As a menopause specialist, I am often asked to review natural supplements. There are plenty of natural options available so I can understand the difficulty one may have in choosing.   Most natural supplements for menopause contain either black cohosh, soy, ginseng, red clover, dong quai or their extracts.   I recently learned of new supplement that didn’t contain any of these ingredients. I was intrigued and decided to learn more about it. This natural supplement called “Warmi” contains vegetable and fruit extracts, from Peru. The vegetable is believed to have been eaten by Incan women 700 years ago.

 
I reviewed the Warmi research. There are three clinical trials completed but not published on the product.   It appears to offer the hot flash, cold sweat and mood swing relief I’ve found with better natural menopause remedies.

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 There was a report from the WHI that focused on breast cancer cases and risk of dying associated with the use of common hormones used in menopause….Prempro (combined conjugated equine estrogens and medroxyprogesterone acetate).   The study consisted of an average treatment time of 5.6 years and followed patients for an average of 11 years.

The new data relates to the risk of dying from breast cancer.  The study showed an extra 1 to 2 deaths from breast cancer per 10,000 women per year.  Specifically, for every 10,000 women in the study who were randomized to placebo, there were 1.3 deaths from breast cancer per year. For every 10,000 women randomized to combined hormone therapy, there were 2.6 deaths from breast cancer per year.  

Importantly, these results apply to the use of the combination of estrogen and progestin and not to estrogen alone. Therefore, for women who have had a hysterectomy and taking only estrogen…these results do not apply.  Similarly, the study did not study all types of hormone therapy.  Neither estradiol products or progesterone products were studied….therefore, no conclusion can be drawn about these products.  Read more…

What is Hypothyroidism?

The thyroid gland is one of the major endocrine (hormone secreting) glands of the body. It is a small gland located near the Adam’s apple and shaped like an “H”. Unless enlarged, it can barely be felt or seen. The thyroid gland secretes hormones that adjust the body’s metabolism. Your metabolism controls the speed at which chemical processes occur in the body, which affects many functions such as heart rate, temperature, and stamina/energy. The element iodine is needed to produce the two thyroid hormones, thyroxine (T4) and tri-iodothyronine (T3). The release of T4 and T3 is dependent on a hormone called TSH (thyroid secreting hormone).

 What are the Risk Factors for Hypothyroidism?
In the U.S., between 7 and 10% of the population over the age of 55 are affected by a thyroid disorder, with Caucasians more commonly affected than African-Americans. Females are 5-8 times more likely to have a thyroid disorder compared to men.

Hypothyroidism can be due to a variety of causes, including history of thyroid radiation, treatment for an overactive thyroid (Graves disease), removal of thyroid gland, and certain medications, such as lithium, amiodarone and iodine. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is a medical condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

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The perimenopause is a confusing time for women. The perimenopause is a distinct transition between the reproductive years and cessation of menses. This article will hopefully help to explain and offer treatment options for this often frustrating transition. The World Health Organization defines the onset of the perimenopause as the beginning of menstrual cycle changes. Early perimenopause changes include the first break in regular cycling of menses. Late perimenopause is classified after missing 3 to 11 months of menses, while menopause is reached after 12 months of no menstrual flow. Women usually notice the onset of perimenopause symptoms during their 40’s and irregularities usually persist for approximately 5 years.

The range of perimenopause symptom duration may be quite variable, from 2 to 8 years, or even longer. In general, the later in life that perimenopause symptoms begin, the shorter the transition to menopause. The hormonal changes taking place probably represent the major cause of symptoms experienced. These changes can produce many symptoms that are traditionally thought to only occur after menopause.

Contrary to popular belief, the perimenopause may be associated with elevations of estrogen levels. However, these elevations are generally followed by abrupt falls in estrogen levels. The constantly changing hormone levels of the perimenopause can precipitate significant hot flashes and night sweats. The ‘peaks and valleys’ of estrogen production during the hormonal ‘roller coaster’ invariably contribute to these symptoms. Other medical conditions commonly seen during the perimenopause years that can mimic these symptoms are thyroid irregularities and diabetes.

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Menopause symptoms may begin several years before your periods actually end and last for several months or several years after that. Women usually notice the beginning of perimenopause symptoms in their 40’s and irregularities usually persist for approximately five years. The average age of actual menopause in the U.S. is around 51.   As women go through these steps, it is important to remember that the “change” called menopause is a natural, normal phase of female development. It is not a disease process. While we speak of symptoms and treatments, those are only comfortable terms to describe what you may be feeling and what you can do about it. While women may be scared and frustrated by what’s happening, they should not consider themselves sick as they go through this transition.   At the same time, women may have important questions about the effects of changing hormones on their body and about illnesses that may become more likely with increasing age.  Natural and complimentary products are widely used during the perimenopause and menopause transition, with varying degrees of clinical and/or safety data.  Below is a review of some of the most popular natural products used today.

 Read on for information about the most commonly used natural products during the menopause transition.

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Hormone therapy is prescribed for troublesome symptoms during menopause.  While very effective in treating symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and mood changes, its use has declined due to safety concerns.  These safety concerns became very well publicized after the 2002 report from the Women’s Health Initiative study. Click here for more information.

Currently, the use of hormone therapy is still considered the gold standard for treating moderate to severe menopause symptoms.  Due to safety concerns, use is generally limited to the lowest effective dose for the shortest time frame.  However, women still have concerns about the potential risks associated with hormone therapy use.  Fortunately, there is new research showing a potential benefit to alternative ways that hormone therapy is administered. 

Hormone therapy is commonly administered in an oral tablet form.  However, hormones can also be delivered effectively via the skin in a transdermal patch form.  Due to the manner in which the hormone is metabolized once absorbed, practitioners have wondered if the patch is a safer way to deliver hormones.  Click here for more information. 

Good News for Women

Fortunately, two recent studies have found the transdermal patch to be a potentially safer way to administer menopause hormones.  Most recently, Dr. Suissa and colleagues from McGill University in Montreal reported that the use of a low dose estrogen patch does not seem to increase the risk of stroke(1).  In March, the same group reported that the patch was not associated with an increased risk of blood clots in postmenopausal women.  Read more…

Last week, Prolia™ (denosumab) was approved for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, defined as a history of osteoporotic fracture, or multiple risk factors for fracture; or patients who have failed or are intolerant to other available osteoporosis therapy.  In postmenopausal women with osteoporosis, Prolia reduces the incidence of vertebral, non-vertebral and hip fractures.  

 Prolia is the first and only RANK ligand inhibitor approved by the FDA.  Prolia has a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) that consists of a Medication Guide and a Dear Healthcare Professional Letter.  The manufacturer, Amgen, is also launching a voluntary program to monitor the long-term safety of Prolia and enhance the quality of data collected in the postmarketing setting.  This program is called the Prolia Post Marketing Active Safety Surveillance Program and is intended to collect information about pre-specified adverse events of special interest that may be reported by patients.  More information about this program may be found at www.proliasafety.com or by calling Amgen Medical Information at 1-800-772-6436.

 Prolia Important Safety Information 

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What are the Risk Factors for an underactive Thyroid (i.e. hypothyroidism)?
In the U.S., between 7 and 10% of the population over the age of 55 are affected by a thyroid disorder, with Caucasians more commonly affected than African-Americans. Females are 5-8 times more likely to have a thyroid disorder compared to men.

Hypothyroidism can be due to a variety of causes, including history of thyroid radiation, treatment for an overactive thyroid (Graves disease), removal of thyroid gland, and certain medications, such as lithium, amiodarone and iodine. The most common cause of hypothyroidism is a medical condition called Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.

What are the Symptoms of Hypothyroidism?
The symptoms of hypothyroidism can initially be very insidious. Some studies have found only 25-70% of elderly showing typical symptoms. A clinical exam does not establish the diagnosis in many cases. In fact, only 10% of patients with confirmed hypothyroidism were identified on a physical exam. The most important aspect of hypothyroidism is to be very cognizant regarding the subtle signs and symptoms that may develop. Alerting your physician to these signs and symptoms would allow laboratory testing to confirm the diagnosis.

Common symptoms include:

• dry skin
• hair loss
• cold intolerance
• confusion
• difficulty in concentrating
• constipation
• fatigue
• sluggishness
• hoarseness
• depression
• muscle cramps
• weight gain
• menstrual irregularities

Notice that many of these symptoms can easily be confused with menopause and perimenopause symptoms….Read on to help figure out how to diagnose a thyroid disorder.

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New eNewsletter Archive

MenopauseRx has created an easy to use archive of our latest newsletters for quick and easy review.

Here you’ll find past issues of our member’s only newsletters that contain news and study information related to your menopausal transition.

– To access the archive, click here.

(NAPSI)-Here’s a fact that you may want to sleep on. According to the National Sleep Foundation, nearly 75 percent of women between the ages of 30 and 60 are not getting the eight hours of sleep they need.

Many women find it difficult to unwind at the end of the day and are left tossing and turning, trying to fall asleep and waking up in the middle of the night. Often blamed are hectic lifestyles filled with daily stress, anxiety and responsibilities, but there may be more to what’s keeping women up at night.

If you’re a woman between the ages of 35 and 55, you may be experiencing hormone fluctuations due to perimenopause and menopause, which can cause a number of physical and emotional changes including increased irritability, anxiety and night sweats. These changes may upset your body’s natural sleep pattern. In fact, according to a recent study, sleeplessness is the number-two complaint of menopausal women.

Researchers believe that lack of quality sleep may contribute to obesity, diabetes, immune system dysfunction as well as safety issues such as car accidents and medical errors, not to mention impaired job performance and productivity in other activities.
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