Female hormone production deteriorates as a woman transitions into menopause. This transition can begin as early as age thirty-five and often lasts for several years, starting with perimenopause and ends after twelve months of amenorrhea. During this time a women’s menstrual cycle becomes irregular and fertility diminishes.

Menopause is a natural, gradual process during which a woman’s ovaries begin to produce lower levels of estrogen and progesterone, and her supply of eggs becomes depleted. Declining hormone levels due to menopause can cause a variety of symptoms including chronic fatigue, a diminished sense of wellbeing, and loss of libido – just to name a few. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy enables women to restore their natural hormone levels, combating these symptoms and improving overall feelings of wellness.

Female hormone production deteriorates as a woman transitions into menopause. This transition can begin as early as age thirty-five and often lasts for several years, starting with perimenopause and ends after twelve months of amenorrhea. During this time a women’s menstrual cycle becomes irregular and fertility diminishes.

Menopause is a natural, gradual process during which a woman’s ovaries begin to produce lower levels of estrogen and progesterone, and her supply of eggs becomes depleted. Declining hormone levels due to menopause can cause a variety of symptoms including chronic fatigue, a diminished sense of wellbeing, and loss of libido – just to name a few. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy enables women to restore their natural hormone levels, combating these symptoms and improving overall feelings of wellness.

Menopause transition begins several years before menopause, during which time the ovary’s estrogen production declines. Many women will experience these biological changes differently, with symptoms including:

• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Mood swings
• Sudden tears
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Irritability
• Loss of libido
• Vaginal dryness
• Heart palpitations
• Muscle stiffness or aches
• Insomnia
• Urinary urgency
• Cold flashes
• Clammy skin
• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Dry skin
• Thinning hair
• Loss of breast fullness
• Osteoporosis risk
• Cardiovascular disease

Typically, we begin perimenopause or menopause treatment by testing and evaluating an individual’s hormone levels. Once the proper bioidentical hormone treatment is decided upon, we work with patients to create a healthy lifestyle and diet that works for them.

Aging is difficult enough without having to suffer through the symptoms caused by declining hormone levels. Carriage House Medicine is here to support your transition and provide naturopathic health care to promote your excellent health.

Testosterone levels decrease naturally in men as part of the aging process. This hormone loss is called andropause, testosterone deficiency, androgen decline in the aging male (ADAM), late onset hypogonadism (LOH) or, more colloquially, male menopause or “manopause.”

While some men experience symptoms of this decline in hormones as an expected part of the natural aging process, others experience untenable emotional and biological symptoms. This period of testosterone loss most commonly begins at age forty, with testosterone levels dropping at 1% a year. Men may feel the effects of this hormone reduction immediately, or may begin to notice symptoms after a few years of hormone decline, between the ages of forty-five through fifty-five.

While the age at which andropause occurs is often around the same age at which menopause occurs for women, this hormone imbalance is different from that experienced by women. Namely, the testosterone deficiency is gradual, as opposed to the steep hormone decline experienced by women. However, andropause can dramatically affect a man’s sex drive, energy level, feelings of wellness, and mood. Recent medical research shows that replenishing low testosterone provides significant improvement in symptoms caused by andropause.

Most classic indications of “maleness” come from the testosterone naturally produced by a man’s body. When this hormone declines, a man’s underlying notion of his own masculinity can be challenged. Andropause causes a combination or all of the symptoms below:

• Erectile dysfunction
• Decreased libido
• Infertility
• Muscle loss
• Heart palpitations
• Shrunken testes
• Fatigue
• Sleep problems
• Memory loss
• Depression
• Irritability
• Anxiety
• Aches and pains
• Breast enlargement
• Digestive difficulties
• Sweating and flushing
• Cholesterol imbalance
• Sugar imbalance
• Excessive sweating
• Prostate enlargement
• Tinnitus
• Osteoporosis
• Hot flashes
• Night sweats
• Hair loss
• Urinary difficulties
• Bladder weakness
• Skin dryness
• Weight gain
• Anemia

There is no need to suffer through a decline in testosterone. At Carriage House Medicine, we can administer a blood test to diagnose this issue, evaluate the results, and determine the right balance of bioidentical hormones necessary to correct the imbalance. Testosterone replacement therapy is a simple, yet effective, treatment of andropause.