The Effect of Balancing Estrogen and Progesterone on PMS

Achieving balance between estrogen and progesterone helps to restore the body’s natural hormonal state and lessen the occurrence of severe PMS symptoms.

Premenstrual syndrome or PMS is the onset of various symptoms both physical and emotional that occur in an estimated 75 – 90% of women of child-bearing age, between 2 and 14 days prior to the onset of the menstrual period. The characteristics related to this condition are numerous (over 100), and occur most often in women from their late 20′s into their 40′s. Some of these include abdominal cramps, water retention, weight gain, moodiness, fatigue, lower back pain, breast tenderness, headache, irritability, depression, and food cravings.

A definitive cause of this condition is not known. For a number of years, it was considered a psychological problem, a view which completely ignored the hormonal, nutritional and biochemical characteristics related to the syndrome. Today it is widely thought that it is the result of women’s sensitivity to hormonal shifts during the course of the reproductive cycle.

About 10% of women who experience Premenstrual syndrome have severe symptoms causing a disruption in their lifestyle. While stress can greatly aggravate or amplify the condition, it is not a direct cause. The symptoms usually diminish or disappear altogether once the menstrual period (bleeding) starts.

Diagnosis is usually based on the collection of symptoms a woman may experience. Relief can be found through a number of remedies including taking magnesium or calcium, using a natural progesterone supplement, regular exercise, and avoiding stress. Medical treatment is available for relief from severe symptoms.

The characteristics normally reported are related to the normal levels of estrogen in the presence of low progesterone, or elevated estrogen and the condition of estrogen dominance. When balance exists between estrogen and progesterone, the symptoms are lessened, giving a woman suffering those symptoms much desired relief.


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Concerned About Your Irregular Periods During Menopause? This Should Put Your Mind at Ease

Irregular menstruation-periods that are shorter or longer, lighter or heavier, with more or less time in between them-is usually the first sign our bodies give us that menopause is near. While it’s considered a symptom of menopause, irregular periods are actually a perimanopause symptom that occurs during the years leading up to full menopause. In any case, since irregular periods can go on for six years or more, it helps to know what to expect and how you can manage your cycle

How menopause affects the menstrual cycle

As you’d expect, the crazy periods that come along with menopause are caused by lower levels of the female hormones estrogen and progesterone. As levels of these hormones decline, your pituitary gland sends out more of the hormone that stimulates the follicles. While your body is busy try to get levels of these hormones to balance out, your menstrual cycle is caught in the crossfire.

Heavy periods during menopause

Estrogen and progesterone regulate the thickening of the lining of the uterus that’s shed each month during menstruation. When levels of these hormones get out of whack, the lining can become thicker than usual. That, of course, results in heavier bleeding when the lining is shed.

You could experience excess menstruation this symptom for six years or more before your periods stop.

Missing periods and more frequent periods

Skipping periods during menopause is also fairly common. Many women skip periods for several months in a row, while others have one only every other month. Menopause being the individual experience that it is, other women experience the exact opposite: more frequent periods. Women with this symptom have a regular cycle, but the cycle is shorter than the usual 28 days.

Longer or shorter periods

Longer periods happen to a fair amount of women, too. Some women entering menopause find their periods going of for up to three weeks, although flow is usually minimal. On the other hand, you could get off easy and end up having periods that last just a day or two.

Watery periods

This symptom of menopause can be rather disturbing because while most of us have heard about the heavy periods and irregular cycles, having watery periods doesn’t get mentioned much. It does happen fairly frequently, though, usually to women who experience heavy periods. While watery periods are usually nothing to worry about, if there’s a chance you could be pregnant, make sure you don’t have an ectopic pregnancy. If you experience abdominal pain, see a doctor.

Treatments for irregular periods

One of the simplest ways to normalize your menstruation is to make sure you’re getting enough B complex vitamins, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids in your diet. All these nutrients have been shown to help normalize the menstrual cycle. If you’d like to try herbs, black cohosh and chasteberry tree are good choices. You may also want to consider adding natural sources of estrogen in the form of estrogenic foods such as soy, cherries, and yams.

Irregular periods, especially heavy periods and longer periods are part an parcel of menopause for most women. As annoying as it is, you can rest assured that it will pass, although it may take a few years. In the meantime, you may to try a natural treatment for irregular periods such as herbs or natural progesterone.


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Can Natural Progesterone Relieve the Symptoms of the Menopause?

Natural progesterone is highly recommended as a menopause symptoms reliever. It will even out the hormones in the body if a female becomes estrogen dominant, which often happens around the time of menopause. It can also benefit women who have had a hysterectomy or who are suffering from symptoms of PMS.

Natural progesterone cream such as NatPro matches the progesterone that is found in the body without any unnatural substances being used. This means there are no side effects as you are simply replacing the body’s natural hormones with progesterone cream. You must be aware when purchasing progesterone cream that you only purchase the natural varieties such as NatPro, which is known to be a top of the line natural progesterone product. Synthetically produced progesterone will bring upon side effects to the menopausal woman such as migraines, asthma, fluid retention and cardiac problems.

These creams like NatPro are simply used on the skin. The skin then absorbs the progesterone. It is a painless method and even easier than taking pills. Natural progesterone will relieve the symptoms of menopause. Not only that, it also provides middle aged women with a host of additional benefits including:

Increases libido

Helps prevent against various cysts and cancer

Relieves depression

Normalizes blood sugar levels

Menopause generally occurs from age 50-55 in women. Symptoms associated with menopause commonly include:

Hot flashes – flushing of the face and overall increase in body temperature

Depression – Hormonal changes often cause depression

Irritability – Mood swings and irritability are common

Vaginal itchiness – Dryness and itchiness in the vagina is a common menopause symptom. See your doctor to rule out serious problems here.

Fatigue – Many women note that they feel extra tired during menopause.

There are also other symptoms experienced by menopausal women.

NatPro, the natural progesterone cream, provides fantastic menopause symptom relief. There are no toxic substances in NatPro and it is not tested on animals.

Progesterone has a regulatory effect on the body so if it exists in lowered amounts, the body can begin to react inefficiently. Many pre-menopausal women can tend to be estrogen dominant; therefore progesterone needs to be supplemented to even out the hormonal balance.

Estrogen dominance can lead to such things as uterine fibroids, weight gain, infertility and cancer. This is where natural progesterone comes in. It will help maintain optimal levels of progesterone whilst helping to avoid an over abundance of estrogen. With that said, menopausal women will eventually experience a drop in estrogen levels. This can lead to the usual array of menopause symptoms.

Supplementing with natural progesterone cream can help this situation dramatically. Natural progesterone cream like NatPro aims to resolve problems such as vaginal dryness and hot flushes amongst other menopausal symptoms.

Every woman will require a different amount of natural progesterone cream. It will depend on whether you are menopausal, pre-menopausal (where estrogen dominance can occur) and any other health issues you may have. It is best if you see a doctor before taking on any progesterone supplementation plan.


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Getting Relief From PMS Though Progesterone Therapy Part 2

Oral contraceptives- These may be prescribed to help even out the ovarian hormones with a woman’s body. The newer class of oral contraceptives show a much greater improvement in hormonal fluctuations in women.

Pain medications- These help bring relief from menstrual cramps, headaches, backaches and also pelvic discomfort. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics that may be prescribed include NSAIDS such as Advil, Motrin, Aleve, Anaprox, Tylenol, etc. Mefenamic acid such as Ponsel may also be prescribed.

Seeing that treatment for PMS is symptomatic, the woman in question of treatment plays an instrumental part in formulating an effective treatment plan. Exercise is another highly effective way to reduce symptoms of PMS. How? Exercise helps reduce stress, anxiety, depression and anger in most women. Exercise has a highly positive effect on hormones since it releases the feel-good hormone serotonin.

Drinking tea is another great way to reduce PMS symptoms. Increasing dietary carbohydrates during the weeks before the menstrual period can also really help. Carbohydrates are helpful since they are known to increase serotonin levels in women, especially during the onset of PMS. Reducing alcohol and quitting smoking altogether may also help tremendously with reducing severity of PMS. Vitamin B6 can help reduce bloating and balances the hormones a bit further.

Other products that should be avoided or eliminated altogether in the weeks leading up to menstrual flow include caffeine, refined sugar, salt, dairy products and foods containing a high source of animal fats.

Stress reduction also has a huge positive impact on the symptoms of PMS. Do whatever possible to reduce your stress levels. Take a warm hot bath, meditate, listen to relaxing music, just do whatever it takes to reduce your stress levels.

In recent years, a new treatment for PMS that has been showing tremendous promise is natural progesterone therapy. Why? Because it’s been proven to help get rid of the estrogen dominance that may be the source of PMS. Natural progesterone therapy comes in both vaginal and rectal form. The cream is not messy like typical creams, nor does it drip and the body literally absorbs it within minutes of application. So what does natural progesterone cream help alleviate? PMS symptoms such as cramps, depression, fatigue, bloating, headaches, weight gain and irritability are helped tremendously by the cream.

To date, the most safest option for PMS is natural progesterone cream and Natpro natural progesterone cream is often recommended by most women who have experience using different types of creams.


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Can Natural Progesterone Relieve the Symptoms of PMS?

Many women would like to now if natural progesterone will relieve their PMS symptoms. The good news is that it certainly can in most cases.

Progesterone is a hormone which is very much involved in the menstruation cycle as well as pregnancy. They are a naturally occurring hormone in the human body. Progestins on the other hand are synthetic progestogens. This is why natural progesterone is ideal as a form of PMS relief, because it is all natural and not chemically formulated. PMS or pre menstrual syndrome is a common occurrence for women when they are about to have their period each month. Symptoms can include:

Fatigue – Most women feel more tired than usual just before their period begins.

Mood swings – Irritability and moodiness is a common sign of PMS.

Headaches – Not all women experience headaches however many notice an onset of headaches up to one week before menstruation.

Stomach cramping – Very common symptom, often severely debilitating.

Sore breasts – Most women experience breast tenderness.

Depression – Similar to mood swings, with heightened emotions causing feelings of depression and sadness.

The above are just the typical symptoms and the most common. Some women experience other symptoms for which natural progesterone can also assist with.

Menstruation affects women both physically and mentally so it is important that any treatment addresses both of these issues, not just the physical symptoms as many PMS medications attempt to focus on. PMS sufferers often show signs of estrogen dominance. This is where there is not enough progesterone being produced in the body

If a woman fails to ovulate in a particular month (and this is more common than you think) then the progesterone levels will not rise enough to be balanced with estrogen. This means that progesterone deficiency will occur which can cause PMS afflictions.

Many women have a great response to natural progesterone supplementation. It is mostly used in certain situations such as for women who are using estrogen replacement therapy, when birth control pills with too much estrogen in them are used, for women who have undergone a hysterectomy, post menopausal women and certain other situations. These are the people who respond most strongly to natural progesterone supplementation.

If you want to treat PMS with it then the best way to do it is to start building up the level of progesterone in your body from around day 12 of your menstrual cycle (you will need to know your cycle to do this). If you then increase these levels right up to just before your period, you should notice a dramatic decrease in PMS symptoms.

Although day 12 is recommended as the time to being Natural progesterone treatment, every woman is different and some require progesterone earlier than day 12. You will gradually learn to know the right time for you after you begin using it. After using Natural progesterone for 3 or 4 months you should notice an overall difference in your menstruation symptoms. NatPro is an excellent way to relieve the symptoms of PMS.


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Hair Loss at Menopause – Less Hair on Head, More on Face

It’s perhaps one of the most distressing symptoms of menopause: thinning hair. While many assume it’s a man’s problem, some 40% of women over 50 experience hair loss. The problem can cause loss of self-esteem and self-confidence, so it’s not something to be taken lightly. The good news, though, is that if you find your hair falling out during menopause, there’s usually something you can do about it.

The reasons for thinning hair

There are several causes for hair loss at menopause, but for once, estrogen’s not to blame.

This time it’s testosterone, an important hormone for women as well as men.

Although the exact causes are unknown, it’s thought that as your estrogen and progesterone levels drop, you end up with a relatively higher level of testosterone, which affects your hair follicles.

A genetic irregularity in the way your follicles metabolize testosterone causes this hormone to be converted to dihydrotestosterone (DHT) at a higher rate more than in other women. DHT causes the hair follicles to shrink and the result is hair loss, thinner strands of hair, and less pigment (grey or white hair).

In most women who experience this, hormone and reproductive function is normal, so there’s nothing to worry about in that department.

Hormones aren’t all there is to it, though. Many women overlook the fact that stress can also lead to thinning hair. Whether it’s a serious illness, the death of a loved one, or adjusting to a major life change such as retirement, stress can shock the hair follicles into dormancy. If you have extreme hair loss, though, contact your doctor. Dramatic hair loss can be a sign of a serious heath condition like thyroid disease.

Is it temporary or permanent?

The first question most women want answered is whether hair loss during menopause is temporary or permanent. Does it grow back or are we stuck with thin hair? The answer depends on the cause of your thinning hair. If you suffer from genetic “female pattern baldness” (your mother or grandmothers lost hair, too), then unfortunately hair loss is likely to be permanent. That’s why it’s a good idea to do what you can to prevent it before it goes too far. On the other hand, hair loss from stress is temporary and your hair will resume its normal rate of growth within 6 months after the stress passes.

How to prevent hair loss

If you think you may be facing the possibility of permanent hair loss, there are things you can do to prevent it. Good nutrition is vital for healthy hair, especially vitamins A and D, iron and protein. For mild hair loss, it can help to increase the level of female hormones in the body. For a natural way to do this, try foods rich in phytoestrogens like soy and lentils or natural progesterone creams made from these plants.

Hair loss products

For serious cases of hair loss, products may be prescribed by a physician. The two most popular products for men, Minidoxil (Rogaine) and Finasteride (Propecia) can be used by women, but only those no longer able to conceive, since these drugs are known to cause fetal abnormalities.

While thinning hair during menopause can become a serious problem if left untreated, there are a things you can do to save your hair. If you’d rather not to risk it with prescription drugs, try adding hair-health nutrients and phytoestrogens to your diet.


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Natural Progesterone is Nature’s HRT

Some 40 years ago, the subject of the menopausal life stage of women became a popular topic of women’s health. In those days, several segments of society and medicine popularized the idea that menopause was a tragic condition that women were obliged to suffer through, from which they should be rescued.

At that time, HRT or hormonal replacement therapy for treatment of menopause symptoms came into vogue. With this treatment, synthetic estrogen hormones were administered to women, effectively increasing their estrogen hormone levels without any method of counterbalance. Once introduced, this treatment was widely used without sufficient study of its effects and the possible health risks it may include.

By the mid-1970′s it was discovered and well-documented that HRT using synthetic estrogen was indeed hazardous with increasingly deadly consequences for women. The women who had used HRT were alarmingly more likely to develop endometrial cancer.

More recently, HRT has been employed using a combination of synthetic progesterone (progestin) and estrogen. However, in 1995 the New England Journal of Medicine published the results of a study conducted on over 120,000 women regarding the use of HRT.

The published study warned of the significant increased risk of breast cancer related to HRT. It determined that women using HRT longer than five years had an increased risk of breast cancer by as much as 30 – 40 percent. For women aged 60 – 64 years who used the treatment for more than five years, the risk jumped to an even more alarming 70 percent. Last, the study determined that women who used HRT were 45 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than those who had not used HRT, or had only used it for less than a five year period.

As a result of these and other findings, attention was turned to the use and benefits of natural progesterone as an alternative to traditional hormone replacement therapy. In the 1980′s, Dr. John Lee began to research the use of synthetic hormones in HRT. Some 10 years ago, he first published his findings demonstrating that not only did synthetic hormones not perform as they were thought to, but they actually posed a threat to women’s health.

Natural progesterone is now being used by women worldwide as an alternative to HRT with positive results. Relief from menopausal symptoms as well as symptoms associated with conditions of estrogen dominance or low progesterone are widely reported. In addition, there are benefits to other systems of the body (not only reproductive) that progesterone affects .

While there needs to be ongoing study of natural progesterone use for a full understanding of its impact and potential in hormonal treatments, it’s quite evident that it is a viable alternative for women seeking help with issues related to hormonal health.


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Can Natural Progesterone Replace HRT?

HRT or Hormone Replacement Therapy is a somewhat controversial treatment option for menopausal women. Many experts believe that HRT is actually unsafe. It is a synthetic treatment, in other words it is not natural. Whilst some women see positive effects to HRT treatment, others find the long term risks or side effects are not worth it and these women often seek a natural treatment such as natural progesterone.

When HRT is used for long periods of time, as it often is, it is thought to be unsafe to the body. HRT usually involves taking a combined hormonal supplement of both estrogen and progestin. The reason that some experts fear that HRT is unsafe is due to two studies by the Women’s Health Initiative which showed that women who took hormone therapy consisting of estrogen and progestin were at a greater risk of stroke and breast cancer as well as other diseases.

Researchers and doctors were so concerned about the consequences of studying women taking the estrogen-progestin combination that they actually cut short a trial because they found that too many women were suffering health consequences of the treatment.

Besides cancer, some of the other serious effects which synthetic HRT can lead to an increased change of getting include:

Blood sugar disturbances which can lead to diabetes

Blood clots

Gall bladder disease

Liver disease

Heart attacks

High blood pressure and hardening of the arteries

Stroke and thrombosis

On the other hand, natural progesterone does not come with the risks of the scientific form of Hormone Replacement Therapy.

Trials in 1995 showed that natural progesterone is more effective then synthetic progestin when it comes to hearth health. It was also demonstrated that natural progesterone protects against uterine cancer just as well as synthetic progestin does. Unfortunately the drug manufacturers fail to see or acknowledge the benefits of natural progesterone, therefore many women are lead into taking HRT with little regard or knowledge of the consequences.

A study at the College of Nursing and Health Sciences at The University of Texas it was shown that the studied women who were using progesterone cream everyday found relief in their symptoms of menopause. They also did not have the side effects which are so commonly associated with progestins.

Natural progesterone cream can replace HRT when estrogen dominance is a problem. It is a good idea to use natural progesterone cream like NatPro for up to 7 months and if symptoms such as flushes and vaginal irritation persist then an estriol treatment can be used as well. If you do not still have ovaries then your body can still make estrogen from your body fat which means that you may be able to stop your estrogen replacement therapy after around six months.

Natural progesterone is certainly a viable replacement for Hormone Replacement Therapy in some circumstances. You are highly advised to see your doctor before committing to any sort of hormonal treatment as the case will differ for each woman. If you do decide to undertake natural progesterone supplementation as a HRT treatment then do consider NatPro which is an extremely high quality, all natural progesterone cream.


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Is Natural Progesterone Really Natural?

Natpro Progesterone Creams is one of the best creams out there on the market for women suffering from PMS or menopause symptoms. Just listen to what others have said about it:

“To this day I have continued to use natural progesterone cream almost without a break. The symptoms have not returned although when I’ve been through a stressful situation, mild depression and bruising has recurred. This is soon remedied by applying more natural progesterone.”

“I have over the years, tried several different brands but Natpro is one of the best, with a balance of ingredients which work quickly and effectively”

Unlike many other creams on the market, Natpro Progesterone Cream contains no animal products (so no animals are harmed in its production.) Natpro Progesterone Cream is made from only vegetable substances that are not genetically modified in any way but it mimics the progesterone in a woman’s body because it is bio-identical to the hormones the body produces itself.

To show you that there are no toxic substances in Natpro Progesterone Cream, here are a list of the ingredients to be found in a single tube- spring water, organic virgin macadamia oil, natural progesterone 2000 mg, organic citrus extract, glyceryl stearate, vegetable glycerine, sodium borate, cetearyl alcohol, cetearyl glucoside, vitamin E, titanium dioxide and silver chloride. The natural progesterone component is derived from soya rather than Wild Yam which has been shown to be somewhat ineffective in use as natural progesterone source.

The ingredients contained in Natpro Progesterone Cream remains largely unchanged since 1996 when it was first developed, however its inventors are constantly working to make it more healthy for its users.

Jean Morgan is currently going through the menopause having previously suffered really badly with PMS and has researched natural remedies extensively. Visit her website about [http://www.buynaturalprogesterone.net/]Natural Progesterone for more information about the PMS and menopause and how natural progesterone can help.

Jean also has a blog at http://mywebinfosites.com/menopause/ where she offers menopause information and some menopause humour for those lighter moments.

If you would like to buy Natpro Natural Progesterone it is available to purchase online at her websites.


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Getting Relief From PMS Though Progesterone Therapy Part 1

No woman wants to suffer every month when she gets Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (PMS). There are various physical symptoms that come with PMS including bloating, acne, fatigue, headaches and breast tenderness. The emotional symptoms of PMS are even worse and they might include sadness, depression, anger, irritability, becoming overly sensitive to little things and of course, irritability. Over the years, progesterone cream has been the treatment of choice for the majority of women. One product that has been receiving huge acclaim is Natpro Natural Progesterone.

Different women experience different types of specific symptoms, so finding relief for PMS can often be very difficult to achieve for most women due to the different intensities and severities of each case of PMS. Effective treatment will usually entail a combination of the following: exercise, healthy nutritional intake, emotional guidance and specific changes to one’s lifestyle.

Keeping a PMS diary will help you establish which treatment works best for you. In your diary you should keep tabs on specific symptoms you experience each month and note all the activities you do to successfully relieve them. A PMS diary will help you determine with specific treatment works to treat a specific symptom. Before we take a further look at Natpro’s natural progesterone cream for effective PMS relief, let’s look at some other commonly used options.

Commonly used traditional options include:

-Exercise

-Quitting smoking(social and frequent)

-Reducing or quitting alcoholic intake

-Eliminating salt from one’s diet prior to menstrual time

-Take supplements daily. These might include vitamins B6,vitamin E, magnesium and calcium

-Reduction of sugar intake. Especially refined sugar.

Medications are also often prescribed to help lessen the effects of PMS. Such medications might include:

Antidepressants- This treatment option can help with relief from sadness and mood disturbances. The antidepressant serves as a means to balance hormonal changes within the body that might affect mood negatively. Antidepressants work by increasing “feel-good” brain chemicals, such as serotonin. The brain chemical levels are often affected negatively by the rapidly changing ovarian hormonal levels during PMS.

Ovarian suppressors- Medications such as Danazol (Danocrine) are used in suppressing ovarian hormone production. However, they cannot be used for a long time as the side effects can be pretty severe when used for a prolonged period of time. Another choice of effective treatment include gonadotropin-releasing hormones. This class of drugs can often bring relief to many women suffering from PMS. Unfortunately, this type of treatment cannot be given for long periods of time due to the severity of side effects when taken for a longer period. They can, in fact, have an adverse effect on bone density and can also increase the risk for bone thinning. These types of hormones may be prescribed in combination with other hormone supplements for even greater PMS relief.


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