At South River Compounding Pharmacy, we want to help you understand menopause so that you can make informed decisions about your health. Educated health consumers tend to find the balance they as individuals need for a better menopause.

First and foremost, menopause is not a disease.

In fact, menopause is a normal, physiological process, resulting from diminishing hormones and ovulation as women age. Menopause is the ovaries’ final act, when, for lack of eggs and female hormones, they can no longer perform their reproductive role.

Menopause is not a single point in time when the ovaries are switched off for good. Instead, menopause occurs in stages over the span of a woman’s reproductive life. It’s a transition that begins and ends with female fertility, and in the process, reshapes the way we think, feel, act and grow into what some refer to as our “second adulthood.”

Think of menopause as occurring in stages over the span of your reproductive life.
During the Pre-Menopause (PMS) years, women in their 30s should have fairly regular cycles. Increasingly, though, a growing number of younger women are not ovulating regularly. The reasons for this are linked to extremes in exercise and stress, dieting, toxins and contraceptive use. Many young women also suffer from more serious disorders like endometriosis and infertility. Severe symptoms in the PMS years may be seen as a warning sign of hidden hormone imbalance, well before you experience at least 12 consecutive months without a period.

The peri-menopausal years precede menopause. During peri-menopause troublesome hot flashes and mood swings occur. Women start having erratic cycles as estrogen and progesterone levels fluctuate between highs and lows, dozens of times a day. This hormonal roller coaster takes women on a wild ride.

Menopause officially starts when you go 12 consecutive months without a period. On average, menopause hits at about age 51, but it’s not uncommon for some to see symptoms much earlier. Often, the acute or prolonged stress of our lives can reduce ovarian function and precipitate a premature menopause any time from the late 30s on. Menopause can also be artificially induced through hysterectomy, radiation or chemical means (chemotherapy). In menopause, estrogen levels have dropped approximately 40 to 60%, but without ovulation, progesterone output drops to nearly zero.

Contrary to the notion of menopause as an “estrogen deficiency disease,” it is often marked by too much estrogen relative to progesterone. It is “estrogen dominance” that is a hallmark imbalance of menopause.

As you read this, about 40 million American women are in menopause. Over the next 25 years this number is expected to increase to 60 million. If you think you may be entering menopause, ask us or your health care provider about saliva hormone testing to confirm symptoms of menopause. Until then, here is a list of menopause symptoms. Please keep in mind that symptoms from one woman to another are as highly individual as a thumbprint:

* Mood swings	* Hot flashes	* Night sweats	* Fatigue
* Headaches	* Depressed	* Anxious	* Nervous
* Irritable	* Tearful	* Memory lapses	* Incontinence
* Can’t lose weight	* Decreased libido	* Vaginal dryness	* Bone loss
* Heavy menses	* Fibrocystic breasts	* Polycystic ovaries	* Stress
* Tender breasts	* Uterine fibroids	* Water retention	* Oily skin
* Sleep disturbances	* Weight gain-waist	* Weight gain-hips	* Scalp hair loss
* Fibromyalgia	* Cold body temp	* Thinning skin	* Foggy thinking
* Aches and pains	* Increased facial/body hair	* Sugar cravings

Symptoms that are troublesome and persistent can signal menopause and related hormone imbalances that may be complicating the situation. Presently 9 million women are estimated to be using synthetic hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for relief of menopausal symptoms, down from 15 million in 2002 when the Women’s Health Initiative Trial (WHI) was halted due to greater risk than benefit.

A saliva test will detect levels of estrogens, particularly estradiol -- (E2) the most potent of the estrogens -- Progesterone (PG), Testosterone, DHEA, and Cortisol (adrenal function). Because these hormones work together to create balance, assessing your symptoms along with laboratory testing is an excellent way to determine specific hormone issues in menopause.

If the saliva hormone test indicates that you need to supplement, work with a natural-hormone-friendly doctor who prescribes to your individual hormone picture. Never use estrogen alone but balance it with natural progesterone (the way the body does naturally).

Reject fake (synthetic) hormones, and use only real, bio-identical hormones that your body recognizes and knows what to do with. Also, reduce your exposure to chemicals that mimic estrogen such as environmental toxins.

De-stress with exercise you enjoy as often as possible, and maintain an ideal weight. Use organic “hormone-free” foods and products, and get enough sleep.

In essence, learn what your body needs to feel good again.

It is entirely possible to restore hormonal balance by taking steps to restore equilibrium in your life in general. However, the key to menopause relief is hormone balance and the knowledge that hormones work in tandem with a healthy mind and body.

The ovaries are the main producers of the female sex hormones throughout a woman’s fertile years. Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH), responsible for egg-ripening and ovulation, are produced by the pituitary gland. The ovaries produce estrogen, progesterone and testosterone with a helping gland, the adrenals. As we move into menopause, the shortfall in ovarian hormone production is picked up by the adrenal glands.

As we age, ovulation starts to sputter, reproductive hormones wane and periods become irregular, all with varying physical and emotional effects. The key players in menopause are estrogen and progesterone, the hormones that regulate the menstrual cycle throughout our reproductive years.

During menstruation, these female sex hormones rise and fall in synchrony with each other. As menses trails off and eventually ceases, the rate and pattern of hormone release is fundamentally changed forever. We begin to feel less like our old selves and more like the wise woman we are becoming.

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South River Compounding Pharmacy
Southside: 2300 Robious Station Circle, Midlothian, VA 23113
West End: 3656 Mayland Court, Richmond, VA 23233
Serving the Greater Richmond, Virginia area, including Chesterfield, VA, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan