Menopause Treatment in Greenville, SC
Menopause symptom relief in Greenville, SC. Dr. Hendry treats hot flashes, sleep disruption, mood changes, and hormonal imbalance naturally. Call (864) 365-6156.
"I drive past his office every day, I'm so glad a trusted friend referred me! Dr. Hendry and I are working on hormone overall balance and possible estrogen dominance. I get acupuncture and love the results."
— Katlyn Garcia · April 2022 · Google Review
What Is Menopause?
The textbook says menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation after 12 consecutive months without a period. What that doesn't capture is what brings most patients in: the years before that point when everything starts shifting — the sleep that stops working, the mood that feels borrowed from someone else, the hot flashes that arrive without warning in the middle of a meeting. Perimenopause, not menopause itself, is when symptoms are typically worst. Progesterone often declines a decade before estrogen does, creating a hormonal imbalance long before any change in cycle regularity. Estrogen follows later, fluctuating widely before settling at post-menopausal levels — sometimes spiking high enough to cause breast tenderness and anxiety, then dropping low enough to cause hot flashes and brain fog within the same week. None of this is inevitable in the way it's often presented. The severity of the menopause transition is substantially determined by factors that are measurable and modifiable: adrenal reserve, inflammatory burden, nutritional status, and the quality of hormonal support initiated during the transition.
Common Symptoms
Root Causes: A Functional Medicine Perspective
Hot flashes are driven by estrogen deficiency dysregulating the hypothalamic thermostat — the brain region that regulates body temperature. Serotonin and norepinephrine changes are intermediaries in this process. The metabolic changes of menopause — declining estrogen's insulin-sensitizing effects — promote central adiposity and metabolic syndrome. Declining progesterone (which begins years before estrogen in perimenopause) disrupts sleep by reducing GABA receptor sensitivity.
Systemically, women who enter menopause with good nutritional status, lower inflammatory burden, and healthier adrenal function experience significantly milder symptoms — the adrenal glands serve as a secondary estrogen production site after menopause, buffering the transition for women with healthy adrenal reserves.
How We Treat Menopause at IHP
Acupuncture for hot flashes has been validated in multiple randomized trials, with the most rigorous demonstrating significant reduction in hot flash frequency and severity compared to sham acupuncture. Acupuncture regulates hypothalamic thermoregulation through beta-endorphin pathways and balances the serotonin and norepinephrine systems disrupted by estrogen decline.
Dr. Hendry's functional medicine approach to menopause includes adrenal support to optimize the body's natural estrogen production buffer; phytoestrogen supplementation (specific soy isoflavones, red clover) where appropriate; dietary changes to reduce inflammatory load and support metabolic health; targeted sleep support; and bone health protocols (calcium, magnesium, vitamin D3/K2, weight-bearing exercise guidance) to address the accelerated bone loss of the early post-menopausal period.
Dr. Hendry's Approach
I see women who've been told to push through hot flashes, night sweats, and sleep disruption as if that's the only option. It isn't. For most women, menopause symptoms reflect a transition the body is handling with inadequate support — adrenal insufficiency, poor phytoestrogen intake, unaddressed thyroid dysfunction, or nutritional deficiencies compounding the decline in ovarian hormone production. I discuss bioidentical hormone therapy candidly — the evidence, the risks, the alternatives — and coordinate with each patient's gynecologist when HRT is appropriate. I approach this as a conversation, not a protocol, because what's right depends on a patient's specific symptom burden, cardiovascular and breast cancer history, and personal preference. Many women find that acupuncture and functional medicine support gets them through the transition without hormones. Others do best with a bridging period of bioidentical support. Both are legitimate paths.