Menopause – understanding change
So of course this is the time of life when our hormones change.
During our menstruating years; at the beginning of the month estrogen levels rise which coats the wall of the uterus. Technically this means that we have pelvic inflammation, to have inflammation the hypothalamus and pituitary send a signal to turn DOWN the blood calcium to allow for that inflammation.
When we begin our cycle Progesterone kicks in, two events begin; one, the beginning of your period and two the hypothalamus and pituitary send a signal to turn back UP the blood calcium.
At the end of the cycle Testosterone kicks in and we begin that cycle.
As we go through menopause our bodies require less hormones. The need for estrogen decreases, the progesterone increases so that we no longer bleed and we get a form of testosterone from our adrenal glands called DHEA.
It is important to note that the liver is partly responsible for getting rid of the excess hormones the body no longer requires, one way that it does that is to increase the heat in the liver (hot flash). So one way to improve the hot flashes is to have a bit of hot fluids, hot water, tea, or coffee this really is an easy way to help with those heat waves.
Vaginal dryness: As we go through the change the tissues in the vagina may be deficient un Progesterone this occurs quite often as we get exposed to estrogen in so many food sources. As that estrogen is higher than we NOW NEED it lowers the progesterone, so supplementing with a natural progesterone cream will help with this
Loss of Libido: This too is often linked to the hormone change. We have a fluid with a non-detectable odor called a pheromone that triggers the limbic system and creates sexual desire as we experience that dryness often the progesterone cream will help with that as well
Osteopenia/Osteoporosis: I usually recommend women as you are going through the change to take a supplement that has Calcium, Magnesium and Vitamin D3. The reason being again, goes to the exposure of estrogen in our foods. After menopause when the body signals to turn DOWN the blood calcium, now we no longer have the rest of the cycle to turn back up the blood calcium that is why women are so prone to this versus very few men.
What’s up with these mood changes? So when we were having our cycles the whole PMS and mood swings are often related to when the testosterone kicks in. So as we go through the change and DHEA takes over, supplementing with a bit of homeopathic DHEA might be just what your body needs. Again, if the estrogen is rising the progesterone and the DHEA bot lower.
And finally – I am not sleeping! In traditional Chinese medicine they say that our hormones do the most work in the hours of 1-3AM which of course is right in the middle of our sleep pattern. Two things happen: the first is those darn night sweats since the liver is trying to get rid of the excess hormones. The second is the adrenals trigger adrenaline “Hey let’s speed this up” so that adrenaline is famous for waking us up now the brain won’t be quiet. Supplementing with homeopathic adrenal gland or having a natural sleep remedy on hand will help with that.