Managing menopause symptoms

The most common symptoms of menopause are hot flashes and night sweats.  These are the result of falling estrogen levels.  Being HYPOestrogen is no different than being HYPOthyroid.  If your thyroid function falls 25% you do not feel right.  The treatment is thyroid replacement medication.  When you go through menopause you don't lose 25% of your estrogen you lose almost 100% of it.  The treatment is estrogen replacement.  Estrogen replacement in the menopause does not cause breast cancer.  A whole generation of women have been scared away from and deprived relief from the side effects of menopause.  Instead, women are given medicines that try to treat the symptoms of menopause instead of treating the cause of their symptoms, which is replacing the estrogen

Estrogen promotes muscle mass.  When women go through menopause their percent muscle mass goes down and their percent body fat goes up.  Their arms and legs get thinner and their middle get thicker.  Estrogen replacement will work to minimize these changes

As we age our bone density naturally falls.  With menopause this can accelerate.  The best way to maintain bone health is to take estrogen.  Women that take estrogen have decreased rates of hip fractures.  This is due to two equal reasons.  First, their bones are stronger, so if they take a fall they won't break a bone.  Second,  women that take estrogen don't fall as much.  This is because they are more alert, their balance is better and their reflexes are quicker and don't fall as often.

Many women complain of what they call "Brain Fog".   They lose the ability to focus, concentrate and multi-task.  This is due to loss of estrogen and aggravated by sleep deprivation from night sweats.

Vaginal tissue health is dependent on estrogen.  Even with oral estrogen replacement the vaginal tissue will thin.  Many women begin to experience burning with urination due to the urine hitting the thining vaginal tissue and are mistakenly treated for a bladder infection.  Or they experience itching and are treated for a yeast infection.  This is typically not an infectious cause.  These symptoms are best treated by applying a prescription estrogen cream twice a week

In menopause vaginal tissue thins and the good beneficial bacteria decrease.  This allows unwanted bacteria (mostly E. coli and strep from the rectal area) to grow in the vagina causing vaginal discharge and odor and even bladder infections.  Estrogen use, (oral pills and topical cream) thicken the vaginal tissue by increasing the glycogen content of the cells.   Glycogen is a sugar and is the favorite food of the good bacteria acidophilus.  The acidophilus bacteria produce acid and keep the pH of the vagina acidic which deters the rectal bacteria from moving in.  Estrogen in effect acts as a probiotic for the vagina

When women go through the menopause their hormone levels fall and their vaginal tissue can thin leading to loss of sexual desire and pain with intercourse which further decreases their desire for intimacy.  This is in contrast to their husbands who are taking Testosterone replacement and Viagra.  Hormone replacement therapy will help these symptoms, including testosterone replacement.  The ovaries produce testosterone too,  and in certain cases testosterone replacement for women is beneficial

Women complain of skin changes after the menopause, mainly thinning of their skin and increase wrinkles.  Estrogen replacement in my opinion does more to maintain skin health and prevent wrinkles than any skin creams.  After treating women in menopause for over 30 years I have come to the conclusion that women that take estrogen age 10 months every year and women that don't take estrogen age 14 months every year.  Estrogen slows the aging process,  lack of estrogen accelerates the aging process