CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Women and menopause. Sometimes the symptoms are manageable, sometimes they're not. Traditional treatments like hormone replacement therapy can be a huge relief.
"Mine, it would start right here, this heat ball, and it would just start spreading," said Kristin McLaughlin, a teacher at Gregory-Portland High School.
Hot flashes -- infamous and forever linked with menopause. For some women they're not that bad. For others, they cause serious problems.
"I'd wake up or just be a ball of sweat and say, 'I'm hot! Is anybody else hot?'" McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said she just tried to deal with it, but she didn't necessarily have to.
"People don't have to live with these symptoms when there are treatments out there that can basically help them with their quality of life as well as how they feel and see themselves," OB-GYN Dr. Jose Vazquez said.
Dr. Vazquez with Corpus Christi Medical Center Bay Area Hospital said whatever the severity of symptoms, there are many different approaches to treatment. Plus, medical research has shown that certain types of hormone replacement therapy can actually provide other health benefits unrelated to menopause.
"If used correctly and using the correct dosage and the proper hormones, you actually decrease the likelihood of breast cancer, colon cancer, and decrease the likelihood of heart disease," Dr. Vazquez said.
For McLaughlin, after doing her own research and speaking to her doctor, she decided on low-dose estrogen to relieve her symptoms and now feels much better.
"I'm willing to do this for a couple of years so I can just get through this, over this bump," McLaughlin said.
Menopause symptoms can last for months or even years. If you experience problems such as insomnia, mood swings, thinning hair, and hot flashes, talk with your doctor about the options available to you.
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