What Questions Should I Ask My Healthcare Provider
- What is the cause of my hair loss?
- How many strands of hair am I losing per day?
- What type of hair loss do I have?
- Will my hair loss be permanent?
- Whats the best treatment for me?
A note from Cleveland Clinic
Hair loss may cause you distress whether it happens because of genetics, a disease, or even stress. Know that there are some treatments you can try, and expert dermatologists are there to help you. Your hair loss may be able to be reversed. See your healthcare provider as soon as you notice something wrong because the sooner you start treatment, the better.
Avoid Plastic Containers And Bottled Water
When plastic freezes, it tends to break down into smaller particles that become toxins, our bodies inadvertently consume them when they seep into water or food they contain. The body takes these compounds as xenoestrogen, and it adds to the hormonal imbalance, not to mention the strain on your liver for detox.
Xenoestrogens also make it hard to lose weight. Learn more about the female hormone weight lossconnection.
Our Tip: Balance hormones naturally by simply ditching plastic! Switch to a reusable glass or metal water bottle.
The Melbourne Women’s Midlife Health Project
This was the first major longitudinal study of the experiences of women transitioning from late reproductive age, with continuing regular menses, through the final menstrual period and beyond. It began with a cross-sectional survey of a randomly selected population of 2001 Australian-born Melbourne women, aged 4555 years at the time of the initial interview . Of these, 438 women who had menstruated within the preceding 3 months and were not using hormonal contraception or hormonal therapy, entered the longitudinal phase of the study, in which annual interviews were conducted in their homes, where early follicular phase blood samples were collected for subsequent hormonal and other analyses. Measurements of height and weight were recorded. Some aspects of the endocrine findings in this study are discussed in detail below. A summary of the major findings was published in 2004 . The accompanying paper presents a novel approach to modelling the longitudinal changes in FSH and E2.
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Estrogen And What It Does To Your Body
She agreed, and I got my estrogen levels tested. I received a call with my results telling me my levels were very low and Im now considered post menaposal. How does a body go from peri menopause to menopause to post menopause in 14 months. I have ordered Estrogen Fix and should receive it tomorrow. Im hopeful Ill find the answers I. There is a connection between low estrogen levels and joint pain in postmenopausal women. In many patients we see, there has been a long history of joint problems that have become progressively worse at a more accelerated level after menopause
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Fluctuating Estrogen Levels During Menopause: When Should I Worry
As any woman experiencing the trauma of menopause knows, the process can be both exhausting and scary. Symptoms include vaginal dryness, hair loss, decreased libido, hot flashes, memory loss, mood swings, and night sweats. Many menopause symptoms are caused by fluctuating levels of hormones. One of the hormones affected is estrogen. Continue reading to learn why estrogen is so important to your body and when you should worry about your fluctuating levels.
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Why Your Body Needs It
Estrogen is produced primarily in your ovaries but also in the adrenal gland and fat cells.
During puberty, estrogen plays a central role in promoting sexual development. The way your breasts and body hair grow is down to estrogen.
Once youre menstruating, estrogen helps limit the way your uterine lining grows during the first part of your cycle. Then, one of 2 things happen
If the egg is not fertilized, your period will start after estrogen levels sharply drop.
When the egg is fertilized, estrogen works alongside progesterone, another sex hormone, and together they put a stop to ovulation while youre pregnant.
In addition to its influence on menstruation and pregnancy, estrogen is influential in many other areas
- Bone Formation: Estrogen is instrumental for optimum bone health. Along with calcium and vitamin D, estrogen helps with the rebuilding of bones.
- Blood Clotting: Blood clotting can be inhibited when estrogen levels are too high.
- Ovaries: The hormone helps to drive growth of egg follicles
- Uterus and Vagina: Estrogen is key for maintenance of the mucous membrane lining your uterus. It also promotes contractions by developing the muscles here. Estrogen in the vagina enhances acidity which in turn leads to fewer bacterial infections
As mentioned there are hundreds of ways in which this hormone affects the female body but theyre outside the scope of todays article. But specifically, whats the deal with estrogen during menopause?
What Can I Do To Prevent Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis isnt entirely preventable, but you can take steps to strengthen your bones. Eating foods high in calcium like cheese, yogurt, spinach or fortified cereals can help boost calcium intake. Adding a calcium supplement can also help. Some people also need a vitamin D supplement because it helps their body absorb calcium.
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The Endocrinology Of Late Reproductive Ageing
While the FSH elevations in some women of advancing reproductive age were once thought to be secondary to a fall in E2 levels, many studies have now shown increased FSH levels are associated with normal or even higher than normal E2 or urinary estrogen levels . Significantly elevated mean cycle levels of E2 have been observed in regularly cycling women even up to age 55 . It is plausible that elevated FSH levels play a role in maintaining or even increasing E2 levels. As noted above the elevated levels of follicular phase FSH are associated with decreased levels of inhibin B with several studies demonstrating raised FSH and lowered inhibin B levels in women of advanced reproductive age compared with young women . Inhibin B levels are correlated with the number of developing antral follicles seen on ultrasonography during the early follicular phase and the levels fall in parallel with the number of ovarian antral follicles . No specific concentration of inhibin B has been shown to be diagnostically discriminatory.
In contrast to inhibin B, inhibin A is a product of the dominant follicle and levels do not change appreciably until dominant follicles are no longer being generated in the ovary .
Menopausal Mood Swings: What To Do
The very first thing you must realize is that no, you’re not losing your mind. You may be acting crazy, feeling crazy, thinking crazy thoughts — but basically, you’re OK. And no, you don’t have to force yourself to sit on the “naughty stool” until perimenopause is over.
But there are a few key things you can try that might make a huge difference. Among the most important: Reduce stress in your life.
How can this help? According to Harvard University stress expert Alice Domar, PhD, the effect of stress on hormone activity can be so profound that it is capable of inducing symptoms. Reducing stress can have the opposite effect.
In studies she conducted, Domar reports that women who participated in organized relaxation saw a 30% decrease in their hot flashes, plus a significant drop in tension, anxiety, even depression. They also reported fewer mood swings and more stable emotions overall.
The good news: Reducing even small stresses in your life — or simply setting aside some time every day to relax and unwind — can not only affect hormone balance but have a dramatic effect on your mood swings.
Another important suggestion: Whenever you do have an emotional upset, such as feeling very angry, step back, take a deep breath, and let a little time pass before you act on your dancing emotions. Chances are, when the mood swing passes — as it always does — you might not have the need to lash out at someone who probably doesn’t deserve it.
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What Happens To Progesterone During Menopause
Throughout women’s reproductive lives, progesterone levels remain fairly stable, guiding the flow of the menstrual cycle along with estrogen. During this time, the chief producers of progesterone are the adrenal glands during the follicular phase and the ovarian corpus luteum – the remnant of the follicle – during the luteal phase.
Then, as women enter menopause, the ovaries prepare to end reproductive functions, and in the process of doing so, the number and quality of ovarian follicles diminishes. As such, progesterone levels shift erratically as fewer ovulations occur.
With postmenopause, progesterone reaches an all-time low. Peripheral nerves and the adrenal glands, among other organs, take part in contributing to the hormone’s production at this time, but levels are at a fraction of what they were during fertile years.
Accordingly, low progesterone during perimenopause and after menopause can evoke many hormonal imbalance symptoms that middle-aged women can be all too familiar with.
You May Feel More Anxious Or Depressed
Mental illness is on the rise in the United States, as noted by the CDC. In June of 2020, 31 percent of American adults reported feeling of anxiety and depression, which is a pretty staggering number. And unfortunately, if you’re going through menopause, that could be one of the causes. “Life circumstances and stress during the menopause years and general aging might contribute to feelings of anxiety or depression,” OB/GYN Dr. Alyssa Dweck shared with The List. “Heart palpitations are a common complaint associated with both hot flashes and of anxiety.” So even if you’ve never struggled with these conditions, menopause may make you more likely to.
If you already have a mental health diagnosis, going through menopause is something to be concerned about, says Dweck. “In addition, those with underlying depression might note a worsening of symptoms during menopause,” she added. If you’re concerned you may be experiencing this, talk to your doctor.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK .
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What Makes Fenugreek So Special For Menopause
Research has established that fenugreek contains beneficial steroidal saponins, which modulate hormones. Steroidal saponins in fenugreek include diosgenin, protodioscin and yamogenin. Fenugreek also contains trigonellin, hydroxyisoleucine, galactomannans and numerous polyphenols.
In addition to the steroidal affects, trigonellin and hydroxyisoleucine have the distinction of binding to estrogen receptors. When estrogen receptors are bound, the cells do not respond with the same dysfunction as when they are left unbound.
These and other compounds in fenugreek give it a special quality that pharmaceuticals cannot compete with: The ability to naturally modulate the hormonal system as needed.
For example, in those women who had higher estrogen levels, the fenugreek therapy did not boost estradiol levels much. For those with lower levels, the therapy significantly increased estadiol levels. The researchers wrote:
The rate of increase of estradiol among the individuals having varying baseline levels was found to be different, with a relatively low enhancement among those who are having high levels of baseline estradiol levels and vice versa.
The fenugreek also stabilized the womens calcium levels. They stated:
Fenugreek supplementation was also found to have a beneficial effect in the management of healthy serum calcium levels .
Menopause And Post Menopause
Fun fact! Youre only in menopause for one day: the one year anniversary of your last period. Before that youre still in perimenopause and after that day, youre postmenopausal. However, as you can see in the chart below, your hormone levels continue to drop even after youre officially menopausal before bottoming out at around age 60.
This means you may still be dealing with the symptoms of menopause for a while after youre officially postmenopausal. In fact, you could be like me and only start having hot flashes well after you are officially menopausal! I thought I had sailed through perimenopause and menopause and then I started having ALL THE SYMPTOMS more than a year after my last period. Isnt that exciting? To say I was confused and distressed would be a massive understatement.
What You Should Know During Menopause and Postmenopause
- Your hormone levels continue to drop so you may continue to have symptoms. Symptoms typically stop about 4.5 years after your last period.
- Because menopause can affect your bone density, you should have a bone density test during this time.
- If youre having trouble managing your symptoms, reach out to your doctor for advice.
I hope you found this overview of whats going on with your hormones in menopause helpful. Future posts will look at menopause symptoms and ways we can mitigate them. Knowledge is power!
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Menopause Hormones Affect The Brain Too
But what’s happening, and why? In a word, the answer is “hormones.”
“The constant change of hormone levels during this time can have a troubling effect on emotions … leaving some women to feel irritable and even depressed,” reports the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Indeed, while everyone thinks of hormones as the chemicals that drive our reproductive system, in truth, there are receptors for both estrogen and progesteronethroughout our body.
When these hormone levels begin to decline, as they do in the months and years leading up to menopause, every system that has these hormone receptors registers the change, and that includes your brain.
And while most of us can recite chapter and verse about what happens to our uterus or ovaries around this time , we hear very little about what happens when the hormone receptors in our brain begin running on empty!
What does happen? A disruption in an entire chain of biochemical activity, which in turn affects the production of mood-regulating chemicals, including serotonin and endorphins.
The end result: Mood swings, temper tantrums, depression, surprising highs followed by equally unexpected lows — and none of it seems to make any sense.
“Your ovaries are failing and trying to keep up estrogen production. Some days they overshoot it, other days they can’t produce enough,” says Darlene Lockwood, MD, assistant professor at the University of California in San Francisco.
How Common Is Hair Loss In Women
Many people think that hair loss only affects men. However, it is estimated that more than 50% of women will experience noticeable hair loss. The most significant cause of hair loss in women is female-pattern hair loss , which affects about one-third of susceptible women, which equals out to some 30 million women in the United States.
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Your Action Steps For Preventing Estrogen Dominance:
In my next few blog posts in this series on estrogen dominance, I’ll be giving simple powerful steps you can take to help your body keep estrogen and progesterone in balance.
Here’s an overview of how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Your action steps are to
- Eat right
- Avoid the worst hormone-disrupting chemicals
- Move enough & breathe deeply
- ADDRESS THE ROOT CAUSE
Bonus Tip: Include some broccoli sprouts in your diet each day, they have special micronutrients that support estrogen detoxification.
Watch for a blog coming soon on the most important hormone-disrupting chemicals to avoid & where you’ll find them.
Move! If you’re sitting, try to get up and move your arms and legs around and take some deep breaths every 30 minutes Try walking or bouncing on a rebounder a few minutes a day.
Get to the root cause! Make sure your hormones don’t drop too low by supporting them with HRT or customized herbal remedies. There’s simply no substitute for something powerful enough to support your body in keeping your hormone levels, including progesterone, high enough.
No hormonal care plan is complete without this hormonal support componenent. If you’re interested in using herbal remedies for this part of your hormonal care plan, they must be customized to your body and change with your hormones over time.
Learn more with the free resources below.
What Happens During Menopause And Perimenopause With Your Hormones
This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, see the disclosures.
If you understand what happens during menopause and perimenopause with your hormones, youll understand better how to relieve your symptoms. For example, the menopause symptoms you are experiencing may be caused by a hormone imbalance causing too much estrogen. Heres an overview of what these hormones actually do and how the levels can change during perimenopause and menopause.
This is part of an on-going series on Midlife Rambler, Real Talk about Menopause. Too many of us dont fully understand whats happening and dont know where to go to for accurate information. I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice but Im hoping to provide some of the information I wish I had known when I went through menopause and give you some resources to check out if you want to learn more.
You might be experiencing some symptoms that you think are related to menopause or perimenopause and you might know that these symptoms are caused by hormone changes, but do you know what hormones are changing and how? I sure didnt and I wish I had because by understanding which hormones are changing and how you can better mitigate any symptoms you might be having.
Lets take a moment to review the hormones that are at play during your menstrual cycle so we can understand what each hormone does and what others areas of the body this hormone can affect.
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