MENOPAUSE; HOT AND EXTREMELY BOTHERED

WHAT YOUR MOTHER NEVER TOLD YOU ENOUGH ABOUT

That’s easy. Mostly everything. It’s like after everything they battled to go through it, they never wanted to relive it again. But then, most of us never asked, either. We were still dealing with our pad or tampon period issues. Maybe, the change of life didn’t change their lives so much. But then maybe they were living in an alternate universe. The Chinese call menopause “A Woman’s Second Spring”. Spring? More like summer hurricanes with blizzards with winter storm warnings.

MENOPAUSE, THE LONG ROAD THERE

There are actually three stages of menopause.

The first is perimenopause which lasts for several years before actual menopause. In the last year or two of this stage, a woman can begin to experience menopause symptoms. The second stage is menopause itself. This is when a woman has irregular periods, going longer stretches at a time without a menstrual cycle until she does not have a period for a 12-month time span.

The final stage is post-menopause. During this stage of menopause, symptoms decrease or stop altogether.

PMS ON STEROIDS

Your body is under siege.

You go from Mary Poppins to Cruella de Ville in less time than you can eat a pint of rocky road. You’re sure you’re getting early-onset dementia. There can be times you feel like a raving maniac for no reason. What fun, huh?

Oh, but there’s so much more. Hair loss or hair thinning. Or both. Difficulty falling asleep. Sadness, depression. Think we’re done? Migraines, joint aches, and pains, osteoporosis. And is your imagination, or are wrinkles taking up residence on your face? Does your vagina feel like it dried up? Has your libido left town? And ooooo…the hot flashes. Typically lasts two to four minutes, but seems like a year. They can occur once or twice a day, or as often as every hour. Enough to make you want to call 911.

No wonder your mothers didn’t want to relive it.

CAUGHT IN A HORMONAL TAILSPIN

There are some 50 different hormones happily flipping and flopping throughout your bloodstream. When they are out of balance, they can really muck things up. One of the big ones is estrogen, which is really 3 hormones called estradiol, estriol, and estrone. But we’ll just keep it at “estrogen” for our purposes. Estrogen imbalances are what make you wonder if you’ll ever make it to the other side. And on that side, the good side—something actually good about menopause? —there’s help. And it’s easy to get. But more on that in a moment. We’re on a learning curve here…

BHRT COULD BE JUST WHAT YOU NEED

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy? Nope. Heard too many bad things about it. Here’s where a little education could help. The hormone therapy you’re thinking about uses synthetic or fake hormones. Hormones synthesized in a lab and marketed by happy profit-seeking pharmaceutical companies. Your body doesn’t like them. And lets you know it.

Bioidentical hormones are what they sound like; identical. Scientifically, they are hormones derived from natural sources and have an exact structural match to the hormones produced by your own body. So the risk of side effects is minimal and the safety and efficacy of the treatment, optimal.

DENVER HORMONE HEALTH IS EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED

Despite being a common issue, menopausal treatments are often limited. In fact, research has shown that the average doctor is ill-equipped to help modern women manage menopausal symptoms. The hormone experts at Denver Hormone Health are doctors who have had years of medical training and experience in the use of BHRT to help menopausal women be who they want to be. Not the estrogen-possessed woman who can burst into tears and implode in minutes.

Hormone Pellet Therapy is simple. Once tests tell your DHH doctor what your body needs, they are able to tell the exact dosage you need. No one-size-fits-all solution here. Hormone pellets as tiny as a grain of rice are painlessly inserted under the skin. This allows them to slowly release into the bloodstream, allowing your body to naturally absorb the hormones on a 24/7 basis. And pellets only need to be reinserted just 3-4 times a year.

At Denver Hormone Health, we’re here for you, however, you need us. And we’ll be there for you, monitoring your progress, making adjustments as needed. Stop thinking you have to sweat menopause alone and get real help. Call Denver Hormone Health for an appointment now.

STRIVING TO SURVIVE PMS SYMPTOMS

PMS symptoms how to survive

Let’s Start with the Basics.

PMS stinks. Well that’s about as basic as it gets.  Its symptoms affect more than 90 percent of menstruating women. No woman can avoid it. PMS symptoms generally start five to 11 days before menstruation and typically go away once menstruation begins. It’s a time when certain hormones—most significantly, estrogen and progesterone go haywire.

PMS SYMPTOMS; THEY’RE NO LAUGHING MATTER

“Oh, duh, it’s PMS, it all makes sense now,” she mumbled through chocolate-smeared lips as the house burned behind her. Not funny. “What’s the difference between a woman with PMS and a Pit Bull? Lipstick. Not funny. As women suffer with PMS symptoms the jokes abound. PMS. Psychotic Mood Shift. Puffing Mid-Section. Pardon My Sobbing. Please, More Sweets. Hilarious. But “that time of the month” is a time of suffering that no Flaming Hot Doritos or a heating pad is going to help. The greater the hormone fluctuations, the greater the intensity of the symptoms.

PMS SYMPTOMS CHANGE AS YOU GET CLOSER TO “THE CHANGE”

And while we’re talking about hormone fluctuations, age can have a lot to do with it. In your 20s, PMS can feel like an out of control rollercoaster. You eat like an ox, bloat like a balloon, get cramps that could crumble you. By your 30s, PMS symptoms for most will begin to even out and not feel so extreme. Why?  One reason is that for many women, their 30s are the decade when they become moms, and pregnancy and breastfeeding can provide a reprieve from PMS symptoms. But for women who have been on hormonal birth control through their 20s and go off the pill to have kids, things can actually get worse. The time between going off birth control and before conception is a wild hormonal ride as natural hormones kick in and start the week-by-week fluctuations that can lead to PMS. After 40 (sorry ladies), PMS can return with a vengeance as perimenopause looms ahead. You cry like a river, your moods swing like Tarzan. More of that cyclical hormone havoc.

PMS SYMPTOMS; TREAT THEM TO BEAT THEM

When it comes to treatment for PMS symptoms, there are a bunch of things bandied about out there. Supplements such as folic acid, vitamin B-6, calcium and magnesium are some suggestions. Black cohosh. Huh? Chaste berry. Huh? Can they really help level your estrogen and progesterone levels? Simple answer; NO. You need real help. Medical help. Like the proven help you’ll get from the professionals at Denver Hormone Health. The hormone experts at Denver Hormone Health have had years of experience treating conditions caused by more than 50 different hormones coursing through our bloodstreams. They understand how PMS symptoms can systematically shut you down and they know just what to do about it. Simple tests allow them to monitor your hormone levels and create a treatment plan that will ease the PMS monster that’s held your hormones and you hostage for so long. Call Denver Hormone Health for an appointment now. And get rid of PMS symptoms ASAP.

A HOT FLASH ON PERIMENOPAUSE AND MENOPAUSE

Of course, you know about menopause…the dreaded “M” word. But before we get into menopause, we should talk about its precursor; perimenopause. Many women haven’t even heard of it. Perimenopause refers to the years of hormonal upheaval that precede a woman’s final period. Usually, around age 35, progesterone, estrogen and testosterone (yes, you’ve got it) levels begin to decline and become erratic. Perimenopause varies greatly from one woman to the next. The average duration is three to four years, although it can last just a few months or extend as long as a decade. (10 years? Yikes!) While perimenopause is an extended transitional state, menopause is a point in time, defined by a lack of period for 12 months or more. The average age of menopause onset is 51 years. (But I’m too young to be in menopause!) However, this isn’t the case for everyone. (Not me, not me…please…)

AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR PERIOD WAS A CURSE.

Probably the first thing you think of with menopause are the dreaded hot flashes that can send a woman to an open fridge begging for icy relief. Truth is, nearly 75 percent of peri-menopausal and menopausal women experience hot flashes. But wait…oh, but wait…perimenopause and menopause can be a shipwreck to rival the Titanic:

  • Night sweats
  • Low libido
  • Vaginal dryness
  • Weight gain
  • Hair loss or thinning
  • Anxiety
  • Insomnia
  • Breast tenderness
  • Fatigue

Sadly, Mother Nature doesn’t always play fair.

MEN AND MENOPAUSE

If you’re unsure what menopause entails, men are mostly clueless. All they know is that their partner can seem possessed. Moods galore, tears out of nowhere, night sweats that send them scrambling from spooning to the dry side of the bed. Insensitivity can rear its ugly head. Yes, “the change” can change things, but the key word in this case is “adapt”. This is a time when men need to communicate, ask questions, be understanding, be supportive. Menopause might not be a party, but it doesn’t mean when it comes to a relationship, the party’s over.                                                                                                               

IT’S NOT ALL IN YOUR HEAD

Perimenopause and menopause can even be misunderstood by doctors. Women are often misdiagnosed with depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. As a result, millions have been placed on antidepressants unnecessarily, and needlessly placed at risk for prescription additions such as valium and other anti-anxiety medications.  These only mask the symptoms of hormonal imbalances.

HOW TO CHANGE “THE CHANGE OF LIFE”

Without question, perimenopause and menopause can seem like hormonal hell. Not knowing what to do about it or where to go is enough to make any woman crazy. But this doesn’t have to be a time when you feel like your body has gone rogue on you. If you want real help with the hormonal upheavals of perimenopause and menopause, you want to see the hormone experts at Denver Hormone Health.  No one knows more or understands better what you’re going through or how to get your hormones back on track than Denver Hormone Health. With state-of-the-art diagnostic hormone testing, the medical specialists at Denver Hormone Health can determine your hormone levels and create a unique treatment plan tailored to your individual needs. Perimenopause and menopause don’t have to hit the “pause” button on your life. Call Denver Hormone Health for an appointment now. Think of it as a hot flash of genius.