Health Alert 196
If you are a woman 50 or older, you’ve probably felt “the change.” Occasional hot flashes, missed menstrual periods, night sweats, and irritability are just a few of the common signs of the transitional to menopause.
Like puberty, menopause is a natural stage of life. But you don’t have to live with the discomfort it brings. Nor do you have to risk the mislabeled drugs passed off as Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to find relief.
Today I’m going to tell you about a new home test that can help. You can use it to measure an important hormone. This hormone can give you a definitive answer about menopause. You can use this information to form your own strategy to stay strong right on through menopause.
* How to Know if It’s Menopause *
The average age of menopause is 52. Yet the age can vary quite a bit. Some women come to my clinic, missing periods in their 30’s. How do I know if it’s menopause, pregnancy or something else? I measure their hormones. Now you can do the same test at home.
You can use a new home test called The Estroven Menopause Monitor. It lets you know if your symptoms are signs of menopause. It’s like doing a home pregnancy test. It measures hormones from a urine sample and delivers results in about 15 minutes.
The test is very helpful for the millions of women who have had hysterectomies. (This is a topic for another Health Alert.) But one of the many problems this procedure causes is that these women can’t always tell when their ovaries stop cycling.
Of course, if you have your uterus, you know you’re in menopause if you haven’t had a period in years. It’s not always clear though when your periods first become irregular. This time of “perimenopause” can go on for years. The symptoms can be inconsistent. Here’s where the new test comes in handy.
When your ovaries begin decreasing estrogen, your pituitary gland tries in vain to get your ovaries to “catch up”. It tries to stimulate your ovaries by releasing more Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH). The Estroven test measures FSH. You get a positive result when the hormone exceeds a certain level. FSH is a sure indicator of menopause. The Estroven Monitor delivers results with 99.9% accuracy.
If the Estroven test is positive, it’s that time in your life when your ovaries are giving out. Consult your doctor about treatments to ease discomfort, and protect yourself against osteoporosis and other problems associated with menopause.
If it’s negative, the test is still useful. Now you know to look elsewhere to find the true cause of your symptoms. It can save you from attributing your symptoms to menopause and missing other serious health problems.
Al Sears, MD.
Perimenopause, MedicineNet.com, MedicineNet Inc.,
Estroven Menopause Monitor Product Page, Test Medical Symptoms @ Home, Inc.