It’s 2025, but we’re still learning about the stages of perimenopause and menopause, and how to best support women going through them. Women’s symptoms can vary and overlap with other conditions, so treatment and diagnosis can be a frustrating journey. Natural Choice Medical Clinic could be a good place to start.
“When someone comes to our clinic, they’re often uncertain of what’s going on. They’re experiencing symptoms that they believe may be a sign of perimenopause, but they’re not entirely sure,” explains Carolyn Evans, clinic director at Natural Choice Medical Clinic.
Symptoms can include things like fatigue, changes in mood, trouble with sleep, and weight changes. Unfortunately, these common symptoms of perimenopause and menopause can overlap with other medical conditions like thyroid issues, causing confusion and uncertainty on how to move forward. This is where one of the clinic’s several naturopathic doctors can work with the patient to get to the root cause.
Experiencing symptoms like these are common for this stage of life, but not necessarily something that a patient has to suffer with. “There are a lot of things you can do to reduce the symptoms and bring balance back to your body,” Carolyn says.
Treatments might include bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or, for the more natural route, acupuncture, supplements, lifestyle changes, and potentially IV therapy. The clinic offers other services that might benefit women going through this intense life stage, such as massage therapy and counselling. Additional services at Natural Choice Medical Clinic include osteopathy, chiropractic, pelvic health physiotherapy, lab testing, and more.
“Our goal as a clinic is to be a one-stop shop for patients in the community. They can come to one clinic and have all the services that they need under one roof,” says Carolyn. “We truly feel that because of our practitioners collaborating, our patients receive the best care possible,” she adds.
The clinic has been open for nearly 12 years, starting out tucked away in a small medical building before moving to a new downtown location in January 2024. The move has resulted in becoming more known in the community; while the clinic has helped over 9,000 patients overall, 2,100 of those have been within the past year. They offer complimentary 15-minute meet and greets both on the phone and via video call, giving people the opportunity to talk out their symptoms and get an idea of what treatment might look like, before committing to an initial appointment.
The naturopathic doctors on staff all have a primary area of focus, and have helped patients with everything from chronic pain and metabolic concerns to menstrual issues and digestive problems. They’re each able to provide a deeper level of care on particular topics,” says Carolyn.
Patients suffering with symptoms of perimenopause and menopause will often come into the clinic saying that they don’t know who they are anymore. They can’t sleep through the night, they’re finding it hard to focus at work, and they feel disconnected from loved ones. After seeing a naturopathic doctor at Natural Choice Medical Clinic, many have expressed that they feel like themselves again.
While menopause is a part of life, Carolyn says, the severity of symptoms don’t have to be. “There is support out there.”