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Article Series: Menopause
Menopause Symptoms and Relief
Estrogen
and Menopause
The onset of menopause signals
the ending of a woman's reproductive cycle. Menopause
actually begins
after the women's last period. This event marks the culmination
of several years of peri-menopausal changes during which hormones
secreted by the ovaries (estrogen and progesterone) gradually
decline. Peri- and menopausal symptoms vary considerably
from person to person. Asians are known to have few to no symptoms
other than irregular menses. Western women, however,
have much higher incidences of body changes such as hot flashes, night
sweats, reduced libido, forgetfulness, heart palpitations,
loss of bladder control, frequent urination, and joint pains,
to name a few. For some, these symptoms are like a "living
hell." All women go through menopause. There is no escape
for anyone. Once menopause arrives the body's internal production
of estrogen and progesterone stops altogether for that woman.
Women can no longer depend on their own body to produce these
two hormones to protect themselves against osteoporosis and
cardiovascular disease. The result to their health can be devastating.
The symptoms of menopause include night sweats, mood swings,
depression, hot flashes, sagging breast, vaginal dryness, osteoporosis,
fibrocystic lumps, night sweats, painful intercourse, and memory
problem.
Progesterone is a biochemical precursor to
estrogen. Progesterone cream alone is sufficient to restore
estrogen balance and relief
many of the symptoms. If after 3 months of progesterone cream,
proper diet, nutritional supplementation of magnesium and B6
do not relive the symptoms, then low-dose natural estrogen
may be considered. 2.5 mg of natural tri-estrogen cream (10%
estrone, 10% estradiol, and 80% estriol) provides the equivalent
action of 0.625-conjugated estrogen such as Premarin. Herbs
like black cohosh have weak estrogenic effect and may be considered
as well. Osteoporosis is the loss of bone density, leading
to fractures. Post-menopausal women low in estrogen have a
25% chance of serious bone loss and fracture. The lifetime
risk of hip fracture approaches 30% for those afflicted with
osteoporosis, resulting in the loss of independent living.
Many will die from their injuries. Estrogen increases pliability
of blood vessels, lowers "bad" LDL-cholesterol, increases "good" HDL-cholesterol,
and decreases platelet aggregation that leads to blood clots.
These protective properties of estrogen result in pre-menopausal
women having a lower risk of heart disease than either men,
or post-menopausal women. Post-menopausal women are just as
vulnerable to heart disease as men of the same age. Cardiovascular
disease is the leading cause of death in women over 45 years
of age.
Estrogen actually is not a single hormone but a trio
of hormones working together. The three components of estrogen
are: estrone, estradial, and estriol. In healthy young women,
the typical mix approximates 15/15/70 percent respectively.
This is the combination worked out by Mother Nature to be optimum
for human females. Out of the three components of estrogen,
estrone and estradiol are pro-cancer, while estriol is anti-cancer.
Synthetic estrogen such as Premarinâ contains the pro-cancer
components of estrogen (estrone and estradiol) in higher proportions
compared to estriol. Progesterone is made from pregnenolone,
which in turn comes from cholesterol. Production occurs at
several places. In the women, it is primarily made in the ovaries
just before ovulation and increasing rapidly after ovulation.
Functionally, progesterone acts as an antagonist (opposite
to) to estrogen. For example, estrogen stimulates breast cysts
while progesterone protects against breast cysts. Estrogen
enhances salt and water retention while progesterone is a natural
diuretic. Estrogen has been associated with breast and endometrial
cancer, while progesterone has cancer preventive effect.
Most significantly, it is known that high amounts
of estrogen can induce a host of metabolic disturbances,
and the body's
way of counterbalancing estrogen naturally is progesterone.
When this balancing mechanism is dysfunctional, a multitude
of health related problems arise. Estrogen and Progesterone
are both readily available in the natural and unnatural forms
from the pharmacy. Conventional HRT does not use the natural
forms of the hormones. The reason is simple. Any naturally
occurring compound cannot be patented and drug companies control
the prescription market. A slightly modified and patentable
form of the hormone therefore has to be developed to ensure
protection and commercial viability. Such synthetic "unnatural" modified
forms of hormones developed by drug companies have been extremely
profitable, but they are not exactly what the body is used
to. # # # # #
SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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