Spice Up Your Life: March, April, May 2009

Table of Contents

Letter from the Editor

Where did the time go? Sorry for the lack of contact with email. It doesn't mean I am not thinking about you all. Please let me know how you are doing. This is important to me. So, what did I promise last time? I think it was symptoms of deficiency and excess.

Estrogen Deficiency
  • hot flashes
  • sleep disturbances
  • dry skin
  • foggy thinking
  • heart palpitations
  • painful intercourse
  • low libido
  • night sweats
  • vaginal dryness/atrophy
  • headaches
  • memory lapses
  • yeast infections
  • depression
  • bone loss
Estrogen Excess
  • water retention
  • breast swelling and tenderness
  • craving for sweets
  • fibrocystic breasts
  • uterine fibroids
  • nervousness / anxiety / irritability
  • heavy, irregular menses
  • fatigue
  • weight gain
  • mood swings
  • low thyroid symptoms
Progesterone Deficiency
  • swollen breasts
  • headaches
  • anxiety
  • irregular menses
  • cramping
  • infertility
  • acne
  • weight gain
  • low libido
  • mood swings
  • depression
  • PMS
  • fuzzy thinking
  • joint pain
Progesterone Excess
  • sleepiness
  • mild depression
  • candida exacerbations
  • GI bloating
  • breast swelling
  • exacerbates symptoms of estrogen deficiency
Testosterone Deficiency
  • fatigue, prolonges
  • memory problems
  • decreased libido
  • muscle weakness
  • thinning skin
  • bone loss
  • incontinence
  • fibromyalgia
  • mental fuzziness
  • depression
  • blunted motivation
  • diminished feeling of well being
  • heart palpitations
  • vaginal dryness
  • general aches/pains
Testosterone Excess
  • acne
  • deepening of voice
  • irritability / moodiness
  • male pattern hair growth
  • clitoral enlargement
  • insomnia
Low Cortisol
  • fatigue
  • cravings for sweets
  • chemical sensitivities
  • symptoms of low progesterone
  • allergies
  • irritability
  • symptoms of hypothyroidism
High Cortisol
  • bone loss
  • sleep disturbances
  • low libido
  • anxiety
  • depression
  • hair loss
  • elevated triglycerides
Low Thyroid Function
  • fatigue (especially evening)
  • cold extremities
  • low libido
  • dry skin
  • general aches and pains
  • depression
  • scalp hair loss
  • brittle nails
  • low pulse rate / blood pressure
  • memory lapses
  • heart palpitations
  • constipation
  • low stamina
  • low body temperature
  • headaches
  • intolerance to cold
  • weight gain
  • anxiety
  • swollen, puffy eyes
  • decreased swelling
  • poor concentration
  • high cholesterol
  • infertility
  • fibromyalgia
The life expectancy of women in the United States is 84. As I get closer to that age I hope that my health continues and I feel good. The balancing act of natural hormone treatment hopefully can help you achieve that goal. As more women become caregivers our stress increases. Unfortunately there is no fountain of youth, but hormone balance can help you achieve a feeling of well being. What we do with natural hormone replacement is that we replace what is missing. Nothing else really works as well as the authentic human molecules.

As we age psychosocial factors of retirement, income reduction, divorce, widowhood, caregiver status, residential moves, re-marriage, culture oriented to you and beauty all affect us physically, emotionally and spiritually. Age-related diseases of cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, infections, cancer, dementia, insulin resistance and diabetes, obesity, muscle wasting and frailty come knocking at our doors. We need to try and not answer their call. The leading theory is that the dysfunction and dysregulation of hormone/immune/and inflammatory responses in aging women affects these disease processes.

One of my friends stated that she can go from zero to witch in 5 seconds or less. We don't want that to be YOU. Hopefully we can find the right mix of hormones to keep that from happening. Did you know that pet owners live longer, have decreased blood pressure and decreased anxiety. Wow, my cat is not only my friend, but also medicine that is not too expensive. How you feel and think is related to what you eat and drink. That is true throughout the life span. It has been said that eating in the school cafeteria is equivalent to eating out.

The value of hand work is also helpful to the mind and body. In fact, knitting emits similar brain waves as monks during meditation. We all know the importance of relaxing and decreasing our stress.

"Each patient carries their own doctor inside them. We are at our best when we give the doctor who resides within each patient a chance to work." Albert Schweitzer, MD.

I love it when a patient comes to me with a list of problems and how she thinks they may be solved. Let's work together to have you be the best you can be physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.