The symptoms of Hormone Imbalance, Perimenopause and Menopause

 In this video I talk about the symptoms of hormone imbalance and two unfortunate young ladies who are suffering from it. As with most women they had no idea what was going to hit them when their ovaries started to pack up. The purpose of this video is to begin to discuss the taboo and fear of hormone replacement therapy. The discussion of natural hormone replacement is covered in another video. For now let's talk about the 'why' you need them as opposed to the why not and the 'how'. Don't talk yourself out of something you know nothing about, open your mind and educate yourself starting with this video and my books (also available in Spanish)

https://youtu.be/FhmLqInnt7o

SHOULD EVERY WOMAN TAKE HORMONES?

OK enough is enough, almost every woman over the age of 45 should be offered hormones and many who are younger. There I said it! 

Why is that so hard to hear? Let alone believe?

I am tired of avoiding telling women the truth because people are so afraid of the word ‘hormone’. Hormones are critical for every function in the body but somehow or the other we have been brainwashed into thinking there are good and bad hormones, with the sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone being the 'bad' ones.

Women represent the greatest proportion of people aged 65 and over, a total of almost 58%.  And guess what ?  EVERY woman is going to be menopausal at some point. So this is really a topic of epic proportions that is why I cannot understand why it is so ignored.

Millions of women and their partners put up with emotional swings, with paralyzing anxiety and depression. They are a shadow of their former selves because no one will tell them that taking hormones will fix it.

Millions have given up having a satisfying sex life because they have been told that it is part of the normal aging process not to want sex and for intercourse to be uncomfortable.

Millions of women are forgetful and can’t sleep because their hormones are out of whack . They get prescriptions for sleep aids and anti-depressants because no one explains to them that there is another way. One that is safer and way more natural with no side effects.

When women sleep at night they function better in their profession, get along better with their family and colleagues and they can find the motivation to exercise. Exercise leads to a better mood, less weight and less diabetes. Their blood pressure is better, so they have less risk of stroke and disability.

Women who are on hormones feel less pain whether it is from arthritis or a whole host of other issues.

They look better because there is less fat deposition around their mid section, the skin, eyes and everything else is less dry and they seem happier and more calm.

So what’s the down side? None, seriously. If you use bio-identical hormones, there really isn’t one. Yet fear mongering keeps women in a vice so tight they are afraid to allow themselves the benefits of  hormone replacement.

I have written books and given talks to try to get the word out there. Yet still, very few women are aware of the potential life changing benefits of hormone replacement. If men stood to gain as much as women from this therapy I am sure it would be front page news.

Yesterday Harvard ( JoAnn Manson et al JAMA 2017:318(10) 927-938)  after studying the outcomes of 27,000+ women, published a new article saying that hormone therapy is safe and does not shorten a woman’s life. Let's keep our fingers crossed, maybe the news feeds will pick it up and maybe this time women will have the opportunity to hear more about it.

If you find this post informative please do other women and their loved ones a favor and share it.

Yours in health

Dr. Tuakli

HOW TO GET MORE SLEEP

Getting more sleep

Here are some tips on how to get better sleep: #1 Make it a priority Allow time for 7 to 9 hours of sleep Exercise regularly (no less than 4 hours before bedtime) Avoid caffeine in the PM and alcohol within 2 hours of sleep Warm bath before bed Sleepytime and other teas Manage stress Watch diet Make your bedroom quiet both noise wise and activity wise Only use the bed for sex and sleep: don’t use it for eating, reading, watching television, studying, work, hobbies Remove clutter Sleep alone, no pets, children, other Try Yoga and Acupuncture TRY HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS: Clinical Sleep, Melatonin, Holy basil, Passion Flower Lower lights change the bulbs outside the door if necessary Keep a regular sleep schedule • Go to bed and get up around the same time • Limit naps Limit stimulating behaviors before bedtime • Limit caffeine after 2 pm • Limit alcohol after dinner • Limit large or spicy meals • Limit vigorous exercise 4-6 hours before bed – De-stress, learn relaxation techniques – Physical and mental – Maintain a regular physical activity routine – Physical activity helps with stress – Do not go to bed hungry or full – Light snack of carbohydrates and foods with tryptophan – Practice stimulus control: – Go to bed when you are drowsy – If you don’t fall asleep within 10-15 minutes • Get up, leave the bedroom • Read or watch something dull • Make your room and bed comfortable • No pets on/in the bed • Temperature Cool • Lighting low, expose yourself to bright lights during day • Bed, sheets, PJ’s comfortable and not binding • – Treat the underlying problem, with menopause that is the hormonal imbalance (estrogen deficiency) Treat medical conditions like restless legs, sleep apnea and obesity • Obstructive Sleep Apnea treatment options include: – Mouth appliance – Surgery-tonsils and/or adenoids – Weight reduction if obese – CPAP-Continuous positive airway pressure

Originally Published by Dr. Tuakli April 25th 2016

Lack of sleep can kill you!

Lack of sleep can kill you!

I gave a talk on Sex, Sanity and Sleep yesterday and wanted to share some of the amazing information I found out about sleep. Sleep is one of those wonderful things that we take for granted but it can increase not just the quality of your life but the QUANTITY of it too! One extra hour of sleep a day can decrease your mortality by 50%. Do you forgo leisure and sexual activities and sacrifice exercise because you are "too tired", gulping down caffeine to keep up. Stop! Besides making you tired,lack of sleep severely impacts your health. One in five auto accidents involves drowsy driving. Lack of sleep increases your blood pressure, your tendency to diabetes, arthritis, weight gain,heart disease and premature aging.When you are sleep deprived you are cranky and your decision making skills are reduced which affects your social relationships among other things.Improved sleep improves your thyroid function and immunity which controls your ability to fight off infections and cancer. So insomnia is no joke! Make sleep a priority. As I mentioned in yesterday's blog: It takes great sleep to make a great life. Check out that blog for tips on how to get better sleep and if that's not working, seek help.