Women and men who suffer the side effects of menopause and andropause (the male menopause) often complain of stress, fatigue, depressed sex drive, weight gain, and anxiety.
Mild depressed mood is often the first sign of hormonal imbalance, including adrenal exhaustion. When some one experiences a significant change in mood for an extended period of time associated with loss of interest in usual activities, has sleeping and eating disorders, and withdraws from family and friends, she or he may have depression.
Depression can happen to anyone of any age. It afflicts about twenty million Americans each year. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from depression.
Deficiencies in thyroid, testosterone, progesterone and estrogen can affect mood and lower serotonin levels. Serotonin is an important neurotransmitter for mood and energy. Therefore, depression and anxiety appears when your serotonin drops due to an estrogen level declination. Testosterone deficiency has also been implicated in depression.
Anxiety refers to a complex combination of negative emotions that includes extreme fear, apprehension, extreme worry, and is often accompanied by physical sensations such as palpitations, chest pain and/or shortness of breath. Also, anxiety disturbs mood, thoughts, behavior and physiological activity.
The main cause of anxiety is hormone imbalance. Estrogen in women, and testosterone in men, have a definite effect on your mental state since they regulate the levels of cortisol, which is the hormone that produces stress. If your estrogen happens to drop, cortisol will not be controlled, producing more stress. Therefore, anxiety appears when your cortisol isn’t appropriately controlled due to an estrogen level declination.
This hormonal imbalance can also cause mood changes, including, mild depression, extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, memory changes and inability to concentrate.
Balancing hormones with BHRT, stress reduction, exercise and good nutrition can treat depression and anxiety.
MENOPAUSE
Menopause refers to that time in a woman’s life when menstruation ceases for 12 months. The ovaries decrease their output of estrogen, progesterone and testosterone and women begin to experience the effects of this decrease in hormones.
During menopause, hormone levels drop, which can trigger profound mental, emotional, and physical changes.
The symptoms of menopause include:
• Hot flashes, flushes, night sweats
• Irritability
• Mood swings, sudden tears
• Trouble sleeping through the night
• Loss of libido
• Dry vaginal wall
• Crashing fatigue
• Anxiety, feeling ill at ease
• Difficulty concentrating, disorientation
• Aching muscles and joints
• Headaches and migraines
• fluid retention
• Depression
• Exacerbation of existing conditions
• Increase in allergies
• Weight gain
• Hair loss or thinning
• Increase in facial hair

 

In addition to decreased levels of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, many other hormones including thyroid hormone and human growth hormone taper off during menopause.
As hormones levels decrease, profound changes begin occurring with growth and metabolism that affect the breasts, vagina, bones, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, urinary tract, cardiovascular system, skin, brain, and energy levels.
Many women experience hot flashes, loss of libido, weight gain, insomnia, and emotional changes such as depression and anxiety. Some long-term risks of menopause include osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease.
Medical research has proven that the majority of women’s disorders, including menopause, PMS, migraines, and depression can be treated with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
For women the midst of menopause, BHRT -bioidentical estrogen, progesterone, thyroid and testosterone can bring a rebirth of energy, sexual desire, and the ability to have a healthy active life. Bioidentical hormones offer the same benefits of synthetic hormones, without many of the unwanted dangerous side effects.
Male Menopause / Andropause

Women aren’t the only ones who experience a hormonal imbalance as they age. Men also suffer from fluctuating hormone levels and testosterone deficiencies that lead to the physical and mental changes associated with aging, a condition called andropause or male menopause.
While men don’t experience hormone changes the same way women do—with sudden symptoms like hot flashes and drastic mood swings—they do experience symptoms that have a significant impact on vitality and virility.
The symptoms of andropause occur gradually, and are the direct result of an age-related decline in testosterone and progesterone, and an increase in estrogen production. Symptoms can be exacerbated by the decline in thyroid, growth hormone and DHEA that often accompany andropause.
Andropause Symptoms:
• Body fat gain, particularly abdominal
• Loss of lean muscle tissue
• Depression
• Hair loss
• Wrinkling and drying of skin
• Fatigue
• Decreased libido
• Erectile dysfunction
• Hot flashes, blushing, sweating
• Aches and pains
• Poor sleep quality, insomnia
• Nervousness, anxiety, irritability
• Memory lapses
• Reduced exercise endurance
• Reduced motivation, apathy
Men often attribute these symptoms to stress at work or financial pressures at home, but andropause is a medical condition, and treatment with BHRT as part of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is available.
While changes to physical appearance can be dramatic, the most dangerous effect of increased estrogen is the amplified risk of enlarged prostate, heart attack or stroke.
It is important to check hormone levels and treat the symptoms when the appear, also to have routine physical exams.

The battle of the bulge is a shared story among women and men in the early 40s.And it’s not just the extra pounds; it’s how and where our bodies gain weight. The fat seems to accumulate around the stomach, buttocks and thighs.
Is it the bad diet? Lack of exercise? Not enough sleep? It all can contribute.
The Usual Suspects: progesterone, thyroid, estrogen and cortisol.
When a woman’s body no longer produces enough progesterone , either in perimenopause or menopause, she has entered a state of “estrogen dominance”. Estrogen dominance causes an increase in what is called “thyroid binding globulin”. When this globulin, the thyroid gland becomes dysfunctional, meaning we can diet and exercise with a vengeance and still not lose the weight.
Progesterone, is the hormone needed to equalize estrogen so that, with a healthy diet and exercise, the body’s metabolism will respond and weight loss can occur. Progesterone has calming effect in women and also can help regulate fluid retention.
The hormonal dysfunction and they are directly proportionate to the degree of estrogen dominance. By supplementing progesterone, we can effectively address some of the biochemical reasons for this weight gain. The goal is to address the excess estrogen and eliminate the hypothyroid condition so that, with a healthy diet and exercise, the body’s metabolism will respond and weight loss can occur.
Also, by putting the estrogen-progesterone in balance, we can reduce weight that is essentially good, old-fashioned water weight caused by bloating. Too much estrogen causes tissues around the abdominal area to retain water.
In younger women, this bloating is most noticeable around their menstrual cycle when their progesterone levels naturally drop to bring on menstruation. As women age and their progesterone levels do not cycle back up during the month resulting in estrogen dominance and non-stop bloating. Progesterone then acts as a natural diuretic, reducing the bloating and promoting weight loss.
The Other Offenders: Insulin and Cortisol.
While estrogen and progesterone are central, there are other facilitating hormones that may be acting up also – most often, insulin and cortisol.
Many women in their thirties experience never before known food cravings and the target of those is sweets. There is a very significant connection between estrogen and progesterone levels and insulin.
Insulin is the hormone made in the pancreas. This long thin organ is neatly tucked away under the left side of our rib cage and controls blood sugar levels. When insulin is released into our blood stream, the blood sugar level drops instantly. If too much insulin is released, the blood sugar level overshoots and drops too low. This sudden drop in blood sugar may leave us feeling weak, queasy, shaky, sweaty and craving sweets.
“Low blood sugar”, but here is where things start to compound. As the body’s production of progesterone decreases and circulating estrogen becomes dominant, insulin is released more rapidly and more often. So we are both unable to properly metabolize calories and, at the same time, taking more in.
Cortisol, is the “stress hormone”, produced in the adrenal glands that sit right above the kidneys. When you are under stress and have high levels of cortisol, your body is physiologically unable to go into a weight loss mode. Elevated cortisol levels make the body believe that there is danger ahead. Your body is programmed to conserve all your fat reserves for impending crisis. Cortisol can also affect the proper production of other hormones.
. Why Do We Need Weight Loss Hormones?
As a woman, your hormone levels are affected by the following:
• The normal fluctuations of your menstrual cycle.
• Postpartum phase
• Perimenopause
• Menopause
• Hysterectomy
• Genetics
• At different stages of life, women experience hormonal fluctuations, but key periods of womanhood, markedly the perimenopause stage, is where the hromone challenge starts. This is when the fight of progesterone versus estrogen begins. Others join in – testosterone, thyroxine, epinephrine, glucagon – along with insulin and cortisol. it’s not surprising that most women gain weight in their 30s and continue to gain into their 40s, 50s and beyond!
• Men can also experience sudden drops on testosterone, HGH and DHEA levels, causing weight gain, poor stamina, low exercise indurance and accumulation of fat in the abdomen area. They can also have imbalances of insulin, cortisol, glucagon, thyroid or thyroxine, epinephrine.
• Men can benefit from supplementation of testosterone, HGH and thyroid.
• Hormones can surely help with your weight loss plan and healthy lifestyle!