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Menopause
Menopause is just a point in time — the date on which you haven’t had a menstrual period for a year. Perimenopause is the period of hormonal fluctuation that leads up to menopause; it can last from five to 15 years or longer. Early menopause does occur for a tiny fraction of women, but the term is mostly used by women — not practitioners — when symptoms occur much earlier than “normal.” Medical menopause is menopause brought about by medical treatment — typically hysterectomy or cancer treatment — and an incredible 25% of women enter menopause this way.
Hormonal balance is our normal state. When we have menopausal symptoms, we are suffering from hormonal imbalance — an abnormal state. About 80% of women today experience symptoms of hormonal imbalance — more than ever before — because of the extraordinary demands made on their bodies and the inadequate support provided. Fortunately, nearly all women can find relief from the symptoms of perimenopause and menopause by restoring that balance — naturally and often without drugs. And we’re here to show you how.
Why do women come to us with so many unanswered questions? Why do so many women feel dissatisfied with the answers they’re getting from conventional medicine?
The simple answer is that conventional medicine breaks everything down into separate parts that can be separately controlled and that’s not how the female body works. Keep in mind that every aspect of your life affects your health and that no symptom or health problem can be viewed (or controlled) in isolation.
So here are the resources for you; Read on for the answers you seek, then give us a call if you would like additional guidance.
About menopause
Ending confusion about menopause, symptoms and treatment
Menopause (frequently misspelled menapause) is a natural part of a woman’s life. A basic understanding of “what is menopause” will bring an end to confusion on various women’s health issues, including a better understanding of menopause treatments and how to detect menopausal symptoms or care for general hormonal imbalances.
Technically, menopause is the stopping of periods or menses. The average age is 52; however, a woman’s menopause can occur at any point between her 30’s and her 60’s. This time in a woman’s life can be dramatic or quite simple — it is different for each woman — but every woman does stop having periods. Some people call it adolescence in reverse — a rocky time of fluctuating hormones and emotions. Perimenopause is usually the two to five years beforehand, but sometimes women have symptoms for 10–15 years before stopping their periods. When menopausal symptoms arise at a young age it is commonly called early menopause.
Menopause symptoms can range from mild hot spells at night to constant dripping sweats all day and night. Some women spot for a few months, others bleed heavily for years. These symptoms are caused by hormonal imbalances and changes — not necessarily estrogen loss. They are also related to diet, lifestyle and genetic factors. Many menopausal women seek forms of menopause treatment that do not work and create even greater hormone imbalance.
Nowadays, many women hit 50 years of age while working 60 hours a week, taking care of a family — children and parents — and having little time for themselves. They have burnt out their hormones, and have little reserve for dealing with this natural period in life when the body resets its hormones for the second half. Ideally women would have more time to relax and go with the flow during these years, but few have that opportunity.
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The good news is that like puberty, this phase ends — most women’s menopause symptoms diminish over two to five years, although for some it may take more than ten. And there are things you can do to help! Adjusting diet, exercise, and sleep patterns does work. A simple detox program can help flush out years of toxins that our guts have accumulated. Taking a good multivitamin with some herbs and oils can do wonders. Looking at your family patterns and relationships is also quite helpful. Menopause can be a very angry time, and women find that they no longer feel guilty about expressing the rage they may have been repressing for the last 30 years. This energy can all be directed toward some very positive avenues.
The medical profession in the past has encouraged women to use hormone replacement pills as their only menopause treatment to “keep women young” and protect them from diseases of aging. We now know from the Women’s Health Initiative that Premarin, a horse estrogen derived from pregnant mares’ urine (hence the name “Premarin”), doesn’t do this and may be detrimental. Women are now asking what they should do. We at Doctors Best feel that women need to find a trusted advisor and discuss with her all the information needed to make as wise a decision as possible. Women have an innate wisdom about their own bodies which unfortunately has been largely lost, but can be found again. Women have access to many sources of information now and need to collect them and then trust their inner guidance to choose the best course of action.
In addition to the information and insight we offer on our website, Doctors Best offers direct help and menopause treatment at our clinic.
Menopause symptoms? Get relief — naturally.
Many women already know a natural solution is right for them — others are skeptical of natural menopause remedies but curious to find out if they really might work.
All of these women tend to have one thing in common: they want to know what’s causing their symptoms and what they can do about it. The good news is, there’s a lot you can do to alleviate your menopause symptoms naturally, especially once you understand the underlying cause. Based on our 25 years of clinical experience, we’re here to help.
Most American women these days will experience a significant degree of symptoms during the years leading up to menopause. And most are surprised to learn the full spectrum of symptoms associated with menopause.
The most common menopause symptoms are:
• Hot flashes and/or night sweats
• Fatigue
• Cravings for sweets or carbohydrates
• Diminished sexual desire, vaginal dryness
• Irritability, mood swings, depression, and/or anxiety
• Insomnia or restless sleep
• Fuzzy thinking (difficulty concentrating, memory problems)
• Weight gain, especially around the middle
• Stiffness and joint pain
• Irregular periods
Other menopause symptoms include headaches, worsening PMS, heart palpitations, thinning hair, dry skin, dry eyes, increased facial hair, urinary dysfunction and digestive problems. You may have noticed one or two of these symptoms yourself in recent months — or you may be suffering from several. Although the average age of menopause is 52, your symptoms can start many months or several years before your periods end.
Many women treat each of their symptoms individually without realizing they are all connected and share a root cause. Unfortunately this usually means women don’t get the long-term solution they need and deserve. But once you understand the underlying cause of your menopause symptoms you’ll see how a holistic approach can bring lasting relief.
What causes menopause symptoms?
Conventional medicine tends to treat menopause as if it’s a disease. The basic argument is that during menopause the ovaries stop producing estrogen and symptoms arise, so replacing that estrogen with a prescription version will therefore quell your symptoms. While this might be the right choice for some women, “treating” menopause with hormone replacement ignores the innate wisdom of your body and medicalizes a normal physiological process that women have experienced for centuries — in addition to the added health risks associated with HRT!
Others argue that menopause symptoms are caused by progesterone deficiency, leading to a syndrome called estrogen dominance.
In this theory, the solution is to offset estrogen using progesterone supplementation. We’ve used bioidentical progesterone cream with our patients in the past and many have had great results. But for some women, progesterone isn’t the answer. So what is the real cause of your menopause symptoms
Perimenopause — the beginning of hormonal change
Up until recently, conventional medicine has had little to offer women suffering from symptoms of hormonal change. Until a woman was deemed officially in menopause and could be prescribed synthetic hormone therapy, she was often told her symptoms were all in her head. Even today, women struggling with hormonal imbalance are frequently sent home with a prescription for antidepressants, rather than being offered real solutions for a very real condition.
In integrative medical circles, there has long been recognition that a transitional period exists before menopause that is different for each woman, when fluctuating hormones can cause her serious distress. Thankfully, conventional medicine has caught up, and we now have an official name for this passage in medical textbooks: perimenopause. By definition, this is the transitional period of time that precedes menopause, as in “pre-menopause,” that is often symptomatic of hormonal imbalances and fluctuations in a woman’s body.
What are the symptoms of perimenopause?
Symptoms of perimenopause can begin as early as 10–15 years before menses completely stop. Women in their mid to late 30’s, 40’s, and early 50’s may transition in and out of a perimenopausal state many times before they finally enter menopause. If you are currently experiencing such symptoms of hormonal imbalance as irregular periods, heavy bleeding, hot flashes, sleep disruption, headaches, dry eyes, vaginal changes, hair loss, weight gain, loss of libido or extreme emotional distress, it may come as a relief to know that these are all common signs of perimenopause.
Along with the more obvious changes listed above, many of my perimenopausal patients find short-term memory impairment or a lack of focus to be very irksome. These cognitive effects of hormonal imbalance are frequently overlooked in mainstream discussions about perimenopause. Yet fuzzy thinking and difficulty with multitasking can definitely be traced to your physical state, as can increased anxiety, fatigue, depression and drastic mood swings. These symptoms are signals being thrown up by your body, to make you stop in your tracks and take notice. New mothers often remark upon the brain fog that comes over them, affording them only the attention span to focus on their new baby. A similar phenomenon occurs with the hormonal fluctuations leading up to menopause — except that now the miasma of your hormones is telling you to stop and pay attention to yourself!
It may be reassuring to remember that a woman’s body, mind, and spirit are always in flux, always changing — especially in the years that surround puberty and perimenopause. Just as you can be “pubescent” as you enter womanhood, you can be “perimenopausal” as you advance into the second half of your life. But these two words are simply labels, not a rigid definition of who you are, what your body is capable of, or who you are going to be.
Hormonal imbalance in perimenopause
During perimenopause, the ratio of estrogen to progesterone in the body is frequently in a state of flux. This can manifest, along with other symptoms, as irregular periods or very heavy (and maybe even frightening) bleeding. In our culture, many women tend to be operating with an internal hormonal balance tipped toward the estrogen side of the scale. This tilt is often the result of a diet high in refined carbs and low in quality protein, a lack of essential nutrients and fats, and chronic exposure to environmental toxins and artificial hormones such as endocrine disruptors. Prolonged emotional and physical stress, which I define as anything that works against your state of balance, will also upset the hormonal applecart. In today’s fast-paced, disconnected, eat-and-run world, it is no surprise to me that younger and younger women are coming in to my practice with symptoms of hormonal imbalance and perimenopause.
In some cases, women in perimenopause may have low levels of progesterone in comparison to their estrogen levels. In other cases, the progesterone level is fine, but estrogen levels are high. Another pattern we are seeing more frequently is where all three of the key sex hormones — estrogen, progesterone and testosterone — are low. What’s most important to recognize is that each woman needs to be evaluated as an individual, ideally by a medical practitioner conversant in integrative or alternative medicine. More often than in the past I now find conventional doctors willing to discuss the reality of perimenopause, but natural, long-lasting solutions are still hard to come by. Most conventional practitioners have limited faith in their patients’ ability to adopt healthier lifestyle and eating habits. My response is that I know and have seen that they can. And I will tell you this: no woman needs to suffer with symptoms of hormonal balance, at perimenopause, menopause, or after menopause. You can feel better, and you can start right now.
How long does perimenopause last?
Being in perimenopause does not necessarily mean that you will follow an immediate or direct path into menopause. Some women persist for years in this transitional state, whereas others sail through in a matter of months. What seems to influence the severity of symptoms most is the weight of other burdens that a woman’s body has been carrying over the years. Poor nutrition, chronic stress, and a lack of regular exercise are three major amplifiers, because they each play a significant role in the body’s ability to detoxify and maintain homeostasis. Lifestyle choices such as smoking or drinking to excess are likewise compounding factors. Another hidden element of perimenopause is fear. Many women are terrified by the prospect of losing their biological fertility, just when stress and low testosterone may be zapping their libido. Our youth-obsessed culture can be extremely hard on aging women, but I have witnessed the dynamic transformation that regularly takes place in my patients. The joys of life after menopause are limitless — especially when you’ve learned to address the symptoms leading up to it!
What you can do to relieve your symptoms
I understand firsthand women’s frustration with the way healthcare is often delivered. With public health research suggesting that for the first time in history, our children’s life expectancy may be shorter than our own, the time is ripe to make some changes in the way we care for ourselves — changes that aren’t oriented toward drugs. I’ve found that a combination approach, one that takes into account all four corners of a woman’s foundation of health, provides the most relief; optimal nutrition, hormonal balance, mindful exercise habits, and emotional support. We can offer Nutriceuticals and Herbals to take the initial steps toward healing their bodies and restoring their natural hormonal balance. Frequently they you may find the energy and will to make lifestyle and dietary changes that dramatically improve their quality of life.
Common symptoms of menopause
Below is a list of symptoms that many women experience in the months or years leading up to menopause. The better your health foundation as you enter these perimenopausal years, the less disruptive your symptoms will likely be.
• Hot flashes, night sweats
• Sleep disorders such as insomnia, difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently, or restless sleep, leading to fatigue
• Mood swings, irritability, depression, anxiety, or nervousness
• Decreased libido, lack of sexual desire, vaginal dryness and atrophy, vulvar thinning
• Menstrual cycle changes, including heavier periods, uterine fibroids, spotting between periods, or skipped cycles, as well as worsening PMS (premenstrual syndrome) or PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder)
• Fuzzy thinking, decreased or impaired memory and attention
• Increased food cravings, stubborn weight gain, insulin resistance, and difficulty controlling blood sugar
• Digestive problems, such as irritable bowel, bloating, or acid reflux
• Cardiac complaints, such as heart arrhythmia, chest pain, palpitations, or heart disease and stroke
• Joint and muscle symptoms, including inflammation, stiffness or pain
• Dizziness, decreased balance, headaches or menstrual migraines
• Breast tenderness, breast cysts, or nipple discharge
• Hair loss; unwanted facial hair growth; dry eyes, skin, or hair; midlife acne
• Pelvic or urinary complaints, including urinary incontinence, urinary tract infections (UTI’s), pelvic prolapse, cystocele, rectocele
• Increased allergies and sensitivities, hives
• Find explanations and further symptoms on our page of women’s health symptoms and concerns.
In the above list of symptoms you may recognize some of the many ways your body manifests its fluctuating hormonal tides. For some women, the signs and symptoms of perimenopause cause considerable discomfort and disruption in their lives. The good news is, there are many things we can do to smooth out the hormonal blips of perimenopause, decrease both frequency and severity of our symptoms, and set the stage for better-than-ever health as we enter our menopausal years
