Hormone Health
All Hormones Are Not Created Equal
BEFORE KIDS
Do you feel like your hormones rule your life? Do you dread your monthly cycle? When we have not had children yet or don’t plan to and have our monthly cycle, a lot of us suffer from heavy, irregular or very painful periods. Many women also complain of menstrual migraines and PMS symptoms. This is often due to an excess of estrogen and not enough progesterone. Checking your hormone levels at the correct time in your cycle is key to beginning to balance them. With the use of natural supplements and eating certain foods you can decrease your estrogen levels. Some women may need to take bio-identical progesterone, which can help greatly with decreasing cramps, heavy flows and duration of your period.
AFTER KIDS
If you have had children and felt like you were never the same again, you can probably blame your hormones! When you are pregnant your estradiol levels increase into the 17,000-20,000 pg/mL ranges and your progesterone is usually well over 100. After you give birth your progesterone drops very fast within the first week, which is often the cause of postpartum depression. Many women have essentially no circulating progesterone after giving birth and suffer greatly. Our estrogen levels decrease as well, causing additional emotional imbalances. When our bodies do begin to recover from giving birth, our hormones may not bounce back. Do you want to have your sex drive back, but it just isn’t there? Maybe you never had one before getting pregnant. Testosterone is an important hormone for women and helps improve your energy, sex drive, mental focus and bone strength. Testosterone levels can be low before having kids for some women. When you are pregnant your testosterone level hovers around 120 and can drop to under 10 within a few short months after delivery. This can leave you feeling tired, emotional and anxious. All women who have had a baby need to have their hormones checked and continually monitored with blood tests. Hormone replacement can be prescribed based on your levels and is safe for nursing mothers. Options for hormone replacement include bio-identical pills, creams and pellets. Jaclyn has extensive knowledge and skill when providing hormone replacement to her patients and is a Biote Medical Certified Provider.
MENOPAUSE
Do you have a fan blowing on you constantly because you never know when a hot flash will hit? Have you turned into someone you barley recognize, have trouble remembering things, feel like you could burst into tears at any moment? IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT, or your husbands fault!! You may still be getting periods, having very irregular periods or no period at all. Every women goes through menopause differently and we are all jealous of those who don’t even know they went through it at all! But if you have been struggling with depression, hot flashes, night sweats, low sex drive, trouble loosing weight especially around your mid-section, decreased muscle mass or emotional instability, there is help available. Many women are scared and confused when it comes to hormone replacement because they have heard about the horrible side effects, like breast cancer. But bio-identical hormones have been around since the early 1900’s and have been studied extensively. Natural hormone replacement has been shown to increase bone mineral density, protect against breast cancer, improve immune system function and help you feel freaking amazing!! The only way to know what your hormones are up it to get a simple blood test. Don’t guess, get the test!