About Dr. Kara Dionisio, ND
Dr. Kara Dionisio, B.Sc, M.Sc, ND, NCMP is a sparkly-geeky doctor who helps her patients understand(and even fall in love with) their hormones. As a clinician at heart, she has a thriving clinical practice, with particular street cred in vulvovaginal issues, menopause, and menopausal hormone therapy.
Dr. Kara has been a NAMS certified Menopause practitioner (NCMP) since 2020, one of the few Naturopathic Doctors with this designation. She also holds IMPART Level 1 Menopause Certification through the International Menopause Society (IMS), is an associate of the Newson Health Menopause Society, and is an accepted member of the International Society of the Study of Women’s Sexual Health (ISSWSH).
Dr. Kara Dionisio ND, received her undergraduate degree with honours in Nutrition and Nutraceutical Science from the University of Guelph, and a Master of Science in Human Nutrition and Metabolism with distinction from the University of Aberdeen and the renowned Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland.
She regularly is invited as a guest speaker for podcasts and events and teaches professional continuing education on the topics of vulvovaginal health and menopause.
Highlights
- Genitourinary syndrome in menopause encompasses a wide range of symptoms, not just vaginal dryness
- Not all women will complain of a dry vagina or be aware that their vaginal tissue integrity is declining. The symptoms often start out as subtle and become more pronounced over time.
- 75% of women are unaware that vaginal symptoms are caused by the loss of estrogen in menopause; they often feel it is something they have to just live with.
- These symptoms impact the quality of a woman’s quality of life ~ many women report that GSM impacts their sex life, their relationships, their sleep, their enjoyment of life, their day-to-day function, travel, and a wide range of other things – which is why it is so important to address the symptoms before they worsen.
- The importance of advocating for yourself when you have symptoms. Less than 10% of women are getting the treatment that they need, and that’s not good enough
- Slides showing normal vaginal tissue vs menopausal tissue and how to self-assess
- Loss of estrogen has a huge impact on vaginal tissue as well as the urethra and urinary tract
- Vaginal PH changes, which allows different types of bacteria to grow, which may cause recurring UTIs. Vaginal ph can be tested at home using strips purchased on amazon 3.8-4.5 and can tell if you are in menopause; when the pH increases, unwanted bacteria can grow more easily.
- The difference between lubricants and moisturizers
- How to choose a lubricant – not all lubricants are healthy for the vagina and may worsen symptoms
- Why pausal women should consider using a vaginal moisturizer in their daily personal care routine (just like we use moisturizers on other parts of the body)
- There isn’t a lot of data to support CO2 lasers, but some patients report benefits; it is early in their use, so we don’t have a lot of data on this
- Why Kara recommends that all women see a pelvic floor physiotherapist to prevent pelvic floor issues as we age
- Low-dose vaginal estrogen therapy is safe and effective and treats the root cause of GSM and works for everybody→ improves the vaginal pH, improves thickness and elasticity, keeps the vaginal microbiome healthy, helps prevent recurring UTIs, helps urgency and frequency
- Why women should not read the package insert of estrogen products ~ the information was extrapolated from old data, which is not accurate or applicable
- Vaginal products need to be used long-term/indefinitely; when they are stopped, the vaginal tissue will revert
- The vagina loves estriol, the weakest form of estrogen; it must be compounded in the USA and Canada, as there are no FDA-approved products on the market; in other countries, estriol is widely used
- Why Kara prefers using vaginal estrogen cream vs. other estrogen products
- Testosterone and vaginal DHEA
Links to products that were mentioned
How to find/work with Dr. Kara
- Contact Dr. Kara’s office: hello@drkarand.com
- Dr. Kara’s website
- Instagram: @drkarand
