HRT & Lifestyle Treatments
HRT
With all medicines including HRT it should be as individual as you are individual.
After working closely with your GP or specialist you will be prescribed a bespoke prescription for your needs.
HRT will work for some but not for others.
HRT can be tweaked, so always go back to your GP if something is not working for you.
Some women will take it for the rest of their lives and others it is needed just to help a woman get to a good place and then may have it tweaked again.
Our hormones change daily and we really need to address what is going on in our life to help our hormones to thrive.
All GP's follow the NICE GUIDELINES for all prescriptions.
HRT
Once you have been assessed by your GP you will be prescribed your HRT.
HRT comes in many formats and its very important you understand the benefits and risks. HRT has changed over the years with very little risks but its important to familiarise yourself with what you are taking just like any medicine. There are some contra-indications, so you may not be able to take HRT but that will be decided in your GP assessment.
The NHS HRT Guideline gives you a clear understanding of the different types of HRT.
They also recommend alongside your treatments that you practise Lifestyle Alternatives.
You have two types of HRT
Body Identical - plant based which comes from yams made in bulk in a regulated medical facility.
Bio Identical - Produced chemicals almost identical to which your body would have produced and can be tweaked to be made very bespoke. The bio is usually more expensive due to it being made bespoke.
They come in many forms such as gels, creams, patches, tablet. Also vaginally.
CONTRA INDICATIONS OF TAKING HRT
MYTHS
MIGRAINES - If you suffer migraines it is better to take HRT through the skin such as a patch rather than the tablet form. Migraines need a steady state hormone level and patches start low and build you up.
BLOOD CLOTS - HRT absorbed through the skin as opposed to the tablet for as aural through the gut may activate a clotting cascade.
HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE - same as above
GYNEA CANCER - Does depend on the cancer but it is possible after consultation that you may be prescribed through the skin HRT.
TRUE CONTRA-INDICATIONS
Active Breast Cancer
Pregnancy
Active Blood Clot
Just had a heart Attack
Acute Liver Disease
Undiagnosed abnormal Vaginal Bleeding ie- Fibroids
You have a high family history risk
The NICE GUIDELINES does not give a time you should stop taking HRT. It says that every woman should take an annual check and discuss whether to continue or not. Bear in mind science is forever changing and 40-50 years ago was deemed unsafe but science has moved on and is much safe now.
If you are on HRT perhaps ask yourself when you are 60 are your symptoms abating. Do you think you need it or not. Again discuss with your GP.
1 in 5 women will have symptoms for the rest of their lives.
4 out of 5 fluctuations have stopped.
You will need to ask yourself the long term benefits.
LIFESTYLE MEDICINES
If your lifestyle is brilliant, then you are lowering a low risk already.
The 5 step method to support cognitive function formulated by a group or neurologists, which actually correlates throughout our life to help us to thrive at any age.
N - Nutrition
E - Exercise
U - Unwind
R - Restore
O - Optimise
Do you have a great diet? - You eat a nutritious diet.
Do you exercise? - You exercise including weight bearing, strength and cardio vascular exercises. Please ask Bodyfaze for assistance in this area.
Do you drink alcohol? - Alcohol plays havoc with our hormones
Are you stressed and living at 100 miles an hour trying to me super woman?
Are you sleeping well?
Do you love yourself?
Are you doing things you love?
There are so many things that you can do to help improve your symptoms whether taking HRT or not. Your lifestyle will disrupt you hormone balance and all these need to be addressed. No medication can out prescribe a bad lifestyle.
What's important, - managing our blood sugars, managing our inflammation, managing our gut health, managing our bone strength, managing our cardio health, managing our stress, managing our sleep.
Bodyfaze/Meno Maze can help if you wish to address your lifestyle choices.
An example would be:
EXERCISE
Exercise is more important now than ever before and is not optional. Here's a couple of examples that we offer/suggest
In this point in our lives we need to change the reason that we are exercising. How can exercise help us in this menopausal transition?
Science shows that consistency is key.
Working out to burn calories is not longer your goal. We have changes in our metabolism, we have changes in our hormones, we have changes in the way that we use insulin.
STRENGTH TRAINING
Aging is associated with a number of Physiologic and functional declines that can contribute to disability, frailty and falls.
By the age of 70 the average adult has lost 25% of their muscle mass. Mostly due to inactivity, the contributing factors are loss of muscle mass and strength as age increases.
Strength training will increase muscle mass if performed at lest 3 times a week.
By strength training you can slow even reverse the aging process at the cellular level.
Strength training can increase your energy.
It improves insulin resistance (leads to all sorts of disease)
It can reduce mortality
It improves brain function
Research demonstrates that strength training has the ability to combat weaknesses and fragility.
Strength training performed regularly build muscle mass and strength which preserves bone density.
It has the ability to reduce the risk of osteoporosis alongside other diseases such as heart disease, arthritis and type 2 diabetes.
Strength Training can improve sleep and reduce depression.
It also improves the important hormone testosterone, often thought as a male hormone but vital for women too.
HIIT/CIRCUITS
The biggest killer in this country for women is heart disease. We need to keep our cardio up. The best way to do this is to do short sharp hard bursts every day. You do not need to do hours and hours or workouts as our energy is usually depleted. Choose your workouts wisely. Our workouts are mostly pelvic floor safe (no jumping) but do have some impact imperative for our bone health.
As we age we feel we have less energy and perhaps our joints ache so stop regular exercise. That's why our workouts can be hard but have taken all these factors into account.
BODYFAZE WELLNESS HUB
We have created the Bodyfaze Wellness Hub to address the right types of exercises for the menopausal woman. All the workouts are shorter (approximately 15 minutes long) designed for maximum impact in a shorter time.
Addressing exercises for your bone health, cardio health and mental health:
These include:
Pilates
HIIT
Circuits
Boxing
Wellness - Shoulder health, Back health, Foot health
With new videos being uploaded weekly.
When you join up you will also get access to our "I'm sweet enough" healthy eating recipes.
To find out more Visit Bodyfaze Wellness Hub
Please get in touch if you require more information.
You can also join our Meno Maze Facebook group for more Lifestyle Hints & Tips
You will also need to address the following lifestyle medicines, all covered in our group.
Sleep
Stress
Nutrition
Alcohol
Mindfulness
LOVE YOURSELF.
