Hormones and Memory Loss: Losing It.

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Memory Loss, Alzheimer's, Dementia

Mental Glue Turned to Goo?

You’re wondering in panic where you’ve lost your phone when it’s in your hand waiting on “hold”.

You can’t find your glasses, they’re on your head.

“Wait, I forgot”…

You went to the store for toilet paper and came home with a baguette, red pepper hummus and fig balsamic vinegar. No toilet paper.

With the daily bombing of info (up to 34 gig on average per day), is it any wonder we temporarily lose track of certain things? In today’s world, even losing your kids doesn’t mean losing your mind. If you think you’re on a slippery slope into Alzheimer’s, think again.

Muddled, Fuzzy and Forgetful

As we were saying…uh, what were we saying?

Ah, yes, when there’s too much on your mind, it’s easy to forget things, get confused or have a short attention span. While it’s not a medical phrase, these brain blips are often referred to as “brain fog”. Brain fog can keep you from remembering things you think you shouldn’t be forgetting. It seems like dark clouds rush in, filling your head with cotton.  It feels like your memory is in Teflon mode. You think you’re going insane. But actually, it’s really normal for most of us. So if you think that in 6 months you’ll be in full blown you-can’t remember-your name dementia, forget about it. And consider this; have you ever forgotten to check your Instagram or Twitter account? Have you ever forgotten someone is an idiot? Have you ever considered your brain farts could be the result of tequila overload.

Memories Lost Forever

Real dementia and Alzheimer’s are the real thing. Light years from brain fog.

Dementia (or Alzheimer’s, which a form of dementia) is a condition of the brain which causes a gradual loss of mental ability, including problems with memory, understanding, judgement, thinking and language. In addition, other problems commonly develop, such as changes in personality and changes in the way a person interacts with others in social situations. As dementia progresses, a person’s ability to look after themselves from day to day may also become affected. Someone with dementia may have difficulty understanding what is said to them or understanding written information. They don’t know if it is morning or night. They truly lose it all.

It’s Not All in Your Head

So why are you drawing repeated blanks? Why do you feel like your neurons are in Never-Never Land, instead of firing like they’re supposed to? Why do you feel like you’re having senior moments in your thirties (or horrors) even earlier?  Hold the panic…it could be hormones. It’s been shown that there is a definite link between memory loss and hormone deficiencies. So your problem isn’t so much brain chemistry as hormone chemistry. Thyroid, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones increase the symptoms of brain fog. That ought to clear up your mind.

An End to the “Opps” Moments

Make a note of this…all the doctors at Denver Hormone Health have vast experience in treating what hormone deficiencies can do to the body. And the mind. Without question, they get the whole picture and know exactly how to treat it. With a few simple tests they can target your hormonal picture and paint a unique treatment plan to put your mind at ease and get you on your way to feeling better and sharper than ever. So don’t even think twice about making an appointment at Denver Hormone Health. It won’t take a post-it note to remind you to call. But make one if you feel you have to. Just make it.

The D Dilemma: Is Vitamin D a Vitamin or a Hormone or what?

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The Little Known (yep) Hormone – Vitamin D

If we put this little pop-quiz out there, anywhere, chances are the majority of people would flunk out. It’s kind of complicated how D gets to be a hormone, so to eliminate the “huh?” factor, let’s just keep referring to it as Vitamin D, or just plain “D”.  Vitamin D is a hormone the kidneys produce that controls blood calcium concentration and impacts the immune system. It is also known as calcitriol, ergocalciferol, calcidiol and cholecalciferol. (Why, why do they have to create these names no one could even venture to pronounce?)Vitamin D manages calcium in your blood, bones and gut and helps cells all over your body to communicate properly. Understanding this hormone and the role it plays in the body will help you make informed health decisions that don’t include ziplining it to your pharmacy for buckets of D supplements.

D’s Duties

Another misconception is that D is all about building strong bones. Oh, but as a hormone, when it’s in balance, it does some pretty amazing other things. On the other side, Vitamin D deficiency has been shown to play a role in almost every disease. This includes:

  • Osteoporosis and Osteopenia
  • 17 varieties of Cancer (including breast, prostate and colon)
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Obesity
  • Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes
  • Autoimmune diseases
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Bursitis
  • Gout
  • Infertility and PMS
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Depression and Seasonal Affective Disorder
  • Alzheimer’s Disease
  • Chronic fatigue syndrome
  • Fibromyalgia
  • Chronic Pain
  • Periodontal disease
  • Psoriasis
  • Oral health
  • Type 2 diabetes

You didn’t know? Who did. But before you start hyperventilating, read on.

Soak This Up

Another fact; only about 10% of D comes from food-even if you scarf sardines, salmon, mackerel, tuna, caviar (how high is your credit card limit?) and, we have to say, YUK, to cod liver oil. Ok, so pass on the food.

IU’s (that’s how D is measured) out the roof won’t do it.

So here comes the sun…

This is the most natural way to get vitamin D. Your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight. The part of the sun’s rays that is important is ultraviolet B (UVB). But how much sun is enough? Another conundrum. It can be an Einstein-worthy calculation that requires a multi-page spreadsheet.

Being a “worshiper” can do nothing but make your skin wretched and wrinkly and ah yes, lead to skin cancer. Slathering on SPF’s will only keep you from getting good rays. Cloudy days figure negatively into the picture. As does altitude, skin type, and the time of year and time of day. And no, you can’t get Vitamin D through a window.

Where on Earth?

Vitamin D deficiency remains the most common nutritional deficiency worldwide, affecting nearly 1 billion people. It’s epidemic. A global problem in all age groups, male and female. Generally, it’s found most where there is limited sun exposure. Which makes it surprising that even countries with plenty of sun have a high number of people with Vitamin D deficiency. For example, Vitamin D deficiency soars in sunny Australia, one of the sunniest places on earth. In the Caribbean, there’s no shortage of sunshine, but again, there’s a huge Vitamin D deficiency. The same goes for sunny states in the US, like Arizona, California and Hawaii. From Pakistan to Iceland, the D deficiencies would shock you. So where are you going to go?

The Best D Can Be

Your body contains hundreds of hormones circulating within your blood or stored within various tissues of your body. Maintaining a proper level of each hormone is absolutely key to your overall health; too much or too little of a single hormone can lead to a hormonal imbalance. And a Vitamin (hormone) D imbalance can do a boatload of damage to your whole body. So what can you do? You call Denver Hormone Health. They specialize in what your regular doctor doesn’t; hormones, and nothing but hormones. Every one of their experienced doctors can help determine if your D is deficient and exactly what to do about it. A few simple tests will tell them what they need to develop a treatment plan that targets your individual needs. So what you really need to do is make an appointment at Denver Hormone Health right now. Of the nearly 1 billion people worldwide with likely vitamin D deficiency, you don’t have to be one of them.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A Hormonal Wake-Up Call

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SICK AND TIRED OF FEELING SICK AND TIRED

Seems you’re tired all the time. No, exhausted. No, crushingly fatigued. Something has to be wrong, right? Without question. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), also referred to as myalgic encephalomyelitis(ME), is a medical condition characterized by long-term fatigue and other symptoms that limit a person’s ability to carry out ordinary daily activities. It’s an energy-draining tiredness that doesn’t improve with rest or sleep. Even a solid 24 hours won’t touch it. And the worst? (Well, not worst, worst) You could be suffering from it and not even know it. All you know is that you feel outta gas. All the time. Sick, huh?

LEAPING NOWHERE

The main symptom of CFS is severe (that would be understatement) fatigue that lasts for 6 months or more. You also have at have at least four of these other symptoms:

  • Feeling unwell for more than 24 hours after physical activity
  • Muscle pain
  • Memory problems
  • Headaches
  • Unexplained muscle or joint pain
  • Sleep problems
  • Sore throat and a feeling of swollen glands in the neck
  • Tender lymph nodes

Any of these could make you just want to pull the covers over your head and worry what the heck is going on with you. That is, if you’re able to stay awake long enough to even think about it.

NO FIGMENT FEELS LIKE THIS

You feel like a constantly miserable mess. You think it’s all in your head (not your body), so you put off going to see what’s really going on. And if you don’t know, a lot of doctors know even less. They agree with your misconstrued self-diagnosis that nothing is really wrong, but they put you through a searching-in-the-dark battery of tests that tell them, well…nothing. It’s in your imagination they say. Maybe it’s fibromyalgia. Or mono. Lyme disease? Maybe (and “maybe”, is the big part) it’s an infection. Or obesity. Alcohol. Narcolepsy? This is a diagnosis? Where is the part where they connect it to a hormone imbalance? Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of a hormone imbalance. Excess progesterone can make you sleepy. Too little thyroid hormonecan sap your energy. Just a few examples. Hormones are chemical messengers that impact the way your cells and organs function. Yet we don’t often appreciate hormones until they aren’t working like they should.  It’s well documented that low amounts of hormones are found in the brains and endocrine glands of people with chronic fatigue syndrome. Who knew? Not your doctor, obviously.

OH, WOMAN, OH MAN…

Research shows that Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is six times more likely to affect women than men. But while Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is usually thought of as a woman’s illness, men can get it, too. Actually, long-term fatigue was once considered a male disorder caused by societal pressures. Just over 100 years ago, it was primarily upper-class men in intellectual professions who were affected. “Neurasthenia,” as the condition was called at the time, was a physical diagnosis with high status. The typical patient was a man, and not just any kind of man. He was “civilized, refined, and educated, rather than of the barbarous and low-born and untrained.” (Just who were the scientists dreaming this garbage up?)

Today, both male and female CFS sufferers, suffer from some of the same symptoms. But men tend to suffer in silence. Men’s perception of their worth is typically tied to their careers, earning potential, and/or their ability to take care of themselves or a family.When a man starts having chronic symptoms, he may feel less masculine, even afraid, choosing  to ignore his symptoms. In some cases, men may push even harder to tough it out, which only adds to their fatigue. (Like who needs that?)

HORMONAL “HELP!”

Time to take this distressing and debilitating condition seriously. And we know just the place: Denver Hormone Health.There isn’t anything they don’t know about hormones and the health issues imbalances can cause. And no one knows better how to get you back to balanced and feeling your best. Just talking to one of their experienced, knowledgeable doctors is enough to give you a hopeful shot of energy. With simple tests, they can determine if your hormones are having a field day with your health.  They’ll know if one hormone might be off track, or if it might be several. They’ll know, and know just what to do, creating a tailored, integrated treatment plan that can let you plan on feeling happy instead of haggard. Don’t suffer another day, wondering what’s what. Call Denver Hormone Health and take your life back.