Entries Tagged 'Menopause' ↓

The subject of Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy interests women to a great extent, but does it equally interest men? Let’s find out.

Bio identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) is a popular medical treatment that has shown some wonderful results in both the aging men and women. However, women are more familiar with the topic because they start experiencing hormonal changes during puberty and during the menopause stage.

Unlike women with vigorous symptoms including hot flashes, mood swings and discomfort, the mid-life hormonal changes come more gradually and slowly in men with minimum intensity of symptoms. More gradual and less obvious than menopause, the effects of displaced hormones in men are equally troublesome as women.

For health conscious men, these symptoms are alarming and so the bio identical hormone therapy captures their interest. Bio-identical hormones can play a commendable role in reviving the lost hormones, eliminating symptoms and allowing men on bio-identical hormone therapy to feel much younger and stronger. HRT works well for all those men experiencing lost muscle tone, sleeping disorders, fatigue, depression and weight gain.

When men age, their testosterone levels tend to decline causing several sexual problems such as low libido, impotency, reduced erection periods etc. Normally, men don’t talk about these issues freely and many opt to surf the internet and find as much as they can about the Hormone Replacement Therapy before the word gets out.

Studies show that a large number of men have consulted such therapy centers for treating their aging symptoms with Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy, and increasing the quality of their life.

Menopause is a stage when the female reproductive system loses its breeding capacity, causing a sharp decline in hormones. This reduction in hormones causes extreme menopausal symptoms in many women including hot flashes, mood swings, reduced energy and sleeping disorders.

Although being a natural phase, the symptoms of menopause can last for above 10 years in most women and can become extremely frustrating. However here are the steps you can take to fix the maddening symptoms of menopause.

Pre-menopause checkup

To fight menopause affects, it is important to identify the time of menopause. Usually, a drastic change in menstrual cycle can determine the beginning of menopause and when you suspect this, consult your doctor right away. A blood test can also be conducted to detect menopause.

Detect the major signs of menopause

Following are the symptoms of menopause you should not ignore. However, keep in mind that not all women experience all these symptoms, and may only be suffering from a few. So if you are facing any of the below given symptoms, check with your doctor.

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Sleeping disorders
• Reduced sex drive with vaginal itchiness, dryness, or bleeding
• Increase in urination frequency
• Increased urination urgency
• Body and muscle pain
• Reduced energy levels with constant fatigue
• Mood swings and Irritability
• Less Memory retention
• Stretch marks and wrinkles

Treating Menopause Symptoms with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT)

Menopause symptoms vary from woman to woman, depending on different body conditions and reasons. However treating menopause with Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is increasingly gaining attention.

Since menopause is a condition where your body stops producing hormones, HRT works by replacing those hormones, thereby giving your body the same functionality and energy it had before the menopause stage. This bioidentical hormone therapy seldom involves any side effects if you have consulted your doctor before getting on with the treatment, because it involves replicating those hormones which your body already had but stopped producing.

If you are considering Hormone Replacement Therapy to control menopause symptoms, don’t take the decision alone. Consult the experts in this field and if proved safe for you, go ahead and get yourself rid of the irritating signs of menopause.

According to the International menopause society, Bio identical Hormone Therapy is termed as a safe process for younger women. It negates the old theory and clearly states that it doesn’t increase the risks of coronary heart disease, but instead it prevents young women from developing one.

The society developed a consensus statement in collaboration with the European Society of Cardiology, highlighting the following points. These points have been described in simple words for you to easily understand what has been communicated.

Patients interested in BHRT should know the following:

• Physicians are recommended not to use BHRT on women suffering from cardiovascular disease just to prevent them from heart attacks and strokes.
• BHRT maybe a little effective in relieving menopause symptoms among women, but it may not be effective in lowering cardiovascular risks.

The collaborative parties concluded the consensus with eight points in total, among which five were directed towards the spread and prevention of cardiovascular disease and the remaining three described the Hormone Replacement Therapy.

The three points relating to BHRT included:

1. BHRT relieves menopausal symptoms among women.
2. HRT is not contraindicated (risky) in women with hypertension and in some cases it may even reduce blood pressure.
3. HRT is contraindicated in women with a history of myocardial infarction, stroke, or pulmonary embolism.

The group also disclosed that cardiovascular disease is the top most killer of women in the Western world.

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy is a term used to describe medications containing estrogen, progesterone, or other hormones that are chemically exact duplicates of hormones produced by women, primarily in the ovaries. Some bioidentical hormones are made by drug companies, are approved by the FDA, and are sold in standard doses. Other bioidentical hormone preparations are made at special pharmacies called compounding pharmacies, which make the preparations on a case-by-case basis for each patient. Those “custom-made” preparations aren’t approved by the FDA.

Despite the hot debate of terming bioidentical hormone use as unsafe and risky, many patients treated with the same therapy for menopause symptoms are amazingly satisfied by the results. Glaring examples of such women are Suzanne Somers (author of “The Sexy Years”) and also Oprah Winfrey who writes; “After one day on bioidentical estrogen, I felt the veil lift, …After three days, the sky was bluer, my brain was no longer fuzzy, my memory was sharper. I was literally singing and had a skip in my step.”

In addition, many other patients have revealed that using bioidentical hormone therapy has helped them a lot during their menopausal stage and in fighting back the maddening symptoms, particularly in terms of hotflashes, night sweats and insomnia.

According to the supporters of customized Bioidentical Hormones, every individual is different and they have to work that out with their doctor. Therefore, at compounding pharmacies, hormones are mixed to match exactly what each woman’s body needs. After initial blood tests and saliva tests, the doctors determine what hormones need to be replaced in your body.

Bio-identical hormones have emerged as the latest technique to control menopause symptoms. But considering this technique natural and safer than the pharmaceutical type is wrong because bioidenticals are after all chemicals! It’s strongly recommended that you do complete research and consult expert doctors before going into the whole process.

Hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, mood swings, irregular periods, loss of libido, anxiety, disorientation, aching joints, depression, weight gain, et al and many more symptoms are associated with menopause. “And while normal menopause is a gradual process that starts between the ages of 45 and 55, premature menopause is the cessation of menstruation before a woman is 40,” says Dr Ashwini Bhalerao Gandhi, Consultant Gynaecologist.

“Premature Ovarian Failure (POF) is when there is a stop in the normal functioning of the ovaries in a woman younger than age 40. Women are generally born with sufficient eggs in their ovaries so that they ovulate one each month from puberty until about the age of 50 or more. At that time, the supply of eggs is used up and menopause occurs. However, in approximately one to four per cent of women, there is premature cessation of ovarian function. It could be a loss of eggs, a dysfunction of the eggs or the removal of the ovaries at a young age,” says Gynaecologist and Infertility Specialist, Dr Nandita Palshetkar.

There are several reasons this occurs. While poor nutrition, heavy smoking/ drinking and chronic stress to the body are external factors, sometimes there are factors out of a woman’s control that lead to early menopause. According to Dr Gandhi,

Autoimmune disorders like mumps and other serious viral infections can damage a woman’s eggs. POF associated with autoimmune disease ranges from 20 to 40 percent, with both endocrine and non-endocrine disorders involved.

If a woman has undergone radiation therapy or chemotherapy, large numbers of eggs can be destroyed. With fewer eggs left, menopause sets in earlier in healthy women (e.g. after breast cancer).

Some women are just born with fewer eggs. If a woman’s mother underwent menopause, it serves as a good guide to her own genetic predisposition.

Women who have had their ovaries removed before they experience natural menopause will undergo what is called ‘artificial menopause’. This is a very abrupt form of menopause, and hormone replacement therapy is usually recommended because the body has not had a chance to get used to the hormonal changes.

Women who have a hysterectomy, even with the preservation of their ovaries, may find themselves having menopausal symptoms. Any surgery to the pelvic area can disrupt blood flow and cause ovarian failure.

Ovarian failure does not necessarily mean that the ovaries have run out of eggs. There may be eggs present, but a woman’s body does not respond to the hormonal signals they create.

Another ovarian disorder called Diminished Ovarian Reserve, is often a preamble of POF if it occurs in women under the age of 40. In it, a woman may still have reasonably regular periods, but begin to experience the symptoms of menopause.

Symptoms of POF include a complete stop in periods or irregular periods. “At times a woman may get periods normal for a few months and then skip a few months. They may also have other symptoms of menopause like hot flashes, night sweats, sleeping problems, anxiety, mood swings, vaginal dryness, energy loss, low sex drive, painful sex, and bladder control problems,” says Dr Palshetkar. “Your doctor can find out if your ovaries are working by doing a blood test to check the hormone level, FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone). It is necessary to repeat the blood test to confirm the result. High levels of FSH in a blood test mean you have POF,” she says.

Experiencing an event such as menopause outside the normal life stage is likely to be distressing. “The reason for premature menopause, the individual and social situation of each woman such as whether she is in a relationship, whether she has children, her support networks and lifestyle are all likely to impact on the experience. Counselling, providing women with an opportunity to express their emotions and referral to a psychologist/ psychiatrist may be necessary.

Although there are no preventive measures, there are different types of hormonal replacement therapies available. Estrogen Therapy may be given in different forms – oral pills, patches, subdermal cream etc. Calcium supplementation is a must to avoid osteoporosis. Weight and blood pressure as well as lipid profile need to be monitored. Regular follow ups with a gynecologist and timely investigations like pap smear, sonography, mammography are always beneficial,” says Dr Gandhi.

Menopause causes many biochemical changes in your body and often menopause and hair loss occur simultaneously. Rather menopause causes hair loss in women. Although women rarely turn bald due to menopause and hair loss, it occurs mainly as thinning of hair. Before menopause, high estrogen levels negate the effects of low testosterone levels. However, during menopause, higher testosterone levels combine with enzyme 5 alpha reductase to form DHT, the main cause for thinning of hair in women.

Statistics on Menopause and Hair Loss

More than twenty-five million American women experience emotional distress due to menopause and hair loss. Only thirteen percent of women experience hair loss before menopause. However, this increases to thirty seven percent, which highlights the relationship between menopause and hair loss. Such hair loss is an overall thinning of hair, especially around the forehead and crown of the scalp.

Natural ways of dealing with Menopause and Hair Loss

Although you cannot combat the causes for menopause and hair loss, you can reduce your hair loss considerably. Consume a variety of vegetables and fruits with whole grains in your daily diet. Lack of Biotin is the main cause for thinning of hair. Eating biotin rich foods like green peas, brown rice, oats, lentils, soy products, sunflower seeds, walnuts, etc. can lower effects of menopause and hair loss.

Eat salmon and B-vitamin rich foods like egg yolks, avocados, carrots, tomatoes, potatoes, asparagus, peanuts, bananas, soybeans, herring, mackerel, etc. to prevent problems of menopause and hair loss. Leafy greens, bell peppers, alfalfa sprouts, beets, and whole grains contain lot of silicon, which aids and promotes hair growth.

Regular hair and scalp massage increases blood circulation to hair follicles and promotes better growth to combat menopause and hair loss problems. Avoid rough handling of hair by combing through wet hair and avoid using hot blow dryers to prevent hair loss during menopause.

Decrease in the crowing glory in women leads to various problems of depression during menopause and hair loss. Women look less feminine. You can alter your hairstyling to mask effects of menopause and hair loss.

Shorter and layered hair can add more bounce to your hair. Use a good mousse or soft gel to provide better looks to your hair without harming or increasing problems due to menopause and hair loss.

Treatments for Hair Loss during Menopause

Doctors recommend intake of different medicines like dutasteride, propecia, and regain to combat menopause and hair loss problems. Bio-identical hormone therapy is considered effective in curing menopause and the symptoms associated with it.Other costlier alternative treatments for menopause and hair loss problems include hair weaving, stem cell therapy, hair transplantation, EXT and stereoscopic follicular unit hair transplantation, etc. These treatments cost more than $20,000. A combination of Dutasteride with stereoscopic follicular unit hair transplantation provides excellent results for hair loss occurring due to menopause.

Mel Gibson’s acting style has changed now he’s gone through the “male menopause”.

The ‘Braveheart’ star – who directed, produced and starred in the Oscar-winning epic – says his approach to filmmaking has completely changed since the 1995 action movie.

In an interview with the Scotsman newspaper, he said: “I’m not sure exactly what that is, but it used to mean a lot more. Maybe that sounds like I’m throwing it away and I’m not, I’ll still do the best damn job I can, but it doesn’t mean the same thing. I’m going to get the answer for myself one of these days. It’s the male menopause, that’s what it is.”

The Hollywood star admits his career has slowed down over the years, but Gibson says he tried hard to use this time carefully to improve his skill.

He explained: “You get used up or you feel like you’re not doing anything new, and that wasn’t exciting to me so I started to drop back.

“Some guy said to me a long time ago: ‘If you want to make yourself better go away and dig a ditch.’ A lot of that has been going on – ditch-digging, vegetable-growing.”

The 53-year-old actor – who has won numerous awards for films including ‘The Passion of the Christ’ and ‘The Patriot’ – has spent the past six years behind the camera.

He will return to our screens next year with British actor Ray Winstone for the upcoming thriller ‘The Edge of Darkness’, about a homicide detective whose daughter is gunned down.

In a recent interview with ABC News, Linda Evans talks about her life after the “Dynasty” days and how she was able to overcome the turbulent ups and downs of her menopause induced depression. She shared how she was able to come out of her depression using Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy.  Like other few celebrities who got benefited by HRT and are in favor of BHRT, Linda Evans wants the millions of men and women suffering from menopause and Andropause (the male menopause) to know that there is hope after all.

“Ageless, The Naked Truth About Bio identical Hormones”

“For the first time in my life, I understood what it was like to not be totally in control of my life – I was in a downward spiral to hell, it just got worse and worse – It was like all the lights were down low,” shares Evans. Now 66 years young, Evans discusses how she was able to foil the onset of depression, a typical symptom of menopause, as well as the many other symptoms of hormone imbalance brought on by menopause. “It was a miracle that I came out of it – it was too much intensity for too long – I want people to know there is hope,” said Evans.

Depression is a common symptom of menopause and is often the result of a hormonal imbalance.  Highly trained experts use a combination of bio identical hormone therapy and a customized nutrition and fitness program to help thousands of men and women overcome the symptoms of hormonal imbalance like depression, loss of libido, and difficulty sleeping.

Menopause is a common disease in women usually caused by hormonal imbalance. Most of the women have to suffer it at some points in their life. This experience of life is mostly very tough and painful but it can be controlled and can be reduces by adding Soy products in our daily diet. Soy products contains  phytoestrogens and isoflavones which are beneficial to the female body. Soy products not only reduce the symptoms of menopause but benefits human body antioxidants which help to prevent breast and uterine cancers.

Soy products are natural resources for you to counter balance the symptoms of menopause caused by hormonal changes in human body. By using soy, you can avoid using synthetic medicines which may not be healthy for your body in the long run. Women who do not like to take medicine are finding soy products to be a helpful alternative to the menopausal medications designed to balance out the hormone fluctuations that the body goes through at this time in life.

The soy products you take for your menopause symptoms are also good for other health issues such as your cholesterol levels, bone density loss, and cardiovascular system. Hot flashes which are another symptom of menopause are alleviated by the isoflavones which act as estrogen in your body. Soy products also seem to reduce night sweats from menopause. Giving your body at least fifty grams of protein derived from soy products may set back the time clock on some of the symptoms of menopause for up to two years. Women who live in Japan have fewer menopausal symptoms and fewer sever problems during menopause than American women. Their diet contains high levels of soy products.

Including soy products in your daily diet for the long haul may also have a healthy effect upon your bone density and cholesterol levels. The information gained from the research on the effect of soy on menopause can provide women with a healthy alternative to drug therapy to combat the effects of menopause. Even though the plant estrogens are not as strong as the natural estrogens in the female body, they have a higher level of concentration in the blood which makes them more readily available for the female body during menopause.

If menopause is looming in your near future, you don’t have to lie back and take your punches. There is a drug-free alternative to help you combat the symptoms of the dreaded M-word, and that is soy.

Women usually suffer with menopause at the age 45 to 55 but it is possible that some women may experience menopause as early as below 40. The reason for early menopause is due to surgical operation of ovaries and radiation therapy and sometimes cases of early menopause are unexplained.

With the onset of menopause, a woman’s body stops making estrogen and progesterone, the female hormones produced by the ovaries that prepare the uterus for possible pregnancy. Prior to menopause, many women will notice change in their periods. This time of “transition,” called perimenopause, can last for several years until menopause

Menopause is Natural:

Kindly understand that menopause is just another natural and normal transition of life and should never be taken as the end of prime time. Optimistic women take it as the beginning of more mature phase in their lives. Such attitude helps them coup up better with it.

Hot flashes:

Bio Identical Estrogen Hormone Replacement Therapy is the best treatment for most postmenopausal women (progesterone should be added in women who have not had uterus removed), except those with a history of breast cancer, heart disease, previous history of venous clots or stroke, or those at high risk for these complications.

Genitourinary atrophy:

The inner lining of the vagina and urethra are very sensitive to estrogen deficiency that is seen in menopause. This leads to vaginal atrophy causing symptoms of vaginal dryness, itching and often, painful intercourse (dyspareunia). Both oral and topical (cream) estrogen is available to reduce such symptoms; vaginal estrogen is more potent.

Disease prevention:

Post-menopausal women are at risk for many other diseases such as coronary heart disease, osteoporosis (fragile bones) and dementia. Here is what can be done to prevent such diseases:

Heart disease:
The best primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease is to eliminate the risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes mellitus.

Osteoporosis:
Previously, estrogen was recommended as a first-line medication for prevention and treatment of osteoporosis, but now bisphosphonates (Fosamax) or raloxifene (Evista) are prescribed.

Dementia:
Hormone therapy is the best treatment but it should not be initiated after age 65 years to prevent dementia.