Yes, I mean survive!  The transition into menopause can be extremely hard on women, some the symptoms are too unbearable to handle.

Medical options are pretty limited, primarily consisting of bio identical hormones in oral or topical forms.  These come with unwanted side effects, although the unpleasant symptoms of menopause are often minimized or eliminated, which is really all the woman cares about.  But, what are some natural options for women, that are safe and allow her to naturally ease through the process?

A quick anatomy lesson
Female reproductive hormones, are part of the steroid (cholesterol) family, and are produced mainly by the ovaries when she is in her childbearing years.  When she stops producing eggs or follicles, she stops producing sufficient amounts of these hormones, primarily progesterone and estrodiol (estrogen).  Now what happens is the adrenal glands have to pick up the slack of producing these hormones.  The adrenal glands sit on top of your kidneys, and produce a lot of hormones like cortisol your stress hormones.

For most women, these glands are already maxed out before they even enter into menopause, because of stress and lack of support, and now have to take over another job.  When the adrenal glands are dysfunctional and unable to keep up with the demand, unwanted symptoms can occur including temperature fluctuations.   Along with the symptoms, these hormones have to come from somewhere, so if the adrenal glands can’t produce enough, your body finds another means of producing hormones.  FAT!  Yes, fat.  Fat cells have the ability to create hormones.  That is why women get the menopausal woman belly pouch.  This is also why it is so hard to lose.  Because it is producing your hormones.

The hypothalamus in your brain is also a key player in regulating body temperature, so it also needs support.  As the estrogen levels decrease, hot flashes, night sweats and mood or emotional disruptions can occur.   Other tissues in the body that depend on hormones can be affected as well such as the labia, vaginal canal, and skin, not to mention loss of memory and decreased libido.

Protocols

As with any hormone imbalance, the first thing to do is the support the liver using the 21 Day Purification Program, which helps normalize sex hormone imbalances. Your liver is where you break down and clear hormones, so if it is congested it needs clearing out before starting any protocol.   This will also help to clear out some of the fat as well, since your liver is where you break down fat.
Another important part of healthy hormone function is a the dietary intake of fat.  All hormones require an big supply of fat in order to be produced and utilized in the body.  I’m talking about good fats.  Like organic avocados, fish, coconut oil, ect.  Cholesterol is the maker of our hormones, so if it is low functionally, you will not produce sufficient amounts of hormones.  If you don’t eat enough of these good fats, you might need supplementation to make up for what you are lacking, like Omega 3,6,9 or black currant seed oil.

Adrenals 
The key players! You must support the adrenal glands since they are the source of where the hormones are coming from.  Any woman heading into her 40s should start adrenal support to help protect her from the symptoms.  The adrenal glands take awhile to build, especially since most were struggling before menopause started.

Hot flashes and night sweats
This is one of the most common symptoms that is easily treated, once you find the right combination for the person.  Sometimes there’s a trial period to find the right product. I try them usually in the order listed, one bottle at a time, till I find what is successful for that person.

Here are some of my favorites:  Most of these products come from the company Standard Process.

-Adrenal Support- SO IMPORTANT

•  Adrenal Tonic- This is a blend of four different herbs.  If patient’s don’t like taking liquid herbs then I switch to a pill form, either from this company or others.  I don’t like giving actual glands, like supplements with actual adrenal glands in them.  This takes away the job from the adrenal gland and causes them to rely on the supplements.  I like using nourishing herbs to help build the glands to do the work.

-Support the hypothalamus with natural herbs -Hypothalamax or Hypothalamus PMG
-support the ovaries -Ovex P
-Bone support- Bone Complex (Sex hormones help with the formation of bone, so when they decrease, bones can get more osteoporotic)  Digestion can also play a huge role in osteoporosis.
-Chaste tree
-valarian root, kava forte, withania complex, nevaton  (these herbs all help with calming the nervous system and aiding with sleep.  I also like using Lavender and some other Essential Oils.
-AF beta food (helps support the liver and galbladder)

*****I also have a natural product that I use in the office that I use if a woman just wants a quick fix of menopausal symptoms.  This is just for the symptoms, and doesn’t regulate the system. They still need adrenal, hypothalamus and liver support.

-Estrovera 

Vaginal Dryness
The best way to address this is to have the patient use a very mild topical hormone preparation from Bezwecken called Hydration Cubes 2x.  These are safe to be used internally, even though the label states otherwise thanks to the FDA.  You must follow a protocol as far as using the cubes, and you don’t want to use too much.

I also like using the herb gotu kola which helps repair the tissue.  It can also help with the aging process and can be called a facelift in a bottle.  What menopausal woman won’t want to have that?!

Mood and Memory
Once adrenal function has been restored and hormone levels stabilized, mood and memory will do the same. But in the meantime, there are additional products that can help.

-st johns wort
-bacopa
-nevaton

As you can see, there are many options, and you don’t have to just put up with these nasty symptoms.  Or should I say freezing your family out of your house!  These are just recommendations, and you might not need all of these supplements, as I states]d I start with one at a time until symptoms are decreased.

Any hormone imbalances can disrupt your entire body giving women more body pain, back pain, headaches ect.  So, I must determine if your symptoms are due to menopause hormone dys-regulation or true mechanical issues.

That is all for now.
Wishing you all a happy and healthy week.

Dr. Hamel

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