Menopause Specialist
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Triangle Women's Center
Obstetricians & Gynecologists located in Morrisville, Fuquay-Varina, & Cary, NC
In the years before and after menopause, at least 80% of women struggle with hot flashes and night sweats, and nearly half experience vaginal dryness and painful intercourse. At Triangle Women’s Center, Haritha Nadendla, MD, FACOG, understands the emotional and physical challenges of menopause and offers effective treatments to relieve your symptoms, including hormone replacement therapy and vaginal revitalization with MonaLisa Touch®. To get support throughout the years of menopausal transition, call the office in Fuquay-Varina, Cary, or Morrisville, North Carolina, or schedule an appointment online.
Menopause Q & A
When does menopause begin?
Each woman reaches menopause in her own time, but on average, women transition into menopause around the age of 51. You will have entered menopause after 12 consecutive months without having a menstrual period.
In the years before menopause, beginning at some point in your late 30s and 40s, you may go through perimenopause. During perimenopause, your hormone levels fluctuate. Your ovaries may produce a healthy amount of estrogen during some months, and lower than normal levels in other months.
As a result, many women experience changes in their menstrual periods. Your periods may get shorter, longer, lighter, or heavier.
What symptoms develop during menopause?
The classic symptoms of menopause can begin during perimenopause and last many years after you reach menopause. You may experience:
- Hot flashes
- Night sweats
- Mood swings
- Insomnia
- Low sex drive
- Painful intercourse
- Vaginal dryness
- Weight gain
- Urinary tract infections
- Urinary incontinence
- Difficulty with your memory
When your ovaries stop producing estrogen, you stop ovulating, and your periods stop. Estrogen also regulates many essential functions in your body. This difference in regulation may lead you to see other changes in your body.
You have a significantly higher risk of osteoporosis in the years after menopause. Additionally, the loss of estrogen affects the tissues lining your vagina, making them dry, thin, and fragile. These changes are called vaginal atrophy and can cause vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, and bleeding after sexual activity.
How do you manage menopause?
Since menopause is a normal part of your body’s aging process, you can’t treat or cure menopause. But Triangle Women’s Center can help relieve or eliminate your menopause-related symptoms. Lifestyle tips and vaginal moisturizers or lubricants can often manage mild symptoms.
If you struggle with moderate-to-severe or long-lasting menopause symptoms, Dr. Nadendla may prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT). As HRT brings hormone levels back to normal, your menopause symptoms disappear, and you can prevent problems such as osteoporosis.
What is the MonaLisa Touch?
Triangle Women’s Center offers one of today’s most innovative therapies for relieving vaginal atrophy: the MonaLisa Touch by Cynosure. The MonaLisa Touch is a gentle laser treatment that’s applied to the tissues lining your vagina. The energy from the laser triggers the production of collagen, elastin, and new blood vessels, which revitalizes vaginal tissues and helps eliminate the symptoms of vaginal atrophy.
If you have questions or need help managing symptoms of menopause, call Triangle Women’s Center, or schedule an appointment online.
