Menopause Hormones

When a woman’s body has no more need of the ability to reproduce,
usually between the years of 45 and 55, it enters into the phase known
as peri-menopause, which may last for weeks or months, where the
hormone levels are fluctuating, causing symptoms which indicate
menopause will follow. These hormones are chemicals which control the
woman’s fertility cycle each month, while she is still of child
bearing age. A woman has completed the peri-menopausal stage and
entered menopause when she has not experienced monthly periods for one
year.

The same hormones involved in puberty, when the body was being made
ready for child bearing activities, are involved in the process of
menopause. The time involved in moving from fertility to the inability
to reproduce is as short as a year or two, or can take up to nearly a decade, all
depending on factors individual to each woman.

Levels of estrogen and progesterone, the menopause hormones made in
the ovaries, rise and fall slightly more or less efficiently during
the time before the ovaries cease production altogether. This is what
causes the typical symptoms such as hot flashes, dryness of skin,
irritability and unusual monthly bleeding patterns.

While still in the peri-menopause phase, the levels of estrogen and
progesterone are at lower levels than before, and the cycle of eggs
released and available to be fertilized becomes disrupted. One month
may be a normal cycle, while the next is not, so the hormone estrogen,
which comes from the egg, falls, and eventually the womb lining, the
destination of a fertilized egg, is not produced at all, or shed every
month in the form of bleeding. As the menopause hormone levels drop,
the body does not receive its chemical cues to prepare for a possible
pregnancy, and after 12 months with no monthly bleeding, true
menopause begins.

In full menopause, the levels of both estrogen and progesterone are
lower, monthly bleeding has ceased, but other hormones involved like
androgens and testosterone reduce at a much slower rate, in fact, the
ovaries continue to produce testosterone after menopause, which may
lead to development of extra hair on the face and body.

Synthetic hormones are often used to lessen troublesome symptoms; they
vary with the woman’s situation. A patient who has undergone a
hysterectomy, that is the removal of her womb, would be prescribed
estrogen to help control strong symptoms, where a patient with her
womb intact needs both estrogen and progesterone. The replacement of
menopause hormones is a serious consideration for women, especially if
their symptoms are very severe. Replacement therapy can help to guard
against many diseases associated with aging, such as losing bone
density and heart disease.

Replacement therapy involving menopause and hormones has made great
strides forward in the last decade, alleviating difficult symptoms and
allowing women greater control over their lives in this phase. Talking
to a family doctor is strongly recommended when any form of
replacement menopause hormones are being considered, as dosages in
medicines sourced from plants varies more than synthetic menopause
hormones which are specially designed to always contain the same amounts.

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