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Every system in the body is controlled by hormones. As we get older, hormone levels change…and so do we. Manipulating levels of certain hormones can provide a significant change to the quality of life.
Perimenopause
Many doctors shy away from trying to balance hormones during the perimenopause phase because of your irregularity of this transition. It’s no secret that this phase has its ups and downs.
However, by implementing an HRT regime, you are getting a jump of approximately 10 years of prevention by developing debilitating diseases caused by eventual ovarian failure.
The possible diseases you can help prevent by starting BHRT, include but not limited to cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, endometriosis, and cancers caused by estrogen dominance, such as breast and ovarian cancers.
Perimenopause, the transitional phase leading to menopause, typically begins in a woman's 40s but can start earlier or later. During this time, hormone levels fluctuate, leading to various symptoms, including:
Irregular periods: Menstrual cycles may become shorter or longer, and periods may become lighter or heavier.
Hot flashes: Sudden feelings of warmth, often accompanied by sweating and flushing of the face and neck.
Night sweats: Hot flashes that occur during sleep, leading to night sweats and disrupted sleep patterns.
Mood swings: Fluctuations in hormone levels can lead to mood changes, including irritability, anxiety, and depression.
Vaginal dryness: Decreased estrogen levels can cause vaginal tissues to become thinner and drier, leading to discomfort during intercourse.
Sleep disturbances: Changes in hormone levels and night sweats can disrupt sleep patterns, leading to insomnia or restless sleep.
Changes in libido: Fluctuating hormone levels can affect sexual desire and arousal.
Fatigue: Hormonal changes, sleep disturbances, and other symptoms can contribute to feelings of fatigue and low energy.
Memory problems: Some women may experience difficulties with memory and concentration during perimenopause.
Changes in weight distribution: Hormonal changes can affect metabolism and lead to changes in weight distribution, often resulting in increased abdominal fat.
The benefit of bioidentical creams is that you can easily titrate up or down based on your feeling of resilience.
In addition, bioidentical creams attach to your receptor sites and start acting within minutes.
Menopause
Menopause for women or andropause for men has more consequences for patients than the inconvenience of putting up with symptoms; it has literally put their health at risk for serious diseases and higher death rates, predominantly from Estrogen Dominance.
Perhaps the most commonly known application of hormone therapy is the treatment of women going through menopause. The term “menopause” means the absence of periods, whether the absence occurs naturally or is surgically induced (e.g., due to a hysterectomy).
As women approach the time of menopause, that is, during perimenopause, there is a drop in levels of the hormones produced by the ovaries. This causes a number of symptoms, the most common of which is the onset of irregular periods, which may start occurring sporadically and be of shorter than usual duration. This reflects a drop in estrogen levels. At the same time, a drop in progesterone levels may cause women to experience an increase in PMS (premenstrual syndrome) or cramps, a drop in libido, an increase in weight, and more difficulty in thinking.
Eventually, estrogen and progesterone levels will fall to a level where they can no longer prepare the uterus for bleeding— menopause has begun. Typically clocked after one year after your period.
Some women go through this phase of their lives with few or no symptoms. Other women develop hot flashes, night sweats, and other symptoms and become very uncomfortable.
But no matter how you look at it, menopause is a very natural condition that all women eventually go through. The problem is that the medical system has taken this natural condition and turned it into a disease that has to be treated. The major approach to treatment is to prescribe estradiol, the strongest estrogen. This is done with pills, patches, creams, or pellets inserted under the skin.
Another problem is that doctors prescribing estradiol very often prescribe an oral form of progesterone such as Prometrium. The oral form goes straight to the liver and converts into a different hormone called allopregnone. This is a situation found with pellet doctors. Women should also be aware that if they are put on a high dose of estradiol, there is a strong possibility that stopping this hormone may cause severe hot flashes. A safer form of estrogen is estriol, the weakest estrogen andPla effective for vaginal dryness.
When it comes to treatment, it is always better to treat symptoms rather than lab tests. This is because hormone levels vary inconsistently on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. I never recommend saliva tests. As women go from the perimenopause to the menopause, there is a significant drop in all four ovarian hormones: estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and DHEA. Again, testing is not necessary except in the case of testosterone because it is a controlled drug.
In the actual menopause, both FSH and LH levels increase. It is felt that LH (luteinizing hormone) is the actual cause of hot flashes. However, excess adrenaline can also be the cause especially if the hot flashes occur around 2:30 am when adrenaline peaks, or during the day when feeling stressed.
Our colleague Carol Peterson, Rph, CNP, described in her recent substack article suggests urine testing is the most accurate and every drop needs to be collected over 24 hours.
"However, no test can predict the actual clinical outcome. For instance, what progesterone level in the serum, urine or saliva do you need to achieve to ensure that the uterus is “protected? Only a vaginal ultrasound or a biopsy can verify that – not a lab test. Women are being told that they won’t feel well unless their serum level reaches a certain number. But this number only verifies that absorption has taken place and the longer the time lapse from the dose and the blood drawer means the number will be smaller. So what does that mean? 99% of monitoring hormone therapies is clinical. It is important to learn which hormone is responsible for what and adjust accordingly." Her full article on testing read here.
For those of you who wish to learn more about hormones, we would recommend several of Dr. Platt's books to help you get started on your hormone balancing journey, including: “The Miracle of Bio-identical Hormones”, “The Platt Protocol for Hormone Balancing" and “Adrenaline Dominance”, which explores all the conditions caused by excess adrenaline, many felt to be incurable, and how to treat it. These conditions include fibromyalgia, PMDD, ADHD, insomnia, weight gain, IBS, road rage, bed-wetting in children, cyclical vomiting syndrome, and more.
FDA Disclaimer: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
