Female Hormones

At birth, a female’s ovaries contain about 500,000 follicles and are the source of her future eggs.  By puberty this number has decreased to 300,000 and by forty the average female has only 5,000 to 10,000 follicles remaining.  Fundamentally, when our follicle supply is depleted, this is the end of a woman’s reproductive stage and we no longer menstruate.  The end of menses is menopause.

There are many symptoms of menopause or low hormone levels.  A hormone imbalance can occur as early as puberty and adolescence.  A hormone imbalance left untreated can develop into a myriad of problems.  Heavy, painful periods, irregular periods, migraine headaches, endometriosis, acne, PCOS and weight issues are just a few of the problems associated with hormone imbalance that young women deal with and often go unrecognized as simply a hormone imbalance issue.

As women reach the perimenopause stage around thirty-five to forty, hormone levels begin to decline (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA).  Levels will still produce menstrual periods but do not necessarily maintain optimal metabolic function through the body which is when vague symptoms begin appearing; sleep, memory, mood, energy level, immune system, body fat distribution, circulatory system, digestive tract, bone metabolism, skin changes, sexual function and many more.

The onset of menopause is defined as 12 months from the last menstrual period.  By this time, the hormone production has decreased considerably and health risks rise; heart disease, bone loss, high cholesterol, cancer are just a few associated with a lack of hormones.  Well-done bioidentical hormone studies show that optimizing hormones decrease the risk of heart attacks, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, osteoporosis, incontinence, colon and breast cancer.  Loss of hormones robs us of energy, sex drive, sleep, muscle strength, balance, memory, concentration, and our zest for life.