By Dr. Richard Chern, M.D.
The most basic definition of menopause is 12 months with no period. There is no mystery here. All women will eventually experience menopause and most see menopause as an event you must go through and once the hot flashes or other symptoms end it’s over.
Unfortunately, this part is wrong.
Well known symptoms such as hot flashes, vaginal dryness or moodiness are experienced by most women and they come to expect these during the peri-menopausal time when the body is transitioning to menopause.
The thought that menopause ends when these symptoms end is unfortunate, because in reality this is just the beginning of menopause. The truth is once menopause starts it never ends. Menopause signifies the ovaries going into retirement and once they stop working they never restart. Just because hot flashes stop does not mean you are in the clear and, in fact, this is when things get considerably worse.
The ovaries’ job is to produce estrogen and testosterone! When this production ceases, you lose both of these hormones as well as protection they provide against numerous diseases. During menopause, the body begins its slow decline into old age. Both estrogen and testosterone protect against heart attack, cancer, strokes, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and so much more. Breast cancer, stroke, and heart attacks happen to be the top three killers of menopausal women, and the reason is because of the lack of testosterone and estrogen. We previously discussed the recent study showing that testosterone pellets in women decrease the risk of breast cancer in post-menopausal women by more than 50%!
In our clinic, the majority of post-menopausal women we see have a common complaint. They cannot stay asleep all night and routinely wake up much earlier than they want and then can’t get back to sleep. This is from a lack of estrogen and actually happens to men as they lose their estrogen. Yes, men have estrogen! Estrogen plays a major role in maintaining sleep. No estrogen = No sleep. And no sleep is associated with all sorts of problems such as anxiety, depression, increased risk of cancer, Alzheimer’s and more. Hair starts thinning, skin gets thinner, fatigue happens faster, memory starts failing. These changes all occur because of a lack of hormones.
Did you know that testosterone is the most prominent hormone in the female body throughout their entire life? Testosterone plays a major role in the prevention of disease, it improves mood and can reverse osteoporosis.
Dr. Richard Chern, M.D. has been providing BioTE bio-identical hormone therapy longer than any other physician in the region. He trains providers throughout the U.S. on hormone therapy for men and women. He is a key opinion leader for BioTE and has participated in studies on the efficacy of both testosterone and estrogen in the prevention of disease.
Dr. Richard Chern, M.D. and Sue Griffin, APRN are currently accepting new patients. Please call 850-837-1271 for an appointment.
