Optimize Testosterone & Estrogen to Transform Your Health

Estrogen Loss

Rena Malik explains the significant impacts of estrogen loss during menopause. Short-term symptoms include hot flashes, sleep disturbances, and mood issues, which typically improve over time. However, long-term consequences like vaginal dryness, urinary incontinence, and osteoporosis can persist and even worsen.

You go from having a relatively normal amount of estrogen to going very low in terms of estrogen levels. In the beginning phases, you will have some short-term symptoms, and this will include the hot flashes, the sleep disturbances, and the mood issues, which typically tend to get better with time. However, those urogenital symptoms, like having vaginal dryness or urinary incontinence or overactive bladder, those tend to last and may even progress with time. The other big change that happens is your bones get weaker, so you get osteoporosis.

--- Rena Malik

Understanding these effects is crucial for managing health during menopause 1.

   

Hot Flashes

Hot flashes are a common symptom of menopause, affecting up to 80% of women. Rena Malik describes them as sudden sensations of heat that can cause palpitations, anxiety, and irritability. These episodes can disrupt sleep, concentration, mood, energy, and sexual activity.

Hot flashes will occur in up to 80% of women. And it's basically a sudden sensation of heat that you feel maybe on the upper chest or the face that rapidly becomes generalizing. You feel it all over. It typically lasts for about two to four minutes. You can sometimes have palpitations with it or anxiety, and sometimes you may not even have the heat sensation, but you may just notice that you're feeling very irritable, but it goes away.

--- Rena Malik

These symptoms highlight the need for effective management strategies during menopause 2.

   

Bioidentical Hormones

Rena Malik discusses the benefits and misconceptions surrounding bioidentical hormones for managing estrogen loss. Bioidentical hormones are plant-based and FDA-approved, offering a safer alternative to synthetic options. Initial side effects may include breast tenderness and vaginal bleeding, but these often subside within six months.

Bioidentical means that estrogen is plant-based, meaning that it's not made synthetically. It does not mean that it has to be compounded, which is what a lot of people tend to market as we offer bioidentical hormones, ones meaning they're compounded from a pharmacy. Now, compounding is not a bad thing inherently, but ideally, we recommend using FDA-approved estradiols or 17 beta estradiol, which is available at your regular pharmacy via prescription and is also bioidentical.

--- Rena Malik

Understanding these options can help women make informed decisions about hormone therapy 3.