What are the effects of female hormone deficiency? What's the best remedy?
Progesterone influences your mood and protects against several serious health problems. Together with estrogen, progesterone regulates your menstrual cycle. Estrogen stimulates the uterine lining to grow while progesterone ensures that it sheds during monthly periods. In female hormone replacement therapy, taking estrogen can increase your risk for uterine cancer unless you also take progesterone to protect against the potentially harmful buildup of tissue in the uterine lining.
If during menopause you begin to experience more painful periods, it could be a sign that your levels of the female hormone progesterone are too low. Low progesterone-to-estrogen ratios may in some cases be associated with a serious medical condition known as dysfunctional uterine bleeding (DUB), which is characterized by heavy, erratic bleeding.
When women take the female hormone progesterone, their bodies convert some of it to estrogen, which protects against vaginal dryness and pain. While estrogen makes women feel sexier, progesterone is likely to have the opposite effect. It tends to moderate the tendency to sexual arousal caused by estrogen and testosterone. In fact, progesterone is given to sex offenders to decrease their sexual aggression. The resulting loss of libido may be accompanied by depression. This is why some women with low estrogen but adequate progesterone levels feel depressed and have decreased libido.
Can progesterone increase metabolic rate?
Yes, progesterone increases metabolism and body temperature. An increase in progesterone levels results in more blood flow to the skin and increase in energy. Women in menopause who have low progesterone levels often complain of lethargy.
What are the other effects of low progesterone deficiency in menopause?
You may feel anxious and irritable, have trouble sleeping, or suffer from feelings of depression, general confusion or mood swings if your levels of the female hormone progesterone fall too low during menopause. It can be exhausting for you if the imbalance goes on for too long. A drop in progesterone levels can actually cause symptoms as severe as those experienced by people in withdrawal from reduced sedative or alcohol intake.
Progesterone is also involved in the regulation of appetite. Some menopausal women experience a marked decrease in appetite. Although its effects are not as well-known as estrogen, the female hormone progesterone also protects your bones against osteoporosis. Estrogen restricts the breakdown of old bone cells while progesterone stimulates the growth of new ones.
What's the safest, most effective way to regulate the female hormone levels?
Genuine natural female hormone cream is the most effective and reliable method of management of hormone deficiency conditions. Other delivery methods of natural hormones such as lotions, gels, sprays, and capsules have simply not proved as effective as creams for the relief of symptoms; either the actual doses delivered are too low or the resultant side effects outweigh the potential benefits. Progesterone cream is often prescribed to control the symptoms of menopause, perimenopause, and premenstrual syndrome. It is also used to treat endometriosis and postnatal depression, and can be an appropriate adjunct therapy for other progesterone-deficiency conditions such as surgical menopause from hysterectomy, breast cancer, occasional ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, estrogen-dependent malignancies, fibrocystic breasts, and post-natal depression. Ask your doctor for details.
If you're suffering from low female hormone levels, you might also be suffering the symptoms of low progesterone. The link below provides a detailed description of these symptoms and you might want to check them out.
Click here to read about the symptoms of PMS