MENOPAUSE
Menopause, Gainesville, Texas
Menopause is a new stage of life that brings significant changes to your body, and marks the end of menstrual periods. Unfortunately, residual menopausal symptoms can be persistent and uncomfortable. These lasting effects can interfere with your ability to live happily by lowering your energy levels and affecting your emotional health. If you’ve found life interrupted by menopause symptoms, it’s time to invite vitality back into your life with our treatments, here to help you adjust to this next chapter of life.
Vitality Women’s Healthcare in Gainesville, Texas offers the MonaLisa Touch® procedure, designed to reduce menopausal and post-menopausal symptoms, bringing comfort back into your life.
Why do I have menopausal symptoms?
Uncomfortable symptoms can be attributed to the sharp decline in levels of estrogen, in addition to other hormones, that takes place during the age of menopause. This is the cause of common symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats and sleep disturbances. The average age of menopause is between 45 to 55.
One of the most troubling symptoms associated with menopause is atrophic vaginitis or vulva vaginal atrophy. This condition is experienced when declines in estrogen levels cause patients to experience vaginal dryness, irritation or bladder issues like painful urination and frequency, leading to discomfort with sexual activity. Some of these symptoms can be quite distressing to a patient and sometimes are not addressed because of a lack of acknowledgment and discussion around it.
What are the symptoms of menopause?
Menopause is known to bring a wide range of symptoms varying in severity from person to person.
- Hot flashes and night sweats
- Vaginal dryness and sexual discomfort
- Depression
- Changes in hormone levels
- Mood swings
- Decrease in estrogen.
- Changes in bone health and bone mass
- Dry skin
- Weight changes
- Hair loss
- Urinary incontinence
- Weight gain
How can I manage menopause symptoms?
Traditionally, menopausal women have the option of estrogen medications that are taken orally or applied directly to the vagina in the form of tabs or creams; however, the problem with these traditional methods are the adverse side effects. These are not well tolerated by some patients, especially in breast cancer survivors at risk of recurrence.
With those limitations, there is a significant portion of the population missing that cannot be treated with traditional medication. MonaLisa Touch® is an effective treatment that can provide rejuvenation and assurance to postmenopausal women.
We also offer menopausal hormone therapy with bioidentical hormone pellets that can treat other health risks associated with hormonal imbalance.
What is the MonaLisa Touch® procedure and what are the benefits?
The MonaLisa Touch® uses a fractional CO2 laser that is applied into the vagina with a special probe. This has small perforations allowing the application of the laser in a superficial manner to the vagina lining. The laser application effectively boost cellular regeneration, collagen growth, and blood flow.
These beneficial effects help reduce the vaginal symptoms associated with the time of menopause, improving lubrication, elasticity, and restoring function and comfort. There are minimal risks associated with this procedure, unlike traditional medications. Clinical trials have shown that pre-treatment cells are pale and shrunken and do not have healthy linings, whereas in post-treatment there are robust and healthy cells and tissues that are similar to the premenopausal state.
This treatment has the potential to make a tremendous impact on a patients quality of life, particularly during intimacy. You and your partner can maintain a fulfilling relationship with your newly restored vitality. This is also ideal for younger patients, like breast cancer survivors, who have been made menopausal through chemotherapy or surgery. Even if you are not sexually active, there are benefits in improving irritation associated with vulva vaginal atrophy and also with bladder frequency.
Is it painful?
Individuals report little to no pain and this is a procedure we do in our office with no anesthesia and most patients describe a tapping or pressure sensation. There may be slight discomfort as the probe is inserted; however, there is no pain from the laser itself.
How often should I get treatments?
A series of three treatments done six weeks apart is recommended. Most patients will notice significant improvements after the first or second treatment. Depending on the amount of improvement needed, you may require additional maintenance treatments, and an individualized plan will be created for you.
Is there any downtime?
There is no downtime or restrictions and there is minimal discomfort. Patients can drive themselves home after the procedure and continue with daily activities.