Consultations are generally offered in French: please confirm with the clinic (579 305-0344). The French version of this site prevails. Translation under professional review.
Hormone therapy Saint‑HyacintheHormonal health
A comprehensive approach to your health, not just your hormones
At Clinique IPS du Palais, we believe that symptoms associated with perimenopause and menopause should not be assessed in isolation.
Fatigue, disrupted sleep, hot flashes, mood changes, brain fog, vaginal discomfort, weight changes, decreased libido or metabolic changes can sometimes occur at the same time, but they are not necessarily all caused by hormones.
Our approach therefore begins with understanding your situation as a whole.
A comprehensive approach to your blood sugar, blood pressure, cholesterol, weight and hormonal health? Metabolic health →
Are you a man? Men’s hormonal health →
During your consultation, the nurse practitioner (NP) takes the time to assess your symptoms, your medical history, your personal and family history, your lifestyle habits, your medications, your cardiovascular and metabolic health and your goals.
Hormone therapy may then be one of the options offered when it is relevant, but it is never considered an automatic answer to all symptoms.
Our vision of hormone therapy
For us, good hormonal care rests on four principles:
Two patients of the same age can have very different symptoms and not have the same risk factors.
We therefore try to determine what may truly be related to the hormonal transition and what warrants a different investigation.
Tests or additional examinations may be ordered when the clinical situation warrants.
There is no one-size-fits-all hormone therapy.
The choice of treatment must take into account, among other things:
This individualization reflects the current recommendations of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada, which recommends tailoring hormone therapy to each patient’s symptoms, history, risks, goals and preferences.1
Menopausal hormone therapy remains the most effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.
In women without contraindications, the benefit-risk balance is generally favourable when it is started before age 60 or within ten years of the onset of menopause.1
But some patients will benefit more from a non-hormonal treatment, a local treatment or another approach.
Our role is therefore not to convince you to take hormones. It is to help you understand the various options and make an informed decision with your NP.
Hormone therapy should not simply be prescribed and then renewed automatically for years.
Symptoms change. Needs change. Risk factors can also change.
Current recommendations therefore favour periodic reassessment of the treatment, its benefits and its risks rather than a universal duration imposed on all patients.1, 2
When to seek care?
A hormonal health consultation may be relevant if you have, for example:
Perimenopause can begin several years before periods stop completely. Menopause is officially defined after 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period.3
Wondering whether your symptoms are related to perimenopause or menopause?
Understanding perimenopause →Understanding menopause →Are you a man wondering whether your symptoms are related to a drop in testosterone?
Understanding andropause and testosterone deficiency →An assessment that goes beyond menopause
Some symptoms readily attributed to hormones can also be associated with other conditions. Depending on your clinical presentation, the NP may therefore assess different aspects of your health:
Blood pressure, risk factors, personal and family history.
Weight, blood glucose, cholesterol and other parameters when relevant.
Looking for other factors that may contribute to symptoms.
Dryness, pain, recurrent urinary tract infections or other symptoms associated with the genitourinary syndrome of menopause.
Assessment of risk factors when the situation requires it.
Because treatment must fit into your reality and your overall health.
This approach helps avoid two extremes: automatically attributing every symptom to hormones or, conversely, downplaying symptoms that can considerably affect quality of life.
Understanding the treatment
Menopausal hormone therapy mainly uses estrogens, with or without a progestogen depending on the clinical situation.
In a person who still has their uterus, a progestogen is generally needed with systemic estrogen-based treatment to protect the endometrium.2
Different routes of administration exist, including:
The choice of molecule, dose and route of administration is part of the individualized assessment.
These are two different approaches.
It acts throughout the body and can be used, among other things, to treat hot flashes and night sweats.
A low dose of vaginal estrogen can be used for certain genitourinary symptoms such as dryness, vaginal discomfort or certain urinary symptoms.
Systemic exposure is much lower than with systemic hormone therapy.2
Your important questions
The answer cannot simply be “yes” or “no.” The level of risk depends on, among other things:
For most healthy women with symptoms who are under age 60 or within ten years of menopause, current recommendations generally consider the benefit-risk balance to be favourable in the absence of contraindications.1, 2
However, some situations call for particular caution or may constitute a contraindication. That is precisely why we favour a complete assessment before deciding on treatment.
This is probably one of the most common concerns.
The risk varies depending on the type of hormone therapy, its duration and the patient’s individual profile. Current data show, among other things, that the risk is not the same with estrogen-only treatment as with certain estrogen-progestogen combinations.2
We therefore prefer to avoid simplistic messages such as “hormones cause cancer” or, conversely, “hormones are risk-free.”
The right approach is to individually assess each patient’s potential benefits, risks and history.
Hormone therapy is not a weight loss treatment.
Weight changes observed around menopause can be influenced by several factors: aging, muscle mass, sleep, physical activity, diet and metabolic changes.
Available data do not show that hormone therapy causes weight gain; however, it should not be prescribed primarily for the purpose of losing weight.2
At Clinique IPS du Palais, weight management can be addressed separately when necessary in order to assess the overall metabolic situation.
Testosterone is not a general treatment for fatigue, aging or all the symptoms of menopause.
Current recommendations mainly support its use, in certain properly assessed postmenopausal women, in the context of hypoactive sexual desire disorder.4
A clinical assessment is therefore necessary before considering this type of treatment.
Our care pathway
60 minutes
395 $
This appointment allows us to take the time needed to understand your situation. It includes, among other things:
Depending on your situation, the NP may:
45 minutes
295 $
This appointment makes it possible, among other things:
30 minutes
195 $
Often held a few months later, it makes it possible to assess:
The frequency of follow-ups is then adapted to each patient’s situation.
Already on hormone therapy?
The goal is not to systematically restart all your care, but to understand your current situation before suggesting next steps.
The NP can review with you:
What sets us apart
At Clinique IPS du Palais, our approach to hormonal health rests on a simple conviction:
a woman who consults for hormonal symptoms should not be reduced to her hormones.
Our team seeks to understand your health as a whole. Hormone therapy can be an excellent option for some people. For others, a different approach will be more appropriate. And sometimes, several issues need to be addressed at the same time.
Our responsibility is to present the available options to you, explain their benefits and risks, and then build with you a strategy tailored to your situation.
Frequently asked questions
No. A hormonal health consultation does not automatically mean that hormone therapy will be prescribed. Hormonal and non-hormonal options can be discussed depending on your situation.1
Not necessarily. Tests are ordered when they are relevant to your clinical situation. Your NP will determine whether investigations are needed.
In some situations, yes. If the assessment is sufficiently complete and no prior investigation is needed, treatment can sometimes be started as early as the first consultation.
No. The consultation can also concern perimenopause, that is, the transition period leading up to menopause.
No. Hormone therapy is particularly effective for certain symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats, but it is not indicated to systematically treat all the changes associated with aging or menopause.2
You do not need to know before your appointment whether hormone therapy is right for you. That is precisely the purpose of the consultation: to understand what you are experiencing, assess your health as a whole, explain the options and determine with you the most appropriate care.
Consultations available in Saint-Hyacinthe.
The information on this page is provided for information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with a health professional.
