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The impact of hormones on your physical, emotional, and psychological development is significant. In fact, hormones play a crucial role in various functions of your body, such as regulating sleep, managing stress, maintaining alertness, and promoting happiness. Having a healthy balance of hormones is important for feeling and looking great - especially for women. Unfortunately, when hormone levels fluctuate, several adverse effects can manifest that affect your health and well-being.
One day, you wake up in the morning and attack the day with a smile on your face and a goal in your mind.
The next day, it feels like your emotions are all over the place. Despite sticking to a healthy diet, your weight keeps going up. To make matters worse, hot flashes seem to pop up out of nowhere, making you irritable both at work and at home. The simple truth is that life is hard for ladies after their 50th birthday. That's especially true when it seems like your body is plotting against you every day of the week.
If you're a middle-aged woman and you notice your body going through changes, you should know this is a natural process of aging. It's called menopause - and according to the National Institutes of Health, over a million women experience this transition per year. During this time, it's common for your hormones to start depleting. When that happens, you'll probably notice symptoms that can be challenging to deal with and overcome.
Take a moment and see if any of these signs sound familiar:
Trying to deal with hormone deficiency can be a big ordeal for women and their partners. Thankfully, going through menopause and getting older doesn't mean you have to settle for an undesirable life. Hormone replacement therapy in West Ashley addresses the hormonal imbalances in your body so you can get back to feeling normal. These clinically proven treatments are now available from Better Life Carolinas and can help women just like you reclaim the youthful vigor you're used to having.
Before we explore the many benefits of HRT for women, let's first look at two of the hormones that can fluctuate during menopause - progesterone and estrogen.
As a female, your reproductive health thrives on progesterone and estrogen. Made by your ovaries, these hormones play a major role in a range of functions, such as:
During your childbearing years, estrogen is responsible for preparing the lining of your uterus for a fertilized egg, while progesterone helps prepare and sustain the pregnancy once the egg has implanted. However, as you age, both of these hormones begin to decline, leading to a stage known as perimenopause, which occurs before menopause.
This transition period is characterized by significant changes in your body as it prepares for the next stage of life, where you can no longer bear children. Unfortunately, the years leading up to menopause can be extremely uncomfortable due to these hormonal fluctuations. That's where female HRT starts to make a lot of sense.
During menopause, many women opt for hormone replacement therapy. Menopause marks the end of the reproductive phase, and as you enter perimenopause, your estrogen and progesterone levels decline, and eventually, your body produces a fraction of the hormones it used to. This hormonal imbalance results in uncomfortable symptoms.
Hormone replacement therapy restores the depleted levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in your body, helping to alleviate the common symptoms of menopause and reducing the risk of long-term diseases. At Better Life Carolinas, our goal is to provide hormone replacement therapy that ensures healthy and balanced hormone levels for your overall wellness.
Maintaining hormone stability is crucial for women to live a healthy life. This is where Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) comes into play, as it helps in balancing the hormones that would otherwise get altered due to menopause.
At Better Life Carolinas, we recognize that every woman is unique, and, by extension, every patient is different. Therefore, our team of specialists and doctors offer personalized treatment options by combining holistic treatment, nutrition, fitness plans, and more to supplement our HRT treatments for women.
Many women wonder if HRT is the solution to their exhaustion, weight gain, and mood swings. It's hard to say if you're a good candidate for treatment without a comprehensive examination by an HRT expert at our clinic. What we can say is that when a woman's hormones are better balanced, she has a much better chance of enjoying life without the debilitating symptoms that other women experience. At Better Life Carolinas, that's our primary goal - to help you live a healthy life that you love.
Unlike some women's health clinics, money isn't our main motivator. Our HRT options aren't meant to keep you coming back for years and years. They have been developed to help provide your body with the balance it deserves through a patient-focused approach.
The Better Life program by Dr. Barber empowers patients with information about their health and wellness and, most importantly, puts in place a plan for the future. Most of us have a financial plan, but very few have a health plan. Our greatest asset is our health, and setting goals to manage our health plan is vital.
Better Life wants to partner with you to make the right choices for optimal health. For women going through menopause, hormone replacement therapy is often the best choice to reclaim your quality of life. Most of us know we need to lose weight, exercise, eat better, and quit smoking. Unfortunately, very few of us understand how to get out of the rut we tend to fall into. Our experienced team will design custom programs to empower you to make this life change for years to come.
One of the first and most frequently asked questions that our women's health doctors get usually focuses on the benefits of hormone replacement therapy. If you're trying to ease your way into menopause, chances are you're wondering about that too. When combined with healthy life choices like diet and exercise, we're happy to say that the benefits of HRT are both numerous and significant.
By now, this benefit probably sounds like a no-brainer, but it's one of the major advantages of HRT, so it's worth mentioning again. Menopause can often lead to uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats, and difficulty sleeping. These symptoms can vary in intensity and can significantly impact your daily routine. Hormone replacement therapy is a treatment option that can help regulate estrogen and progesterone levels, thereby alleviating many of these symptoms.
While the most obvious benefit of HRT for women is relief from menopause symptoms, there's good evidence that suggests this treatment helps improve bone health, too. One study conducted on over 25,000 women aged 50-79 found that HRT reduced the risk of fractures. This benefit is especially important for women who had their uterus and ovaries removed before the age of 45 and experienced "surgical menopause." Such women are at a higher risk of bone loss and osteoporosis.
Your brain's ability to get energy from glucose, your body's primary fuel source, decreases during menopause due to a drop in estrogen levels. As a result, your brain switches to using fats (lipids) for fuel, which unfortunately leads to the harvesting of fat from the brain's white matter. This process produces ketones - chemicals created in the liver - to provide energy. However, starting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) before reaching menopause can reduce the risk of this fuel switch and cut a woman's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in half.
As people age, their libido tends to decline, which is true for both men and women. For women, menopause can also cause vaginal dryness, which can make sexual intercourse less appealing. Hormone replacement therapy in West Ashley can help boost your libido by restoring the levels of reproductive hormones in your body. When your reproductive hormones are balanced, you can get a boost in sex drive and alleviate problems like vaginal dryness.
As you approach menopause, you may notice that your weight tends to fluctuate more frequently. While this is a common occurrence as you age, it can make it difficult to shed extra pounds. Hormone replacement therapy isn't a magic solution for weight loss, but it can address the hormonal aspect of weight gain. Hormones can make it harder to maintain or lose weight, and hormone replacement therapy can help with that. By combining hormone replacement therapy with a healthy diet and regular exercise, you may be able to manage your weight more effectively and improve your overall health.
The benefits listed above are only a snapshot of what HRT can help you deal with and overcome. Contact Better Life Carolinas to learn about other advantages of hormone replacement treatment. But our women's health services don't end with HRT. Our doctors also provide several pain-free, non-surgical solutions for female intimacy problems.
We're talking about Femiwave Therapy, O Shot, and the Emsella Kegel Chair.
Are you ready to enjoy a normal sex life without having to rely on strange pills or invasive procedures? Femiwave therapy uses pulse waves to improve blood flow to the vaginal area without ever needing to go under the knife. This procedure enhances sensitivity, lubrication, tightens, strengthens, and improves the physical appearance of your vagina and the surrounding area. It has been shown to boost sexual satisfaction and function with no downtime, drugs, or lasers, and the results are long-lasting. The procedure is based on established shockwave therapy and has been backed by clinical studies for years to increase blood flow and restore healthy tissue.
Ideal candidates are women experiencing low libido, urinary incontinence, menopause symptoms such as painful intercourse and vaginal dryness, or women looking to improve their sex life. This procedure is quick and comfortable with no downtime, meaning you can swing by our office when it's best for your schedule and get treatment without disrupting your day.
Women in South Carolina use Femiwave therapy alongside hormone replacement therapy in West Ashley because it is:
While our male patients have enjoyed many benefits from our P-Shot (or Priapus Shot), we know that women deserve to enjoy some fun, too. Better Life Carolinas now provides a powerful treatment called the O-Shot (Orgasm shot) that can deliver incredible results for women. This simple procedure utilizes platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to stimulate new tissue growth, and as a woman's own PRP is used, the O-Shot is completely safe and free of side effects. The health benefits of the O-Shot are numerous, and a revitalized sex life is just one of them.
The O-Shot earned its name by increasing a woman's intensity during orgasm, but it is also a natural approach to treating the following:
The Emsella Chair is a breakthrough innovation for women experiencing urinary incontinence. This common issue affects over 15 million women in the US and can cause embarrassing leakages, loss of sleep, and poor work performance. The Emsella Chair offers a non-invasive solution to this problem without the need for surgery or medication.
The Emsella Chair is an FDA-approved device designed for patients who want to improve their quality of life by addressing the symptoms of urinary incontinence. Sometimes referred to as the "Kegel Throne," this comfortable chair is an excellent option for those who have tried other solutions like medication and surgery but found that they negatively impact their daily lives.
The Emsella Chair uses high-intensity focused electromagnetic technology (HIFEM) to stimulate contractions in your pelvic floor muscles. These contractions can help you regain control of your bladder and improve the strength of your pelvic floor muscles, much like kegel exercises but with greater efficiency. The Emsella Chair is unique in that it targets the entire pelvic floor with thousands of contractions per session, making it a highly effective treatment option for women.
While using the Emsella Chair, you may feel your pelvic floor muscles contracting. This is a normal reaction and indicates that the machine is functioning correctly. You might also experience a mild tingling sensation during the treatment, but it is not painful. After your session, you're free to resume regular daily activities without any downtime required. The best part is that, unlike surgery, there is no need for any medications to manage the pain or grogginess that usually comes after an invasive procedure.
The Emsella Chair is an excellent solution for women of all ages, but it is more commonly used by older women who tend to experience urinary incontinence. There are various symptoms related to urinary incontinence which can be effectively treated with the Emsella Chair.
Some of those symptoms include the following:
As thousands of women across the United States have said, our doctors can help you say "NO!" to urinary incontinence with Emsella Chair treatments.
At Better Life Carolinas, we're proud to be a partner on your path toward better wellness and healthy aging. Our team of women's health specialists and doctors provides constant encouragement, status checks, and recommendations to ensure that you receive personalized and ongoing medical management. We believe that receiving plenty of face-time and individual care from your personal physician is crucial to making a profound difference in your life - both now and in the future.
Whether you're approaching middle age or have already started menopause, our hormone replacement treatments could be an answer to your age management challenges. Contact our office today to learn more about the Better Life Carolinas difference and how our team provides the guidance you need to achieve a healthy life.
Sammy Esposito PB SC Director of ScoutingWest Ashley High School PreviewPROGRAM INFORMATIONHIGH SCHOOL NAME West Ashley High SchoolMASCOT WildcatsCLASSIFICATION 5AREGION Region 8HEAD COACH Brian WillisTWITTER West Ashley Baseball (@WAHS_Baseball)INSTAGRAM westashleybaseballHOME FIELD: Wildcat Park 4060...
Sammy Esposito PB SC Director of Scouting
HIGH SCHOOL NAME West Ashley High School
MASCOT Wildcats
CLASSIFICATION 5A
REGION Region 8
HEAD COACH Brian Willis
TWITTER West Ashley Baseball (@WAHS_Baseball)
INSTAGRAM westashleybaseball
HOME FIELD: Wildcat Park 4060 W Wildcat Blvd. Charleston, SC 29414
PROGRAM CHAMPIONSHIPS
2014 AAAA Region VII Champs 2024 AAAAA District 5 Champions
PRESEASON EVENT:
2/12/25 Vs. Lowcountry Leadership Charter (Home) 2/18/25 Vs. Bishop England (Home)
SPRING BREAK:
Hanahan Invitational Tournament (April 14-17, 2025/ HOME)
STARTERS RETURNING: 2
RETURNING PITCHERS: 1
WHAT TO WATCH FOR: Expected Team Strength - We believe that our defense will be the strength of our team. Although we are young, we have worked very hard at making routine plays around the diamond. Our team has bought in to doing the little things at the plate and we hope to limit strikeouts and do as much as we can in creating chaos on the offensive side.
QUOTE FROM THE COACH:
After losing 8 starters and other key players from last year's District 5 champions, we look forward to the growth of returning role players and younger athletes. They have worked extremely hard in the offseason and are excited about their opportunity to compete in a very tough league.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kevin Elias, SS, 2025, Uncommitted, Kevin is our unquestioned leader and is ready to make a big leap this year as our starting SS and leadoff guy. He has elevated his already solid defensive skills and has shown incredible growth at the plate this offseason. One of our two returning starters.
Kory Brame, INF/P, 2026, Uncommitted, Kory is expected to lead us on the mound and handles the bat extremely well at the top of the lineup and makes consistent contact while having a great feel for the game.
Tyler Burnette, CF, 2025, Uncommitted. One of two returning starters. Tyler will be manning CF for us this spring and hit in the top of our lineup. He handles the bat very well and is consistent at putting the ball in play. He is our lone returning outfielder, switching from LF to CF.
Brooks Mullinax, C/OF, 2027, Uncommitted. Brooks will step into a tough role as our starting catcher. He provides great athleticism behind the dish. Additionally, he is one of our fastest guys on the team and we expect for him to make great strides at the plate from a year ago. We look forward to his growth and maturity over the next few years and we see him having a bright future.
Tyler Morey, INF, P, 2028, Uncommitted. Tyler has tremendous upside and has worked extremely hard in the weight room. We will look for him to move around between 1B and 3B defensively and be a major piece in the middle of our lineup. Tyler has big upside at the plate and makes loud contact.
Listen to this articleFoot traffic is just as important as vehicle traffic in a city as populated and beautiful as Charleston.In efforts to increase accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists in the region, the City of Charleston broke ground on construction for Ashley River Crossing.“The connection between parts of the city and tying everything together is critical,” Mayor William Cogswell said during a gro...
Listen to this article
Foot traffic is just as important as vehicle traffic in a city as populated and beautiful as Charleston.
In efforts to increase accessibility for pedestrians and cyclists in the region, the City of Charleston broke ground on construction for Ashley River Crossing.
“The connection between parts of the city and tying everything together is critical,” Mayor William Cogswell said during a groundbreaking event Wednesday at the site of construction. “This bridge is going to be not only a physical connection between West Ashley and the peninsula, but a symbolic connection that I think is long overdue.”
What once started as a $6 million project, the $74 million Ashley River Crossing will connect West Ashley and downtown Charleston, Michael Seekings, a councilmember for Charleston City Council, said.
The bicycle and pedestrian bridge will connect not only the two regions, but create a connection between West Ashley Greenway, Brittlebank Park and the Ashley River Walk.
Seekings said Ashley River Crossing was a passion of his when originally running for election for the council.
After 15 years, the project has begun construction.
“To me, this really is the most important transportation mobility infrastructure project that’s been undertaken in my time as a city council member, and probably longer,” Seekings said.
Ashley River Crossing is expected to be completed in June 2027. Seekings said people will be able to see the progress from the Ashley River Bridge, but it will not interrupt traffic.
Related: Charleston County marks historic year with $1.28B of capital investment
Related: MUSC to break ground on $175M downtown Charleston facility
LS3P and SeamonWhiteside will serve as the architects for the project. The general contractor is MasTec Civil with COWI Engineering, JMT, TranSystems and ESP as the engineers. HDR Engineering is the project manager.
“Mayor, there is only one day that’s better than the day you break ground, and that’s the day you cut the ribbon,” Ron Mitchum, executive director of Berkley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Government, said. “I look forward to coming back with you so we can start to watch people start to enjoy what I know is going to be a beautiful first-class facility.”
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A Lowcountry couple faces thousands of dollars in repairs after they say water in diesel fuel purchased in West Ashley damaged their vehicle.Adrienne Lett and her partner Uriel Salazar contacted the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to request diesel fuel be tested after they filled up their 2023 GMC Truck at the Circle K on Ashley River Road on New Year’s Eve. Lett said they were able to make the short drive home, but the next morning was another story.“We tried to drive the c...
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – A Lowcountry couple faces thousands of dollars in repairs after they say water in diesel fuel purchased in West Ashley damaged their vehicle.
Adrienne Lett and her partner Uriel Salazar contacted the South Carolina Department of Agriculture to request diesel fuel be tested after they filled up their 2023 GMC Truck at the Circle K on Ashley River Road on New Year’s Eve. Lett said they were able to make the short drive home, but the next morning was another story.
“We tried to drive the car. I guess we tried to drive the truck out of our driveway and it stalled almost immediately. It completely stopped working,” Lett said.
Salazar’s truck started to make an erratic rattling noise and he got a notification saying water was detected in the gas tank.
“That’s when I started freaking out because I have this $100,000 asset that I’ve been taking like pristine care of over the last two years and to have it just not work anymore. It was very frustrating,” Salazar said.
The SCDA’s report listed traces of water and sediment in the fuel. While waiting for the results, they both continued to contact Circle K for answers, but say they haven’t received much in return.
“For us, we’re lucky we have multiple cars, but if this was one family truck and you relied on it for work and now you’re out of work for over a week, that’s very frustrating for a lot of families,” Salazar said.
Since the SCDA report came back, the diesel pumps now have zip ties and red tags saying they’re not for use.
“Ultimately, we shouldn’t have to pay for this,” Lett said. “This is it’s not our fault as this is the gas station’s fault and they should have coverage for this and whatnot and it shouldn’t be on us.”
Lett and Salazar both said they want to spread this news because they’re now starting to wonder how many people have had this problem.
Circle K did not respond to a request for comment.
Anyone who thinks they have purchased contaminated should contact SCDA at 803-737-9700, the number listed on the SCDA inspection sticker attached to the pump, the agency’s website states. The receipt from the purchase or the type, grade, date and pump number will help investigators trace potential issues with the gasoline.
“Consumer Services, a division of SCDA, investigates complaints on motor fuel quality and/or quantity issues,” the website states. “Customers can assist in this process by contacting SCDA as soon as possible after the purchase so that we may dispatch an inspector to visually inspect and collect a sample for lab analysis while the product is still available.”
The SCDA can provide a copy of the lab analysis that consumers can use to support their claims.
Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.
A Charleston insurer marking its 100th anniversary has been ordered to stop issuing new policies in South Carolina after regulators determined its financial condition to be "hazardous" under a directive that is now on hold.Atlantic Coast Life, which is headquartered in West Ashley and once owned the iconic downtown building that now houses the Wentworth Mansion, had been operating under confidential state supervision since last spring, along with the affiliated Southern Atlantic Re Inc.The S.C. Department of Insurance...
A Charleston insurer marking its 100th anniversary has been ordered to stop issuing new policies in South Carolina after regulators determined its financial condition to be "hazardous" under a directive that is now on hold.
Atlantic Coast Life, which is headquartered in West Ashley and once owned the iconic downtown building that now houses the Wentworth Mansion, had been operating under confidential state supervision since last spring, along with the affiliated Southern Atlantic Re Inc.
The S.C. Department of Insurance recently released details of its investigation into the companies "as part of our ongoing efforts to protect the consumers of South Carolina,” said Michael Wise, the agency's director.
“We will continue to work with our fellow state regulators to ensure companies conducting insurance business are adequately funded in compliance with the law,” Wise added in a written statement.
The public disclosure drew a sharp rebuke from Advantage Capital, the owner of the two insurers.
“While we remain committed to working with our regulatory counterparts, we completely disagree with South Carolina’s assertions and their sudden decision to breach confidentiality," a spokesman for New York-based A-Cap said in a written statement.
The state last month directed Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic to stop writing new business, including life insurance policies and income-producing annuities. The order was put on hold Dec. 30, a day before it was to take effect.
The South Carolina crackdown follows nearly identical actions that Utah announced last year against three other carriers that A-Cap owns. The two states have been working together on a "full examination" since last January.
Regulators are concerned that A-Cap has heavily invested money from policyholders into businesses under its control, raising potential conflicts of interest.
South Carolina flagged to a credit-rating report issued in February that questioned the company's risk-management practices. The analysis from A.M. Best pointed to the "uncertainty of the quality of assets" backing the capital reserves for A-Cap's insurance operations, including Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic.
The state put the carriers and their owner under confidential supervision April 10. It cited their close financial ties to a Miami private equity firm called 777 Partners with "extensive" interests in airlines and sports teams, as well as insurance businesses.
The department then disallowed more than $660 million in investments Atlantic Coast and Southern Atlantic provided to help measure their financial strength and ability to pay claims. It also determined the two insurers were severely undercapitalized once the numbers were recalibrated.
A-Cap said it stands behind the financial information it has submitted. Atlantic Coast Life and Southern Atlantic "will continue to be strong," it added.
"South Carolina’s conclusions are incorrect based on an apparent misinterpretation of their own statute. ... We look forward to correcting the errors in South Carolina’s position on this matter," the spokesman said in the prepared remarks.
A-Cap bought Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Co. in 2015 from the family that co-founded the business in Charleston 90 years earlier.
Editor's note: This article has been updated to show the S.C. Department of Insurance's order was put on hold effective Dec. 30.
Copyright 2025 by Dr. Mickey Barber's Better Life
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