Cara Flamer, M.D. is a Women’s Health Expert providing Premenstrual Syndrome Relief to Toronto Women with Customized Treatment Plans

Pre-menstrual Syndrome plagues many reproductive aged women and can often cause debilitating symptoms that disrupt a woman’s life for close to half of a month. The week before a woman’s period her estrogen and progesterone levels may become imbalanced, and these symptoms may interfere with work, relationships, and social habits. Once the menstrual period finally does begin, women may continue to feel poorly due to a whole other set of painful symptoms that arise during the actual menstrual cycle. Being uncomfortable or in pain for close to two weeks out of every month is challenging for anyone, and when you must also manage family, work, or social obligations, it simply isn’t reasonable.

Cara Flamer, M.D. is a women’s health expert in Toronto and is equipped to help women overcome the symptoms and pains of pre-menstrual syndrome. Her comprehensive hormonal health program can help women to regain balance and avoid dealing with severe symptoms before their periods. By helping women to improve their diets, reduce stress, and balance their hormones, she reduces several painful symptoms that can interfere with everyday life. Cara Flamer, M.D. takes the time to listen to women’s concerns and provide safe and natural therapies that can truly help them to improve their health issues and achieve a greater quality of life.

Call (647) 660-3168 to speak with Toronto Women’s Health Specialist Cara Flamer, M.D. and schedule your consultation today!

Symptoms of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome

Some of the most common symptoms of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome include:

Bloating is caused by the retention of salt and water that occurs when estrogen and progesterone levels change. The dreaded discomfort of the bloated belly has been the boogeyman of PMS symptoms since women’s discovery of their own reflection. Not only is it physically uncomfortable, but visual sensation of bloat can lead to a great deal of emotional distress, as if a menstrual woman doesn’t have enough on her plate. 

As hormones fluctuate, serotonin and other neurotransmitters in your body become impacted, and as these hormones drop, your blood constricts and BAM! Migraine. If you’ve ever been laid flat for a day, wishing to get out of your own head but unable to think of anything else, then you may benefit from balancing your hormones. 

Hormones plummet and our energy levels seem to drop with them. This fatigue can keep us in a vicious cycle of brain fog with a low mood, untypical food cravings, and easily socially exhausted. Being so drained can make us feel unable to maintain our healthy and active lifestyle choices, but if we boost the hormones, we boost our energy and get back to doing what we love without the monthly dip. 

Struck by all of the compounding symptoms of PMS, it is no wonder that women take an emotional plunge along with their energy and joy. PMS can leave you tired, cranky, hungry, with a headache, and in physical pain, and the feel-good hormones ducking out is an emotional last straw. Balance your hormones and let us help you defeat the depression. 

Once a month we say goodbye to our natural ability to produce serotonin, the feel-good hormone that is released when we ingest starchy goodness. The less we can produce for ourselves, the more we crave it from external sources. It makes sense, even though it doesn’t make it easier. If you’re having trouble conquering your cravings, it’s a great time to look at restoring your natural serotonin stores. 

Hormone levels drop, we begin to crave the sweet and the salty, we are too exhausted to work up a sweat and too depressed to care. It’s okay, it’s natural, but now we’re experiencing all of this and the scale’s gone up, which is a hit to our self-image and body-confidence. But you can beat it with help, if we restore your hormones, we restore your body’s ability to work through those monthly setbacks.

Swelling of the body with the dropping hormones also occurs in our breasts, leaving our chest feeling heavy, sagging, and tender to painful. If hormone levels are restored to a balanced state, the inflammation of the breasts may go down, leaving you feeling more comfortable and happier to get those sports bras on in the morning! 

With all the other symptoms of PMS, plus the general fact that menstruation is a monthly given for most of us, it is reasonable and expected to feel a little upset. However, if your dropping hormones are leaving you constantly wishing you had a plate to throw at the next person who asks if it’s your time, you may benefit from a hormone balancing program.

Headaches, fatigue, weight gain, depression, and bleeding for days at a time simply isn’t enough, we must also deal with cramps. Have your hormones dropped suddenly and now you’ve found yourself keeled over next to the frozen peas in your local market, trying to decide if you should leave or grab a bag to hold to your tummy? We get that, which is why we help boost your hormones so you can say goodbye to the monthly feeling of being socked in the gut. 

Think of all of your PMS symptoms, is it any wonder that between cravings, migraines, cramps, and hyper focusing on the daily irritations you are suddenly also unable to sleep? When our hormones decline, we can find it difficult to manage enough calm to even sleep it off, which makes the next day somehow worse. With balance, we can improve your sleep cycle and have you up and ready to tackle the challenges of the next day. 

Younger women that are just beginning to get their periods may have more severe PMS because their hormone levels are adjusting to becoming fertile. In younger women, the body usually rebalances itself; however, healthy exercise and eating habits can help to reduce PMS symptoms. Women that are going through perimenopause may also notice PMS symptoms becoming more acute due to hormonal fluctuations. When the primary female sex hormones estrogen and progesterone fluctuate during the beginnings and ends of their fertile years, women may notice more bloating, cramping, headaches, mood changes, or fatigue.

Women going through high amounts of stress may also experience elevated PMS symptoms. In women, both the ovaries and the adrenal glands produce vital female hormones, and if the adrenal glands become worn down due to stress, they may not be able to produce a normal amount of the sex hormones needed to support the ovaries and the menstrual cycle. Women that have undergone or are still experiencing chronic stress may notice more severe PMS symptoms that usually include extreme fatigue, food cravings, poor sleep, migraines, and mood changes.

Several lifestyle factors such as dietary habits and exercise can influence pre-menstrual syndrome. Dietary factors are extremely important in avoiding the symptoms of PMS, and women that maintain healthy diets and a healthy weight can keep their bodies balanced and potentially prevent PMS. In women that have a high amount of body fat, pre-menstrual syndrome may be more prevalent because they have increased amounts of estrogen.

Body fat actually contains estrogen, and if estrogen levels are too high, the symptoms around the menstrual period may be intensified. Women should take in adequate amounts of proteins, vegetables, and fruits in order to allow their bodies to produce healthy amounts of hormones, exercise is also vital in order to improve blood flow and keep the heart healthy. When women have healthy dietary habits and exercise, they can potentially prevent the many debilitating symptoms of PMS by keeping their stress down and hormones better balanced.

However, sometimes hormones dropping and becoming imbalanced simply happens anyway, Cara Flamer, M.D. will help you get to the bottom of what is causing you distress and will work with you to create a plan that will bring you peace and relief.

Find Answers To Frequently Asked Questions About BHRT

Beginning a Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) protocol typically comes with several questions. We’ve gathered some of the most common questions related to starting BHRT and answered them here below. If you have any further questions or need any clarification, please contact Cara Flamer, M.D. in Toronto, who has years of experience providing women with customized bioidentical hormone plans.

How Is BHRT Different From Regular HRT?

The main difference between bioidentical HRT and other forms of HRT is the kind of hormones that are used. In regular HRT, the synthetic hormones used contain additional chemical components that allow the drug manufacturers to patent their chemicals. At best, these added components do nothing for you. At worst, your body may recognize them as foreign chemicals and they may cause unpleasant side effects.

In BHRT, the hormones used are bioidentical, which means that they are the exact chemical structure as the hormones naturally produced in your body. This means there is no risk of your body not accepting them. Plus, they are derived from natural plant sources such as yams and soy.

Can I Buy Bioidentical Hormones Online?

While you may find websites claiming to sell bioidentical hormones, there are many risks involved in purchasing hormones online. First, it is often difficult to trace the origin of these products, meaning they may not be regulated for accuracy. This leads into the second problem, which is that it is very hard to be sure of the ingredients of these products. You may not be getting hormones at all!

Finally, even if you find legitimate bioidentical hormones online, without seeing a doctor you can’t know for certain which hormones you need, what dose you need them in and what form of BHRT will work best for you. BHRT doctor Dr. Flamer can ensure that you receive proper care and treatment and that you experience minimal side effects.

What Form Does BHRT Come In?

Bioidentical hormones are prepared by a compounding pharmacy where they are produced into several forms, including pills, patches, subdermal pellets, creams, injections and more. Everyone responds to these various forms differently, and your BHRT doctor can help find the form that will most benefit you and your body.

What Is The Cost Of BHRT?

The cost of BHRT varies by the hormones needed, the doses needed, the form of BHRT and the length of time that you receive treatment. For a more accurate quote, please call to schedule a consultation.

Is BHRT Covered By My Insurance?

Because insurance plans and providers vary considerably, there is no way for us to provide a blanket statement. Your plan may cover BHRT under certain circumstances. The best course of action is to first call our office to discuss whether we accept your current insurance plan and provider. After you call us, we recommend contacting your insurance provider as a follow-up to ensure that your treatment is covered or to discuss how your treatment may be covered.

Are Bioidentical Hormones Safe?

When prescribed and supervised by a BHRT doctor, BHRT is generally safe. Dr. Flamer will review any risks or side effects associated with your particular treatment before you begin BHRT.

What Conditions Are Treated With BHRT?

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy is used to treat a number of conditions caused by hormone imbalance or that result in hormone imbalance. In some cases, BHRT is used to treat the underlying condition while in others it is used to treat the symptoms. Below is a list of some common conditions that BHRT may be used to treat.

What If My Question Is Not Listed Here?

Patients often have a great many questions before beginning BHRT. BHRT doctor Cara Flamer M.D. in Toronto will be happy to answer any questions that you may have before, during and after treatment. Contact your BHRT doctor today with any further questions or to schedule your initial consultation.

Start Feeling Better With A Customized BHRT Plan Today! 

Toronto Pre Menstrual Syndrome Treatment

Don’t Just Wait for PMS To Happen, Do Something About It Now!

Call (647) 660-3168 to speak with Toronto Women’s Health Specialist Cara Flamer, M.D.. Dr. Flamer uses safe and non-invasive therapies to help you overcome the challenges of Pre-menstrual Syndrome.

Cara Flamer, M.D. has helped countless Toronto women to improve their quality of life with their women’s comprehensive wellness program.