From the time women enter puberty
until the end of the last menstrual period every
woman is aware of the ebb and flow of constant hormonal
changes in her body. This complex interplay of hormones
continues until she reaches her late 40's or early
50's. The regular cycling of these hormones begin
to change as early as the mid-thirties and symptoms
likely begin in the mid-forties as women begin the
process known as pre menopause. It is the time when
levels of key hormones such as estrogen, progesterone
and testosterone begin to fluctuate and is accentuated
by declines in other hormones such as growth hormone
,DHEA and thyroid. Pre menopause continues until
periods stop and the woman becomes menopausal. Surgical
menopause involves a woman suddenly entering menopause
by surgical removal of the ovaries. It can happen
at almost any age and without proper hormone replacement,
symptoms of hormone deficiency will be quite severe.
Though treated as a disease by doctors, women know it as a natural and inevitable
transition from one stage of life to another. Puberty
marks the beginning of reproductive life -- menopause
marks the end. During pre menopause (known as "the
change"), women will still have a menstrual cycle,
although the cycle may become erratic and a woman
may skip periods as hormone levels fluctuate. This
is only one symptom of menopause.
Bio-identical hormone replacement is not the same
as taking the commercially available prescription
hormones. Bio-identical hormones are natural and
match your hormones exactly, meaning they are the
same in chemical structure as the hormones your body
produces. Natural hormones are not associated with
the many side effects of synthetic hormone replacement.
Natural hormones also work to prevent the bothersome short term effects of menopause such as:
- Hot flashes
- Night Sweats
- Dryness and thinning
of the skin and particularly the vaginal area
- Diminished sex drive and loss of sensitivity
to stimulation
- Hair Loss
- Anxiety
- Forgetfulness that may include an increase of
Alzheimer's disease
- Depression and other mood changes
- Symptoms also include potential loss of bone
density and increase risk of heart disease
Loss of bone density is perhaps the greatest threat
to long term health and aging.
Our bones consist of cells that grow new bone tissue
and cells that dissolve (re-absorb) old bone. This
occurs continually throughout our lives. Estrogen,
progesterone and testosterone help our bodies absorb
calcium from the intestinal tract. Estrogen slows the
action of cells that cause bone breakdown. Progesterone
and testosterone stimulate cells that build bone. Growth
hormone is another hormone that begins to decline as
early as the mid-twenties. When raised to more youthful
levels, growth hormone shows great promise in rebuilding
lost bone. During pre menopause, as hormones decline,
women can lose 1 to 6 percent of their bone mass each
year and is most pronounced in areas of faster bone
growth such as the spine.
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