Program for Menopause

What Is Menopause?
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You may know it as the stop of your monthly period, but menopause involves more than the end of menstruation. Menopause occurs when your ovaries stop producing estrogen, or are surgically removed. While some women experience no symptoms, hormonal changes can cause some women to experience hot flashes, vaginal dryness, recurrent bladder infections, insomnia, mood swings, brain fog and weight gain. Once entering menopause, women are also at increased risk for such medical conditions as cardiovascular disease and bone density loss.

A Better Life During Menopause

Women today can expect to live almost 40% of their lives after the menopause transition. In addition, many women experience early menopause due to removal of ovaries, chemotherapy, radiation or other medical conditions. The effects of menopause last long after your hot flashes are over. After your body transitions into menopause, you have less estrogen in your system, which can cause many symptoms, including decreased libido, painful intercourse and weight gain.

By the year 2030, 1.2 billion women will be postmenopausal.

Expert clinicians at the Northwestern Medicine Comprehensive Program for Menopause are dedicated to making life during menopause better.

Our physicians and advanced practice clinicians are all certified menopause practitioners of the North American Menopause Society and will help you navigate both hormonal and nonhormonal options to treat symptoms caused by menopause. In addition, our experts are uniquely suited for women with complex medical needs due to conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer.

Conditions We Treat

If your condition or procedure is not listed, please contact us and we will let you know if an appointment or referral is appropriate.
 
Conditions and procedures include (but are not limited to) the following:

Conditions:​

• Decreased libido
• Dyspareunia (painful intercourse)
• Genitourinary syndrome of menopause
• Hormone therapy and alternatives
• Hot flashes
• Hypoactive sexual desire disorder
• Impaired arousal
• Inability to or difficulty with orgasm
• Insomnia
• Lichen sclerosus
• Orgasmic disorders
• Perimenopause (symptoms, irregular bleeding, contraception, hormonal fluctuations)
• Postmenopausal bleeding
• Premature ovarian failure (premature menopause)
• Urinary urgency and recurrent infections
• Sexual concerns
• Vaginal atrophy (dryness)
• Vulvar conditions (rash, itching, burning, dryness and pain)
• Weight gain secondary to menopause

Treatments may include:

• Hormonal options
• Non-hormonal options
• Alternative and “off-label” treatments
• Pelvic floor physical therapy
• Talk therapy (Our therapists are specifically trained in sexual concerns, past history of trauma, pain, and relationship therapy)

​To request an appointment, fill out our online form on the Contact Us page. A coordinator will contact you to schedule an appointment and send you a questionnaire. This questionnaire must be filled out and returned before your first visit so that it may be reviewed by our clinical staff. If you are arriving from out of town, our coordinator can also connect you to the hospital concierge for information about hotel accommodations.

For more information, call 312.694.9676. ​

​A HANDLE ON HOT FLASHES

With hormone therapy, LaVern Rogers gets her life back after menopause. ​

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Request an Appointment

To request an appointment, fill out the form on the Contact Us page or call 312.694.9676 for more information. 

REQUEST APPOINTMENT