What is the menopause and what causes it to happen?
When a woman reaches her early forties, there are fewer ovarian follicles left in the ovaries. As a result, ovulation occurs less frequently. Because the follicles produce much of the estrogen in the body, estrogen levels also begin to decline.
Peri-menopause is the term used to describe the transition period between a woman’s reproductive years and the time when menstruation ceases completely. During that time, hormone levels fluctuate and decline, often at an irregular pace. The hormonal shifts contribute substantially to the sense of physical, mental and emotional imbalance that may characterize a woman’s experience of menopause.
Menopause is the term that represents the end of menstruation. Estrogen levels eventually decrease to the point where buildup of the uterus lining no longer occurs, resulting in cessation of menstruation and onset of menopause. The majority of women experience natural menopause between the ages of 45 and 55. However, menopause can occur as early as in a woman’s 30’s and as late as in her 60’s. Menopause is a natural event, not a disease.
Menopause is a natural occurring passage in a woman’s life characterized by the decline in ovarian hormones particularly estrogen. When this natural phase of aging approaches, the ovaries no longer release eggs and the level of estrogen and progesterone drops. Menopause can also occur when the ovaries are surgically removed or stop functioning for any other reason.
At what age does the menopause normally affect women?
The average age of menopause is around 51, however it varies from woman to woman.
What happens to women’s bodies during the menopause?
Menopause, although a natural part of a woman’s life, is very often accompanied by extremely uncomfortable symptoms, such as hot flushes, night sweats, sleep disturbances, loss of libido, mood changes, and sometimes even clinical depression. As menopause progresses additional metabolic diseases come into play such as vaginal atrophy (dryness), urinary problems, bone loss, which can lead to osteoporosis, as well as significant health issues such as cardiovascular diseases. The decrease in estrogen levels usually leads to menopausal symptoms.
Are the symptoms psychological or physical?
The menopausal symptoms can be divided into three categories:
· Vasomotor Symptoms – hot flushes, night sweats and sleep disturbances.
· Psychological Symptoms – mood swings, irritability, fatigue and sometimes even clinical depression.
· Physiological/Metabolic Symptoms – joint and muscle pain, local estrogen deficiency leading to vaginal dryness, urinary tract infections and loss of libido. The decline in estrogen levels leads to bone loss which can develop into osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Vasomotor symptoms can last from 6 months to 10 years, however the metabolic ones stay and deteriorate even further with time. These symptoms have a major impact on a woman’s quality of life. Menopause is not only hot flushes, it has a major impact on women’s quality of life and should not be taken lightly.
What side effects and symptoms can the menopause cause?
See above
Is the menopause linked to any serious health conditions?
The decline in estrogen levels greatly reduce women’s quality of life Women go through a gradual bone loss process from the age of 30, which continues steadily. The decrease in estrogen levels in menopause further accelerates the bone loss process in women. This gradual bone loss should be of great concern to women since the deterioration of bone often goes unnoticed and is usually felt only when it is too late when a fracture appears, accompanied by great pain and suffering.
What treatment is available to combat symptoms and complications caused by the menopause?
In general there are 2 available tracks for the treatment of menopause. Hormone Therapy (HT) whether estrogen alone or estrogen and progesterone, is a very efficient way to return the hormonal balance of women, however since hormonal therapy targets all estrogen receptors, it also causes proliferation in the tissues where this can lead to harmful consequences such as in the breast and uterus. Furthermore, many women are contra-indicated to take HT, such as women with first degree history of breast cancer, women with clotting problems etc… these women cannot take hormones as it increases the potential of harmful consequences.
There are also supplements that are based on plant derived supplements which are based on the isolation of isoflavones from different plants, whether soy, black cohosh or red clover.
There are several problems with the isolated isoflavones, whether from soy, black cohosh, red clover or any other plant that provides isolated entities called isoflavones whether genistein or daidzein. To date the body of proof on these isolated components have not shown a significant benefit. An additional point that needs to be taken into account is that all these supplements do not affect bone health and thus, do not provide a protective effect for maintenance of bone health and the development of osteoporosis. In the case of black cohosh the MHRA issued an alert to health professionals and warnings have been added to the labels for all black cohosh products re. the risk of liver disorders (abnormal liver function, various forms of hepatitis and even one case of liver failure).
A survey of the treatment options available to healthcare practitioners indicates that the main shortcoming of the available treatments relates to safety.
While today’s women over the age of 50 expect a healthy and vibrant lifestyle, the quality of life can be dramatically impaired with the onset of menopause. This highlights the urgent need for a new generation of therapies capable of providing both the desired efficacy and the assurance of safety. These are the absolute criteria required for an acceptable treatment option that addresses both the short-term and the long-term consequences of menopause.
What is Femarelle and how does it benefit women going through the menopause?
The essential requirements for a product managing menopause should focus on two factors:
Efficacy: A solution that effectively manages the menopause transition by providing relief of menopausal symptoms while maintaining bone health.
Safety: A solution that will not affect specific tissues, such as in the breast or uterus, that could lead to the development of unwanted diseases, thus providing a treatment option that is safe both in the short term and in the long term.
Slowing the process of bone loss, while alleviating menopausal symptoms, requires a product that targets physiological mechanisms affected by estrogen. For such a solution to be safe, however, it must be selective.
The ultimate concept for fulfilling these needs is a therapy that affects estrogen receptors only in specific sites relieving menopausal symptoms and helping to build bone, without affecting tissues where any change can have dangerous consequences, such as in the breast and the uterus.
Femarelle addresses exactly these requirements. Studies have shown that Femarelle alleviates menopausal symptoms and inducing bone formation, while having no effect on the uterus and breast tissue. Although working through estrogen receptors and returning hormonal balance to women, Femarelle is not recognized by the body as a hormone and thus does not increase the risks associated with hormones.
Is Femarelle a hormone replacement?
Femarelle is not an estrogen nor is it a hormone. Femarelle is considered a natural, standardized and unique Selective Estrogen Receptor Modulator (SERM), a class of compounds that act on the estrogen receptor but in a selective manner working on the sites that we want to balance back such as the brain and the bone but having no effect on the sites where any stimulation can lead to negative outcomes such as the breast and the uterus.
How long will it take for patients to see the benefits of Femarelle?
Relief commonly occurs within the first month of use, some women report feeling the effect within the first week and in some it takes a bit longer. In general 3 out of 4 women will feel a beneficial effect from taking Femarelle.
How long should women continue to take Femarelle for once symptoms ease?
Since Femarelle provides both relief of menopausal symptoms and bone health, it should be taken from the onset of the menopausal symptoms and onwards. Studies have shown that women who have taken Femarelle greatly benefit from its relief of menopausal symptoms, such as hot flushes, sleep disturbances, mood swings, fatigue, vaginal dryness and prolonged use provides long term bone health as well as protection from the development of vaginal dryness. Therefore, Femarelle provides benefits that can assist women from peri-menopause and onward.
Does Femarelle have any side effects?
With more than 3.5 million months of use no adverse effects have been reported in either the studies or from the different markets. However, as with any product consumed some minor side effects and/or allergic reactions have been reported. All such reactions were transient and disappeared following cessation of treatment.
