Menopause Treatment Programme

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Although menopause may be an inevitable part of a woman's life, suffering through it doesn't need to be. Our bespoke menopause programme provides the world's most all-encompassing treatment to help minimise your symptoms, restore your hormone health and help you retain your vitality as your body changes. 

 

At Paracelsus Recovery, we only ever treat one client at a time. We will tailor your programme to your exact needs, and a multidisciplinary team of 15+ doctors will focus exclusively on you.

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One Client at a Time

Unparalleled staff to patient ratio of 15:1

What is Menopause Treatment?

Menopause occurs twelve months after a woman's last period. However, in the years leading up to that moment, a woman will experience numerous physical changes and symptoms such as mood swings, hot flashes, insomnia, brain fog, etc. This period is called perimenopause and occurs due to decreasing oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels in her body. Once symptoms ease and menopause has occurred, a woman enters the post-menopause period. The menopausal transition epoch typically occurs between the ages of 45 – 55. Still, menopause can occur earlier, known as premature or even later, known as late-onset. 

Various symptoms (or side effects) include:

  • Changes in your menstrual cycle.
  • Hot flashes
  • Bladder control issues
  • Insomnia 
  • Vaginal health issues
  • Decreased libido 
  • Mood changes
  • Personality changes
  • Slower metabolism (weight gain)
  • Night sweats
  • Symptoms of depression 
  • Symptoms of anxiety 
  • Memory and concentration issues
  • Brain fog 
  • Breast soreness
  • Headaches 
  • Burning mouth
  • Tingling extremities
  • Joint pain
  • Digestive issues 
  • Brittle nails and thinning hair
  • Osteoporosis

we help you leave the menopausal period with minimal disruption to your life

However, when we describe it in these clinical and factual terms, we fail to articulate the pain, fear and suffering that menopause can bring. Fluctuating oestrogen levels wreak havoc on our mental health and wellbeing. For example, studies show that over 70% of menopausal women experience intense brain fog. One report even found that one in ten women have left their job or career due to their symptoms, representing 333,000 of the UK population of women aged 45 – 55. 

 

Stigmas, misunderstandings, and sexist ideas can also create an environment where women can feel ashamed or embarrassed to share how menopause impacts them. This can lead to increased stress and isolation, among other detrimental side effects. For example, in another report, it was found that over a third of GPs in the UK prescribe anti-depressants incorrectly for menopause.

 

However, it does not need to be like this. Thanks to numerous scientific advancements, we now know how to help you recalibrate and rebalance your hormones and minimise your symptoms via various treatment modalities. At Paracelsus Recovery, we can provide you with the emotional and physical tools needed to enter and leave the menopausal period with minimal disruption to your life, health, and wellbeing.  

Menopause Treatment at Paracelsus Recovery

That is where we come in. At Paracelsus Recovery, we can restore your hormonal health, help you process any emotional issues that perimenopause has brought with it and restore your cellular vitality. Essentially, your body is going through an immense change, and we can help you make sure you are the healthiest version of yourself during it. To do that, we provide an extensive medical check-up, hormone evaluation, comprehensive laboratory tests, a functional health assessment, nutrition, and psychiatric assessment. We will then create your treatment programme based on the results of these tests.

While each programme is unique to each client, it will include varying degrees of the following treatments:

I. Elaborate Testing Procedure

  • Our medical team will provide a thorough review of all available medical records.
  • We provide a medical assessment which includes ECG scans, body composition tests, comprehensive blood analysis, blood oxygen levels and brain scans to determine if amyloid plaque is present. Menopause also increases a woman's chance of developing bone health issues, so we will test for all possible markers of osteoporosis or bone density loss.
  • Functional medicine and nutritional assessment to identify how food intolerances, eating habits and lifestyle choices impact your emotional wellbeing, energy levels and cell function.
  • A complete hormone check-up to determine your oestrogen levels (estriol, estrone and oestradiol), testosterone, progesterone, luteinising hormone, AMH, FSH, cortisol, etc.
  • Specialised laboratory tests to check all remaining biochemical parameters, including thyroid function, iron levels, glandular function, liver function, neurotransmitters, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, and enzyme levels.

ii. Hormonal Health

  • Based on your tests and if deemed necessary, we can provide hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to help alleviate your symptoms. Studies now show that the decline in testosterone during menopause can worsen symptoms. We can provide oestrogen, progesterone, and testosterone HRT. If we go down the HRT root, we will also offer pharmacogenomic testing to ensure that the medications suit your genetic makeup.
  • You will have your own private chef, nutritionist and dietitian who will create a nutrient-dense plan to replenish any lab-identified inflammatory or immune system issues. While we will take your dietary preferences into account, several studies (2021, 2020, 2020) show that a Mediterranean diet can help minimise menopausal symptoms and rebalance oestrogen levels.
  • We will conduct a gut-health assessment. Menopause has been shown to alter our gut microbiome, so based on your results, we provide a tailored intestinal detoxification programme and pre/probiotics therapy to restore balance. 
  • Our metabolism and muscle mass takes a knock during menopause due to decreasing oestrogen levels. We will help you manage these symptoms by incorporating daily exercise routines. You will work with some of the world's leading fitness instructors, and we will help you create a long-term exercise routine that works for you. We also include pelvic floor regimes into both your cardio and yoga schedules.
  • Insomnia is one of the most common menopausal symptoms, and it can be debilitating. It occurs because decreasing oestradiol levels interferes with our melatonin levels. While HRT will help ease these symptoms, we will also provide regular sleep times and various relaxation activities to help. (For example, we can provide healing massages and other body therapies like acupuncture.)

iii. Emotional Health

  • The symptoms that come with menopause are highly stressful. This kind of stress can be toxic to our health (least of all when combined with symptoms such as insomnia, brain fog and mood swings). Our therapeutic team will provide psychoeducation to help you acquire stress-management tools. While it will naturally depend on your personality and preferences, this can range from breathwork to yoga or cognitive behavioural therapy and journaling.
  • There is a direct link between our hormones and our mind. As a result, when the former starts to decrease, it directly affects our mental health. Women often report heightened feelings of sadness, brain fog, memory issues and a sense of loss during menopause. Sadly, a woman's chances of developing depression double during the perimenopause and post-menopause stages. You will work with a specialised psychotherapist in numerous one-on-one sessions to overcome related mental health issues.
  • If you are suffering from depression, anxiety, or any other mental health issue, we can also provide specific treatment modalities, such as EMDR, to help you overcome these challenges.
  • We can also provide anti-depressant medication, but we would only do so as a last resort. We will always try to help our clients via functional medicine and holistic modalities. We can also provide ketamine infusions if you are struggling with treatment-resistant depression. 
  • A live-in therapist will also be available to provide you with emotional support 24/7. They will help you implement the tools you acquire in your psychology sessions and help you address any additional emotional stress. For instance, loneliness is a leading cause of ill-health amongst UHNW individuals, and the stigma surrounding menopause can contribute to feelings of isolation. Your live-in therapist is there to help you address these issues.  

iv. Cellular Health

  • We use individualised formulas of IV solutions based on comprehensive laboratory testing to address any cellular issu
  • Studies now show a link between the onset of menopause and an increase in amyloid plaques, which can contribute to Alzheimer's. We will conduct various tests to determine your brain health. If we notice anything concerning or if you are in general struggling with your memory and/or brain fog, we can provide supplements to minimise these issues.
  • We use functional medicine to help restore your health and facilitate your body's natural healing process.
  • We provide biochemical restoration to address any neurochemical deficiencies in the brain and body that have occurred due to lifestyle choices, substance abuse or any other environmental stressor.

One client at a time, very privately

At Paracelsus Recovery, we only ever treat one client at any given time. We do this so that we can provide our clients with absolute confidentiality and care. By focusing an entire team's attention and care on you and your needs, we can provide the most comprehensive treatment in the world.

Bespoke Clinical Residence

We treat clients in exclusive surroundings with absolute privacy and discretion. Our in-patient treatment programmes typically last four to eight weeks, depending on your specific needs. We also offer one-week Executive Detox programmes.

Tailor-Made to You.

For treatment to be successful, we believe it needs to be tailored to your specific needs. To achieve that, we use a multidisciplinary approach (our 360-degree treatment model) that will address each underlying issue, not just the menopausal symptoms. A thorough assessment is carried out to identify these imbalances, and we design an individual treatment programme based on the results of those tests.

How Oestrogen Impacts Our Mind: What Does the Science Say?

When we think of menopause, we tend to focus on the idea that it is somehow separate from our minds because it is occurring in the body. In reality, our reproductive system is in constant interaction with almost every organ in our body, mediated by our hormones.

This is particularly true for our brain; the health of our reproductive organs actually plays a vital role in our brain ageing process. For example, oestrogen is critical for energy production in our brain. This is because oestrogen pushes our neurons to burn glucose and turn it into energy at the cellular level. As a result, when your oestrogen levels drop, your neurons start slowing down and ageing faster.

In fact, studies have even shown that this process can lead to amyloid plaques, which are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease. Other areas of the brain impacted by declining oestrogen include:

  • When oestrogen fails to activate the hypothalamus correctly, the brain cannot regulate body temperature, leading to hot flashes.
  • When oestrogen doesn't activate the brain stem correctly, we have trouble sleeping.
  • When oestrogen levels decrease in the amygdala and hippocampus region, we start experiencing mood swings and increased signs of depression or anxiety.

However, while this process may be expected and natural, these hormonal imbalances can still lead to health issues later in life. Once you enter the perimenopausal period, it is crucial to speak with a healthcare professional to see if any treatments would be beneficial to help you minimise the impact of declining oestrogen. While hormone replacement therapy is vital, there are also other holistic means such as dietary or supplements you can take to increase oestrogen

FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Hundreds of clinical studies show systemic hormone therapy (oestrogen with or without progestogen) effectively helps minimise menopausal symptoms, decrease bone loss, improve quality of life, and improve brain health. Looking after your health to the best of your ability and making sure you feel supported, particularly during periods of immense change, is always an investment.

Usually, the menopause treatment programme is at least one month long (ideally three). However, we can tailor the programme to a timespan that suits you in some instances. 

There are a host of factors at play here but a common hypothesis is that the various endocrine changes driving the menopause transition impact numerous biological systems, including the brain. For example, decreasing oestrogen levels has a direct impact on the amygdala which is part of the emotion centre in our brain.  On a more emotional plane, menopause is a period of immense change and it can bring up feelings of loss. It is then necessary to mourn that loss and the grief process is a common trigger for depression.

Short-term hormone replacement therapy is safe for most menopausal women who take HRT for symptom control. However, before HRT is prescribed, make sure you review your medical history with your healthcare provider.

The length of time that symptoms last for will vary greatly between each individual woman but on average takes about four years.