Perimenopause describes the years leading up to menopause, beginning in your forties, when the estrogen levels in your body start to fluctuate. Symptoms of perimenopause vary among women but can include irregular periods, prolonged and sometimes very heavy periods, sleep disruption, acne, mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, weight gain, and occasional hot flashes and night sweats.

Menopause officially begins one year after the date of your last period. Prior to this, starting for most women around the age of 40, you are perimenopausal, and after one year of no periods you are forever and ever postmenopausal. (If menopause is your wedding date, perimenopause is like your engagement–some are short and some are long, very long! And being postmenopausal is like being married, except it’s always, definitely forever.) Menopausal symptoms, however, begin and end on a timetable all their own, starting well before the last period and continuing for months to even years after. It can be a fantastic, freeing time of life, but there are a host of symptoms that make it hard to enjoy. There are many symptoms of menopause, but some of the most common are hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disruption, vaginal dryness, mood swings, brain fog, and weight gain.

Menopausal Hormone Treatment (MHT) is the newer term for what has commonly been known as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT). The name was changed to more accurately reflect what happens in your body when you take MHT. MHT is not intended to replace the hormones at the level that they were prior to menopause. The goal of treatment is simply to use the amount of hormone that adequately treats the symptoms of menopause. The amount of estrogen used after menopause is much less than the ovaries normally produce at ovulation and at least one half to one third the amount of estrogen in a low dose oral contraceptive. The Menopause Society published a position paper in 2017 stating that MHT is safe and effective for the overwhelming majority of healthy menopausal women. It’s important to speak to a doctor about what the right treatment is for you. Alloy provides access to doctors who specialize in menopause treatments.

Progesterone is one of the hormones that the ovary produces after ovulation. Progesterone balances the estrogen produced in a normal cycle by limiting the growth of the uterine lining. Each menstrual cycle is delicate balance of these two hormones. The imbalance of these two hormones (more estrogen and less progesterone) can lead to unduly long and extremely heavy periods in perimenopause. Estrogen alone (unopposed) leads to unchecked thickening and possibly long term risks of endometrial cancer, and that is why after menopause women with a uterus need to take both estrogen and progesterone. Women with hysterectomies, women with hormonal IUDs, transgender women and women who have congenital absence of the uterus do not need to take progestins.

MaxLife MD accepts Health Savings Accounts (HSA) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA).

Using your HSA/FSA is easy. Simply use your HSA/FSA card as you would any other debit or credit card when providing your billing information.

HSA/FSA plans vary on what services they are willing to cover. If you are uncertain whether your plan covers MaxLife MD’s services, check with your plan administrator.