Menopause Treatment, Natural Estrogen, Progesterone, Testosterone Therapies [Anti Aging Serives]

Menopause is a natural consequence of aging. Simply put it is the cessation of a woman’s menstrual cycle known as meno (period) pause (stop).

During the normal menstrual cycle, a woman will bring several eggs forward towards maturation. As the eggs mature, they produce estrogen. Usually one egg will ovulate. In the space which the egg had occupied, a cyst develops, which produces progesterone. If pregnancy is not achieved, progesterone withdrawal then causes the shedding of the lining that had built up in the uterus and the woman will menstruate.

Throughout the month, the stroma in between the eggs produces testosterone and is responsible for a woman’s healthy sex drive, a sense of self-confidence and well being and an increase in muscle mass relative to fat mass. As a woman ages, the first hormonal decrease that she will experience is a drop in her testosterone level. Consequently, we typically see a decrease in a woman’s libido between the ages of 35 to 45. This is effectively treated with transdermal testosterone cream and oral DHEA. At Nouveau, we actively manage this level so it remains in a woman’s normal range and she does not experience any virulizing side effects.

The next hormonal decrease that is apparent during menopause is a fall in the monthly progesterone levels. Progesterone decrease or estrogen dominance, results in mood swings, irritability, depression, insomnia, increase in headaches and irregular periods. Often, women who are perimenopausal will benefit from progesterone augmentation in the latter half of their cycle until they are in menopause. Studies on progesterone have consistently demonstrated that natural progesterone decreases the risk of breast cancer and coronary spasm, while increasing the level of HDL (good cholesterol) in the serum.

Estrogen is the final hormone that is affected by menopause. A young woman brings forth many eggs towards maturation. A typical estradiol level in the first half of a young woman’s cycle is between 200-500 pg/ml. As women approach menopause and their eggs are less responsive, FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) will rise in an effort to stimulate egg maturation. Meanwhile, the eggs have become less responsive and the estrogen levels decrease to 25-50 pg/ml. When a woman’s estrogen level falls to 28pg/ml, she usually begins to experience night sweats and then hot flashes during the day.

Hot flashes present in a variety of ways. Some women experience the typical hot flash when they get hot from the neck up and sweat profusely. Other women complain that their legs get hot and many others complain that they are warm all the time. Regardless of the presentation, hot flashes are a symptom of a temperature deregulation caused by a decrease in free estrogen levels in the serum. Other symptoms of estrogen deficiency are lack of memory and concentration, anomia (inability to remember the names of things), loss of collagen and elastin in the skin, wrinkling and thinning of the skin, hair loss, and vaginal dryness. All of these signs and symptoms can be reversed with bio-identical transdermal estrogen and estriol replacement.

Natural Bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, customized and individually managed, is an effective treatment for menopause and its effects. Transdermal application of estrogen replacement and the management of its metabolites are crucial. A thorough review of the medical literature supports the claim that bioidentical hormones have a distinctly different effect on patients than their synthetic counterparts. With respect to the risk for breast cancer, heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, substantial scientific evidence demonstrates that bioidentical hormones are safer than commonly used synthetic and even natural oral formulations.