainly something women aren’t told, now, is it?
And what does this mean for conventional treatment?
The North American Society of Menopause 2022 Position Statement on Hormone Therapy, “Hormone therapy remains the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and the genitourinary syndrome of menopause and has been shown to prevent bone loss and fracture.” Vasomotor symptoms include hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, irritability, difficulty concentrating and reduced quality of life. This position statement signals important progress in the treatment of menopause, empowering patients, and clinicians alike.
(The 2022 hormone therapy position statement of the North American Menopause Society. (2022). Menopause, 29(7), 767–794. https://doi.org/10.1097/gme.0000000000002028)
For those HCPs who are participating in hormonal therapy for the treatment of menopause, they are primarily prescribing estrogen therapy only. In menopause, estrogen has a sudden and drastic drop-off, contributing to many unwanted symptoms including hot flashes, moodiness, weight gain and sleep problems. If the woman has an intact uterus, progesterone should also be prescribed along with estrogen, for its uterine protection affect.
Menopausal women can experience needed relief from estrogen therapy. Hormonal therapy should be individualized, and guidelines recommend periodically reevaluation of the appropriateness of continued therapy.
But this myopic approach fails to address the other deficient androgen hormone, testosterone.
And what about the 10 years (or so) before menopause arrive, known as perimenopause, where hormone fluctuations occur causing a variety of unwanted symptoms? Is there treatment for that?
Let’s talk testosterone.
Testosterone is an essential hormone for both males and females. It is a human hormone. Did you know that women have 10x more testosterone than estrogen? Testosterone is the hormone of creation and vitality.
(Traish, A. M., & Morgentaler, A. (2022). Androgen therapy in women with testosterone insufficiency: Looking back and looking ahead. Androgens: Clinical Research and Therapeutics, 3(1), 2–13. https://doi.org/10.1089/andro.2021.0030)
We know that testosterone shows significant improvement for the treatment of vasomotor symptoms over estrogen alone, or placebo.
Drs. Traish and Morgentaler cite the work done by Sherwin and Gelfand, in which they reported that menopausal women who received androgens alone after hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy reported fewer somatic and psychological symptoms than those who received estrogen alone or placebo and demonstrated that patients treated with combined androgen-estrogen or androgen alone had increased energy levels, well-being, and appetite compared with those who received estrogen alone or placebo.
(Sherwin BB, Gelfand MM. Sex steroids and affect in the surgical menopause: A double-blind, cross-over study: Psychoneuroendocrinology, 1985;10(3):325-335.)
Researcher Rebecca Goldstat demonstrated, “Testosterone therapy improves well-being, mood, and sexual function in pre-menopausal women with low libido and low testosterone”.
(Goldstat, R., Briganti, E., Tran, J., Wolfe, R., & Davis, S. R. (2003). Transdermal testosterone therapy improves well-being, mood, and sexual function in premenopausal women. Menopause, 10(5), 390–398. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.gme.0000060256.03945.20)
In her interview, Dominus describes an exchange she had with her doctor regarding her menopause symptoms, “But when I mentioned them to her, I remember she said, we only treat significant symptoms. And I definitely felt a little ashamed that I had dared to complain about these issues. And I just was wondering to myself, well, all right. Were they significant? What does significant mean, exactly? They were significant enough to me that I brought them up, that they were on my mind”.
At IHAC, all your symptoms are significant to us. Even though menopause is primarily a “natural process” women can suffer a wide range of symptoms to varying degrees of severity. Women deserve access to compassionate care and treatment options. Furthermore, due to the onslaught of factors such as environmental chemicals, chronic stress, and medication, women are experiencing more hormonal irregularities quicker in life. Not taking these factors into consideration has been a huge disservice to womankind.
Additionally, we believe women have an innate right to live a robust life, with vigor for healthy and satisfying sex all throughout the transitions of her life. She deserves a strong body to ensure metabolic health and quality of years. Women should be supported to live a life full of vitality, just the same as men. This is why we are particularly passionate about testosterone as a therapeutic agent for women in the treatment of menopausal and perimenopausal symptoms.
Testosterone improves libido, including vaginal moisture, arousal, and satisfaction. Testosterone improves body composition, increasing muscle mass and reducing fat. Testosterone improves metabolic health, anemia, and bone density. Testosterone is beneficial for mental and emotional health, energy, and stamina. Testosterone has demonstrated cardio and breast protective benefits. Testosterone makes effort feel good, and when that feels good, everything you do feels better.
(Traish, A. (2023, February). Testosterone Deficiency (Hypogonadism) and Its Negative Impact on Human Health. Testosterone Therapy and Sexual Dysfunction. Orlando FL.)
Morgentaler et al writes, “Despite research in the 1940s establishing the physiological role of testosterone in women’s health and the substantial benefits of T therapy (TTh) in women, the use of TTh in women today is rare, with little awareness of its value and safety within the medical community.
Well consider our clinic a rare gem. Our approach to treating symptoms of menopause is superior. We are proud to offer testosterone therapy to women, and we do it best.
In addition to providing estrogen therapy when appropriate, at IHAC, we also help women replenish their testosterone levels with a low-dose bioidentical cream. We source our therapeutics from trusted compounding pharmacies that pride themselves in going the extra mile for safety and efficacy. And we screen women for other syndromes of menopause including Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder (HSDD) and Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM), both of which are well-addressed with TRT and a dab of localized estrogen cream. Despite the prevalence of these conditions, most women are never checked. At IHAC incorporating these thorough screens is our standard of care.
And since you likely have more than one hormonal issue going on, IHAC offers hormone integrative care. We care about you, all of you, so we will address it all. From managing estrogen dominance, to chronic stress and environment induced imbalances, our team will work together to make sure your whole health is being cared for. Whether it’s nutritional or lifestyle adjustments, additional hormone therapies or medications, we got you covered. This is a unique benefit included in your IHAC membership. We wouldn’t want to care for you any other way.
Drs. Traish and Morgentaler write, “Looking forward, we envision the possibility within the near future of symptomatic women with T insufficiency finding sympathetic health care providers who will recognize and appropriately treat their condition without negative judgment, allowing these women to experience the health and well-being associated with robust T levels.”
At IHAC the future is now.
Sign up today and let us help you get relief and renewed vitality in your life.