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Vanessa Weiland, a certified menopause practitioner, explains when hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is warranted after hysterectomy while still having ovaries. She breaks down the progression of perimenopause symptoms and emphasizes that treatment is appropriate whenever these symptoms impact quality of life.
• Without periods as markers, focus on recognizing other menopausal symptoms
• Early perimenopause often presents with anxiety and sleep issues due to declining progesterone
• Middle perimenopause brings classic symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, and vaginal dryness
• Less recognized symptoms include heart palpitations, itchy skin, joint pain, and brain fog
• Symptoms usually peak around what would have been the final period, then gradually improve
• HRT is reasonable to pursue whenever symptoms affect quality of life
• Treatment is generally safe and can serve as both therapy and diagnostic tool
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Introduction to Quick Connect
Speaker 1
0:00
Life
moves
fast
and
so
should
the
answers
to
your
biggest
questions
.
Welcome
to
EndoBattery's
Quick
Connect
,
your
direct
line
to
expert
insights
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,
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in
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and
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five
minutes
you
get
the
knowledge
you
need
.
No
long
episodes
,
no
extra
time
needed
,
and
just
remember
expert
opinions
shared
here
are
for
general
information
and
not
for
personalized
medical
advice
.
Always
consult
your
provider
for
your
case-specific
guidance
.
Got
a
question
?
Send
it
in
and
let's
quickly
get
you
the
answers
.
I'm
your
host
,
alana
,
and
it's
time
to
connect
.
I
am
thrilled
to
welcome
Vanessa
Whelan
.
Vanessa
is
a
primary
care
nurse
practitioner
with
over
a
decade
of
experience
and
a
menopause
society
certified
practitioner
.
She
created
the
phases
framework
,
a
course
that
takes
a
holistic
approach
to
managing
menopause
symptoms
,
covering
everything
from
lifestyle
shifts
to
over
the
counter
solutions
and
medical
interventions
.
Vanessa
is
here
to
break
it
down
for
us
.
Let's
get
started
.
If
you've
had
a
hysterectomy
but
still
have
ovaries
,
what
symptoms
warrant
hormone
replacement
therapy
?
Speaker 2
1:11
Yeah
,
so
normally
menopause
is
a
clinical
diagnosis
and
we
use
periods
to
kind
of
help
figure
out
where
you
are
in
the
transition
.
So
oftentimes
early
perimenopause
,
you're
still
having
periods
,
but
they
get
longer
and
closer
together
and
heavier
.
And
then
later
perimenopause
,
you're
still
having
periods
,
but
they
get
longer
and
closer
together
and
heavier
,
and
then
later
perimenopause
is
when
they
start
to
get
more
spread
out
,
and
then
the
definition
of
menopause
is
one
year
without
a
period
at
all
.
So
obviously
all
that
is
all
out
the
window
if
you
don't
have
a
uterus
.
But
all
the
other
symptoms
ought
to
be
pretty
similar
.
Speaker 2
1:41
So
a
lot
of
people
in
that
early
perimenopause
phase
,
the
reason
you're
having
heavier
and
longer
periods
is
that
you
have
less
progesterone
on
board
,
and
progesterone
also
can
make
you
sleepy
and
calmer
.
Our
progesterone
is
naturally
highest
when
we're
in
that
week
before
our
period
.
Everyone
likes
talking
about
the
luteal
phase
now
,
where
you
just
chill
out
and
be
left
alone
.
So
when
you're
low
on
that
you
can
get
anxious
and
have
trouble
sleeping
.
So
if
you
start
to
notice
that
,
that
can
be
a
sign
of
early
perimenopause
.
And
then
in
that
middle
perimenopause
phase
where
your
periods
are
getting
spaced
out
,
that
means
that
you're
starting
to
lose
the
estrogen
,
and
so
low
estrogen
symptoms
are
the
stereotypical
symptoms
of
menopause
hot
flashes
and
night
sweats
and
vaginal
dryness
.
Speaker 2
2:28
Some
common
things
that
are
less
well
known
are
heart
palpitations
,
itchy
skin
,
itchy
inside
your
ears
,
joint
pain
.
Speaker 2
2:34
A
lot
of
people
notice
brain
fog
and
forgetfulness
during
this
time
,
and
those
symptoms
tend
to
basically
ramp
up
to
their
most
extreme
,
in
that
I
would
say
,
two
years
,
right
around
the
last
period
typically
.
So
if
things
are
really
reaching
a
point
where
it's
almost
unmanageable
or
is
unmanageable
,
then
hopefully
you're
getting
toward
the
end
of
it
,
and
then
you
know
,
two
to
five
years
past
the
last
period
,
things
usually
start
to
settle
down
because
our
hormones
aren't
going
through
the
roller
coaster
anymore
.
They're
stable
,
but
they're
low
,
and
so
for
most
of
us
the
hot
flashes
do
calm
down
,
but
some
other
symptoms
of
low
estrogen
stick
around
,
like
the
vaginal
dryness
and
urinary
complaints
and
dry
skin
.
When
should
you
try
to
get
treatment
,
which
,
in
my
opinion
,
is
whenever
you
have
any
of
those
symptoms
is
reasonable
to
pursue
treatment
,
and
it
might
turn
out
that
it
wasn't
perimenopause
,
but
the
treatment
is
really
quite
safe
and
you
can
do
a
little
bit
of
an
experiment
and
see
if
you
do
feel
better
with
progesterone
for
those
anxiety
and
sleep
symptoms
early
on
.
Speaker 1
3:43
That's
a
wrap
for
this
Quick
Connect
.
I
hope
today's
insights
helped
you
move
forward
with
more
clarity
and
confidence
.
Do
you
have
more
questions
?
Keep
them
coming
,
send
them
in
and
I'll
bring
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the
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answers
.
You
can
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by
using
the
link
in
the
top
of
the
description
of
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podcast
episode
or
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at
endobatterycom
or
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endobatterycom
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.
Until
next
time
,
keep
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empowered
through
knowledge
.