MONDAY, MARCH 23, 2015

The Best of Everything

An Advice and Support Guide for Menopaue

Cheryl Johnson RPh

My blog offers advice for common questions and answers related to menopause and perimenopause. Here you’ll learn about menopause’s effects on your hormone levels, thyroid health, bone density, body mass, hair changes, skin care, mental health and much more. I hope my guide helps you to live up to and beyond your best and healthiest life. This blog will also give you the opportunity to ask your own questions and share your experiences.

Change can be good and Embrace who you are now

Life is all about embracing change. It’s also about embracing our age–whatever it is–instead of fearing it. But, most of all, it’s about embracing who we are NOW. This can mark a turning point in your life opening the door to bigger and better things.

Understanding Menopause

Perimenopause begins several years before menopause. It's the time when the ovaries gradually begin to make less estrogen. It usually starts in a woman's 40s, but can start in her 30s or even earlier. In the last couple of peri-menopausal years, this level can drop dramatically causing many women to have menopausal symptoms.

How Long Does Perimenopause Last?

The average length of perimenopause is 4 years, but for some women this stage may last only a few months or continue for 10 years.

What Are the Signs of Perimenopause and Menopause?

Women in perimenopause have at least some these symptoms:

· Hot flashes

· Trouble sleeping

· Mood swings including depression

· Lower sex drive

· Fatigue and memory problems

· Irregular periods

· Vaginal dryness or discomfort during sex

· Altered thyroid hormone levels

· Hair loss and dry skin including other skin changes

· Decreased bone density

· Changes in weight and weight distribution

· Frequent headaches

· Stress incontinence or urinary frequency

· Breast tenderness

Other conditions associated with menopause:

Diabetes

Increased risk of cardiovascular disease including high blood pressure and stroke

Increased cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Osteoporosis

How Is Perimenopause Diagnosed?

Often your doctor can make the diagnosis of perimenopause based on your symptoms. A blood test to check hormone levels may also help, but your hormone levels are changing during perimenopause. It may be more helpful to have several blood tests done at different times for comparison.

The rise and fall of women's sex hormones

In addition to estrogen, levels of other produced hormones —progesterone and testosterone are also changing during your midlife years, as explained in the table below:

	*Estrogen*	*Progesterone*	*Testosterone*
*What does this hormone do?*	Stimulates growth of breast tissue Maintains vaginal blood flow and lubrication Causes lining of the uterus to thicken during the menstrual cycle Keeps vaginal lining elastic Many other functions, including preserving bone	Prepares lining of the uterus for a fertilized egg and helps maintain early pregnancy	Although known as the “male” hormone, testosterone is also important to women’s sexual health: Plays a key role in women’s estrogen production Contributes to libido May help maintain bone and muscle mass

MANAGING SYMPTOMS OF MENOPAUSE

Hormone replacement therapy seeks to return those hormones to the body in order to lessen symptoms. Through successful hormone replacement therapy, you’re able to live a more productive and comfortable life, well into your later years.

While some risks are associated with HRT, many health benefits have been discovered as well. HRT has been linked to reduction of: heart disease, diabetes, bone loss, and certain cancers to name a few of the benefits. Your physician can determine if HRT is right for you.

How is HRT taken?

Bioidentical HRT is becoming popular, as women are concerned with the risks identified with synthetic HRT. In bioidentical HRT, a pharmacist compounds a special blend of hormones intended to replace the depleted hormones in your body. Bioidentical hormones are generally created from elements found in nature. Hormone replacement therapy can be administered orally or via cream. In addition, they are often less costly than traditional prescription drugs and are usually covered by most insurance plans.

A Piller of the Community..talks about Viagra

Whats the difference between Niagara and Viagra? Niagara Falls.

All joking aside Viagra is big business.
The little blue pill...Viagra. The cost of this medication has skyrockted to around $40-$50 each making it unaffordable to many. This fact has many men buying from online sites outside of the US. In a recent article from Forbes.com:

Up To 77 Percent Of Viagra Bought From Outside Of The USA May Be Fake, And Possibly Dangerous Research Shows.

In January, 2013 customs officials intercepted 180,000 counterfeit Viagra pills at Miami International Airport. And these are just a handful of the cases currently in courts. The most recent Federal data show that seizures of counterfeit drugs are up by 200 percent and fake medications are now number six on the list of most-seized items.

Because Revatio - Sildenafil Citrate (used to treat pulomonary hypertension) just became generic many physicians are prescribing this instead

of Viagra with the instruction to take 2-5 tablets per dose. Many insurance companies will now start requiring a prior authorization for this medication.