As Suzanne Summers says in her book, Ageless, “Hormones are our life force. Without hormones we are an empty shell of our former selves.” Each of these 3 hormones begins to decline after age thirty.

The first to decline is testosterone. This is in men as well as women. (Yes, women have testosterone too.) Loss of testosterone is seen as weight gain, loss of sex drive, tiredness, memory loss, restless leg syndrome, fibromyalgia, erectile dysfunction, and loss of muscle mass and exercise tolerance. Testosterone is the one that gives us energy and enthusiasm, love of life. This hormone gives men their manly physique and helps them maintain strength and stamina in all parts of their life. Testosterone in women gives the ability to maintain a healthy weight, to have an active sex life, to have the energy to carry out their busy daily activities and keep (or get back) that firm sexy figure they used to have.

By age 35 the hormone progesterone will begin to drop off in women. This causes changes in the menstrual cycle, agitation, poor sleep and hair loss. Without progesterone we become moody, and irritable. When progesterone is replaced we sleep better. Progesterone is known as a “mood stabilizer”. Lack of progesterone has been shown to be a factor in causing fibromyalgia.

Then last is loss of estrogen which is seen as hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, depression, osteoporosis, dry skin that begins to show wrinkles. Loss of estrogen is known as menopause. This is a time in the life of women when menstrual cycles cease. This can be a freighting for women. Menopause is much more than just not having a period. Loss of estrogen causes the breast to sag, changes in the vagina mucosa that can cause painful intercourse, with a loss of all that makes a woman a woman. Estrogen performs 400 vital functions in a woman. These vital functions are not going to be replaced without replacing this vital hormone.

The answer to the loss of these 3 hormones that do so much for us to keep us healthy and feeling young is to replace these with natural bio-equivalent hormones, not synthetic artificial drugs. Many patients are given antidepressants for the symptoms of loss of hormones. Others are given estrogen manufactured from the urine of a pregnant horse, Premarin. Some are told, “Suck it up. You’ll be over it in 6 months.” Or, “This is just part of life. Just live with it.”

The good news is you do not have to just live with it. You can have the same natural hormones you had when you were 25. You can regain that youthful feeling. You can prevent many of the negative consequences of the loss of hormones. Let HRC Medical help you.

Dr. Dan Hale