It seems that most of the recent evidence points to our hormone levels fluctuating to such an extent that we experience menopausal symptoms as depression and erratic bleeding.
Although estrogen seems to be associated with women and testosterone with men, the fact is that men and women produce both estrogen and testosterone, as well as many other hormones. It is true however, that women produce more estrogen, while men produce more testosterone. And then there's progesterone, which is made in the body from cholesterol by the ovaries and until fairly recently, relatively unheard of by the public.
Estrogen is the most important hormone that influences the life of women. The second most important, being progesterone. In younger women, more than 90% of the estrogen in the body is made by the ovaries. After menopause, production of estrogen decreases by about 40% to 60%. On the other hand, the production of progesterone often drops to levels lower than in men.
Progesterones are being used to treat menopausal symptoms and in medications are usually made from plant sources. When used in hormone therapy, there are two main types. One similar to progesterone and the other is derived from testosterone. If any side effectsare experienced, changing to another type of progestogen may be useful.
Progesterone can be effective when used to regulate abnormal bleeding. If given continuously with postmenopausal hormone therapy, progesterone will prevent menstrual sloughing as long as there is a small amount of estrogen present.
Pure progestogen treatment without estrogen, is know to worsen symptoms such as depression in women who already have a tendency toward anxiety or clinical signs of depression.
So while it may seem confusing trying to understand the functions of each hormone, it is important to know what is going on inside your body so that you can make informed choices as to which treatment is best for you.
Since solving her own symptoms of menopause, Hannah Cooke has taught hundreds of women the exact same methods that she used. Here best selling book, The Complete Menopause is available to download here
