Dr. Lisa Becht was recently quoted in an article written by Kate Daniel for Giddy titled “How Do Hormones Affect Arthritis?”.
Among the many people with arthritis, most of them are women. And women tend to experience worse symptoms during certain hormonal phases and relief during others. Significant transitions can even coincide with the onset of disease.
Throughout a lifetime, a woman experiences countless hormonal fluctuations from monthly menstruation to pregnancy and menopause. While these shifting hormone levels produce myriad symptoms, they can also influence underlying health conditions such as arthritis.
“Hormones fluctuate and then plummet right before the period, which can trigger flares (pain, fatigue, other symptoms) of inflammatory arthritis,” said Lisa Becht, M.D., a reproductive endocrinologist at HRC Fertility in Newport Beach, California.
Throughout the article, Dr. Becht goes on to discuss more important topics such as how pregnancy and menopause affect arthritis and coping mechanisms with arthritis flare-ups.