by Angie Fielden, CPhT

The hormonal transitions in a woman's life are like a long roller-coaster ride. During adolescence, your ovaries respond to signals from your brain and begin producing the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Soon after, monthly ovulation begins, followed by your menstrual periods if the eggs you produce are not fertilized. For about twenty-five years, from age 13 to 40, you are most fertile. After that, for ten to fifteen years, there's a gradual decline in ovarian function and the amount of hormones you produce. Eventually, the amount of estrogen and progesterone your ovaries produce is no longer enough to bring on ovulation and keep your monthly periods going. The result: Your periods become irregular; you may experience hot flashes and might sweats; you may not sleep well; you may feel moody, less than happy. This one- to three-year span of hormone flux before your period stops is called perimenopause. The time when your periods finally stops completely (for at least a year) is called menopause. How mild or severe your menopausal symptoms are depends on how fast your transition to menopause occurs, how much time your body has to adapt to its changing hormones, and how much estrogen your body has from other sources. After menopause, most of your estrogen comes from androgens manufactured by the adrenal glands perched above your kidneys,. Your fat and muscle cells convert the androgens to estrogens. The more fat and muscle you have, the higher the level of non-ovary-produced estrogen. The most commonly reported symptom during this phase of menopause is hot flashes. You might go through natural menopause and barely sense the hormonal transition because it is gradual. Perhaps you have an excess of fat, muscle, or both that is making an alternate supply of estrogen. You may have started HRT as soon as you experienced menstrual irregularity. Either of these factors might have eased your passage through menopause. Surgical menopause, namely a hysterectomy and bilateral oophorectomy, begins more dramatically due to surgical intervention. In the case of a hysterectomy, there will be some confusion about when menopause occurs because of the absence of a period. When the uterus is removed (Hysterectomy) and the ovaries remain, menstrual periods stop but other menopausal symptoms (if any) usually occur at the same age that they would naturally. However, some women who have had a hysterectomy may experience menopausal symptoms at a younger age. Research, research and more research! The long-term affects of surgical menopause at a younger age has not really been determined. We are just now finding out how it relates to heart disease, osteoporosis and general health. There are many decisions to make when faced with surgical menopause. You can never have enough information about the process. This is your body, be proactive!

Angie Fielden, bio-identical hormone replacement specialist at Solutions Pharmacy, has fie years' experience in counseling and educating patients. Solutions, 4632 Highway 58 North, has been named "the nation's experts in formulating bio-identical hormones" by the American Medical Review. Call (423) 894-0423 for an appointment for a free in-house hormone assessment.