Archive for the ‘Menopause hormones’ Category

Breast pain may be a peri-menopause symptom

A great many women suffer from breast pain, the majority cyclically around the first two weeks before menstruation. Though breast pain generally disappears during menopause, it can still be predicamentatical during peri-menopause, particularly when estrogen levels are dominant,

While the cause has not been determined exactly, cyclical breast pain has a strong hormonal association; most breast discomfort happens in the second part of the menstrual cycle, and treatments that are effective against it ordinaryly interrupt the hormonal events during the premenstrual time period. as well, the fact that it disappears with menopause points towards a hormonal connection.

Female wight large breasts are more likely to suffer pain, not only in their breasts but as well in their necks, shoulders and backs.

Taking up a new sport or leisure pastime can sometimes result in breast pain.

Cyclic breast pain

Cyclic breast pain typically entails both breasts. The entire breast may be affected as well as the underarm area. Noncyclic breast pain tends to occur more frequently in one breast and may be more centrally located in the breast.

Diet

Because hormone levels have a lot to do with breast tenderness, a diet that helps to balance hormones may help to reduce discomfort. Such a diet is one in which fat makes up less than 20 percent of the total calorie intake. It as well needs to contain an adequate amount of the B vitamins, supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids and soya products.

Linseed acts as an anti-estrogen on breast tissue, so including it in the diet will as well be helpful. additionally, supplepsychological vitamin E (400-800 units per day), has been shown to be effective in reducing breast pain.

Stopping, or in any case cutting back, on caffeine in coffee, tea and chocolate during the premenstrual period can be very effective in lessening pain. Breast pain may be related to fatty acid imbalance within the cells, which can make breast tissue more sensitive to circulating hormones.

Taking evening primrose oil, which contains gamma-linolenic acid, a type of fatty acid, may help to normalize fatty acid content in the tissues of female who are particularly likely to suffer from cyclic breast pain.

Blackcurrant seed oil is rich in very important fatty acids. These are converted to prostaglandins to battle infection and help to reduce breast tenderness.

Hormones

Oral contraceptives can be helpful, though breast tenderness typically increases during the first few cycles, as is the case with HRT. In fact, as many as 30 percent of female taking hormone therapy experience breast tenderness when they first start their treatment.

Tips to relief breast discomfort

  • Wear a supportive bra and make sure it has been properly fitted by a professional.
  • During exercise, wear a sports bra, and when your breasts are particularly painful, wear it while sleeping.
  • Simple pain relievers such as paracetamol and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents such as ibuprofen may be effective.
  • Apply hot or cold compresses.
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Menopause and Depression

Once you reach a menopause, you’ll understant that this is a life changing event that will affect all spheres of your life.

One of the most ordinary frustrating symptom of menopause is depression. It’s very very important to underline that this is not the occasional feeling of sadness that some female may experience due to some sad thoughts. Depression is a serious and in some cases likely life threatening side effect of menopause.

No doubt that depression affects many people all over the world. It is typically caused by drops in levels of serotonin in the brain. Serotonin is the main hormone in the brain that gives a general feeling of being okay in life.

A person in depression feels strong feelings of melancholy, sadness and hopelessness. Depression is diagnosed when a person experiences these feelings for more than 2 weeks at a time

Depression in female caused by menopause happens quite frequently. Some studies report that around 15% of menopausal female experience depression to some degree. Menopausal depression typically takes it first toll during perimenopause. This is the first stage of menopause and is marked by symptoms such as spotting, irregular periods, hot flashes, mood changes and night sweats. It’s very very important to underline that this stage of menopause can last for a very long time (up to 15 years). But the majority of female experience around 2 – 5 years of perimenopause before moving on to menopause.

Reasons of Depression in Menopausal female

When many female start to experience menopause or perimenopause they will undergo so many complex changes that depression for some of them is a furstrating symptom. There are many varyent reasons that depression is prevalent in menopausal female. It depends on the circumstance the reasons may vary for varyent female.

During menopause female experience many side effects and symptoms such as night sweats, hot flashes and irritability. In addition, they are dealing with the added stress of changes in their bodies that they cannot control. All of these changes can cause depression in menopausal female.

Hormone fluctuations in menopausal female are a organic process of menopause. As a woman starts the first stage of menopause levels of estrogen, progesterone and androgen are in a constant state of upheaval. Estrogen is the main hormone that is in constant change due to menopause. When estrogen plummets, many female feel strong and uncontrollable feelings of despair and hopelessness.

This is frequently attributed to a main cause of depression.

Risks of Developing Depression

It’s very importnat to underline that the risks of developing depression during menopause are higher for some female than for others. For instance, if you have a history of mood disorders in your family or have been diagnosed with a mood disorder yourself, your risk of experiencing depression during menopause is greater than of a woman that has none of these predisposing issues.

If you feel depressed, hopeless or suicidal during the onset of menopause, then you should immediately talk to your gynecologist first. Your doctor will refer you to the correct professionals to help you with these frustrating feelings. You may discover comfort in just knowing that this is a organic and normal part of menopause. Moreover, it is helpful to know that depression is a symptom of menopause that is not in your control and you should have the necessary help of professionals to adjust to the changes in your life.

Natural menopause relieflearn details

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Bone mineral density during menopause

BATH, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 05:  HRH Camilla, Duc...

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New research at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta found that other than estrogen, another hormone-follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) may also be involved in decreasing bone mineral density during menopause.

Diminished bone density is common among menopausal women and raises their risk of osteoporosis, bone fractures and subsequent complications.

Traditionally, studies have focused on therapies that seek to maintain the level of estrogen in the body. This hormone seems to sustain bone health, but it drops to an extremely low level during and after menopause.

Dr. Joseph Cannon said that the level of FSH gradually increases in the five years leading up to menopause, when it reaches its peak and estradiol bottoms out.
Research has indicated that bone density begins to decrease over the same period of time.

In addition, data from animal studies indicated a link between FSH and bone density, which made the researchers to probe whether the increase of FSH has an effect on bone density in humans.

Bone mineral density is a balancing act between bone loss and bone growth involving two types of cells in the body- osteoclasts that break down bone, and osteoblasts that regenerate it.

During menopausal bone loss, the osteoclasts’ destructive activity outweighs the osteoblasts’ rebuilding activity, resulting in an overall weakening of the bone.

Cytokines, which are secreted by white blood cells such as monocytes, are thought to play a role in this imbalance. One cytokine in particular, interleukin-1 beta (IL-1), is known to activate osteoclasts.

“Our hypothesis was that [FSH] was decreasing bone mineral density by influencing the production or action of cytokines,” said Dr. Cannon.

To test their hypothesis, the researchers conducted a study of 36 women from 20 to 50 years old.
By measuring each woman’s level of FSH and then using a low-energy x-ray to analyse her bone density, the researchers saw that higher levels of FSH among the women were indeed associated with lower bone density.

With the results in hand, the researchers wanted to determine the effects of FSH on a cellular level.

They collected blood samples from the study participants and isolated the monocytes to investigate the effect of FSH on cells outside of the body.
They discovered that the monocytes that make IL-1 have receptors for FSH.

Receptors act like a lock for a key- when the key (FSH) enters the lock (receptor), the cell performs the activity coded by that key.
The researchers determined that FSH stimulates the production of IL-1 if the monocytes have a sufficient number of FSH receptors.

After further analysis, they confirmed that blood FSH levels corresponded to blood levels of IL-1, which indicated that both inside and outside the body, FSH stimulation of monocytes results in the production of IL-1.

On comparing the amount of IL-1 in the participants’ blood to their bone density, the researchers found that the higher the level of IL-1, the lower the bone density, when other factors that control IL-1 activity were taken into account.

The study will be presented at the American Physiological Society’s Experimental Biology 2010 conference in Anaheim. (ANI)

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Early Menopause Symptoms and FSH Levels

Premature menopause is a menopause that happens before the age of 40.  It can occur organicly. In some cases it is caused by ovarian surgery, cancer cures and etc. Frequently symptoms of premature menopause are similar to those seen with menopause that develops later in life. These symptoms can include hot flashes, vaginal dryness, irregular periods, emotional predicaments, sleep predicaments, and etc. As a rule, menopause is confirmed when a woman hasn’t had her period for 12 months in a row.

But there are some cases when the presence of symptoms alone may not be sufficient to diagnose premature menopause with certainty. In these occasions, a blood test that preparations follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is done. Normally your ovaries use this hormone to make estrogen. When the ovaries stop making estrogen, the levels of FSH rise. When FSH levels are higher than normal, it typically means that you’ve already rediscomfortd menopause. It’s very very important to underline that estrogen levels vary daily, so this test may need to be repeated for an exact diagnosis to be made.

In addition, it’s necessary to have a test for levels of a type of estrogen called estradiol and luteinizing hormone (LH). When the ovaries fail, the levels of estradiol fall too. If the levels of estradiol are abnormally, it may be a sign of menopause. LH is a hormone that triggers ovulation. If you have higher-than-normal levels of LH, it means you’ve gone through menopause.

Some female have rigorous premature menopause symptoms. Besides female who have premature menopause tend to get weaker bones faster than female who enter menopause later in life. This fact raises their chances of getting osteoporosis and breaking a bone.

Premature menopause can be caused by chromosome defects, genetics, autoimmune ailment, surgery to remove ovaries, chemotherapy or radiation cure.  Defects in the chromosomes can cause premature menopause. female with Turner’s syndrome are born without a second X chromosome or without part of the chromosome. Their ovaries don’t form normally. So as the result and timely menopause can occur.

If you have the cases of premature menopause in your family history, then you are more likely to experience it yourself. If you suffer from an autoimmune disease, the immune system will mistakenly attack a part of the body’s own reproductive system. This hurts the ovaries and prevents them from making female hormones. This can happen in a few varyent ailment, including thyroid disease and rheumatoid arthritis.

Surgical removal of both ovaries (bilateral oophorectomy) puts a woman into menopause right away.

Women who have a hysterectomy but have their ovaries left in place will not have caused menopause because their ovaries will continue to make hormones. But these female no longer have their periods and cannot get pregnant. They might have such frustrating symptom of menopause as hot flashes because the surgery can sometimes disturb the blood supply to the ovaries. However in time, they may go through organic menopause a year or two earlier than expected.

Chemotherapy for cancer or pelvic radiation therapy for cancers of the reproductive system can cause ovarian damage and as the result a premature menopause. These cures may cause female to stop getting their periods, have fertility predicaments, or lose their fertility at all. This process can happen in a short period of time or take several months. In the case of cancer cure, the chances of going into menopause depend on the type of chemotherapy used and the age of the woman when she receives cure. Besides it depends on how much chemotherapy was used.

Anyway, the younger a woman is, the less likely she will go into menopause. You should be careful with your health. And if you notice some unusual symptoms, you should ask your doctor right away.

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