~ Melissa Porras APRN, CNM-BC
Perimenopause is a season of change, not just hormonal, but emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. It can begin years before your final period and affect everything from mood and sleep to metabolism, cognition, and libido. And yet, many women enter this phase feeling unprepared or underserved. At Hawthorn Healing Arts Center, I offer a different kind of care, one that acknowledges perimenopause as a complex and deeply personal transition. My background bridges evidence-based medicine with holistic healing traditions, and my goal is to help you navigate this chapter with knowledge, intention, and compassion.
Holistic care doesn’t choose one path over another. It honors all the ways healing can happen, whether through a lab test and prescription, or through calming the nervous system, supporting gut health, and reconnecting with the body through movement and breath.
What Holistic Perimenopause Support Looks Like
My approach blends the clinical with the intuitive, honoring science while also addressing the less quantifiable aspects of well-being. That means I may recommend bio-identical hormone therapy, but I’ll also ask about your sleep, stress, nutrition, and energy levels. I listen closely to your symptoms and your story, including what your body may be expressing through fatigue, tension, or discomfort.
In a typical perimenopause care plan, I may support you in areas such as:
Hormonal changes – Fluctuations in estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone are often behind mood shifts, unexplained weight gain, bleeding changes, anxiety, or insomnia.
Lifestyle support – Offering guidance around nutrition, movement, and sleep tailored to your changing needs.
Emotional well-being – Addressing stress and mental clarity through both conventional and integrative strategies.
Digestive health – Supporting gut balance and reducing inflammation.
Natural therapies – Integrating evidence-based herbal and nutritional options when appropriate.
The Far-Reaching Benefits of HRT
Hormones affect nearly every body system, so it’s no surprise that HRT, when used appropriately, can offer wide-ranging health benefits.
Brain Health: HRT supports mood stability, reduces anxiety, and enhances memory, focus, and sleep quality. It fosters increased brain cell connections and boosts essential neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin. Early initiation of HRT may also mitigate the risk of dementia.
Bone Health: Maintaining bone mineral density becomes crucial during menopausal transitions. HRT helps build and preserve bone strength, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and fractures. It also aids in joint lubrication and flexibility, alongside enhancing muscle strength.
Heart and Circulation: HRT contributes to lower blood pressure, optimal heart rate regulation, and flexible blood vessels. It improves cholesterol levels and enhances overall cardiovascular efficiency, potentially reducing the risk of heart disease.
Metabolic Health: Regulating blood sugar levels and improving insulin sensitivity are critical benefits of HRT. It aids in utilizing fat for energy, maintaining healthy weight, and lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Immune and Inflammatory Support: HRT reduces chronic inflammation, which may lower the risk of autoimmune diseases and supports overall immune function.
Sleep and Energy: Promoting restful sleep and daytime energy, HRT enhances mental clarity and overall vitality.
Urogenital and Sexual Health: HRT increases vaginal lubrication and elasticity, maintains a healthy vaginal environment, reduces urinary urgency, frequency, and infection risk, and supports libido, arousal, and orgasm.
Skin, Hair, and Eyes: Improving collagen production, reducing skin moisture loss, enhancing blood supply to the skin and eyes, and lubricating the eyes to reduce dryness are additional benefits of HRT.
These benefits aren’t about reversing aging — they’re about helping your body function well and feel good as you move through this meaningful life stage. In addition to hormone support, I offer annual exams, Pap tests, HPV screening, STI testing, IUD insertions, and more. But whether you’re coming in for routine care or deeper hormonal guidance, the goal is the same: to offer care that is inclusive, empowering, and integrative.
Care That Meets You Where You Are
If you’re navigating perimenopause, you may feel like your body is rewriting the rules on you and doing it without notice, steady one day, then foggy, irritable, or drained the next. These shifts aren’t just in your head. They’re real, and they deserve care that goes deeper than symptom control.
Hormone therapy isn’t about turning back the clock. It’s about staying rooted in your well-being, your energy, clarity, and sense of self. For many women, HRT is a powerful, supportive tool — one that works best when it’s tailored to their unique needs.
Melissa Porras, APRN, CNM-BC, offers compassionate, individualized care for women in all stages of menopause. Her integrative approach combines the wisdom of holistic medicine with evidence-based treatments to help you make informed choices, whether that includes hormone therapy or other supportive options.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Support is here when you’re ready. To schedule an appointment with Melissa Porras call 541-330-0334 for feel free to use our appointment request form.