Though Peri-Menopause is the time of life when your estrogen levels begin to decline and cause irregular periods, this does not mean all peri-menopausal women immediately become estrogen deficient. Sometimes your estrogen levels will decline so slowly that your estrogen to progesterone ratio still qualifies you as estrogen dominant. Other peri-menopausal women will continue to be estrogen dominant because extra body fat is continuing to produce lots of estrogen even when their ovaries cannot. Estrogen deficiency causes vaginal dryness and thinning of the vaginal wall. (If you are having difficulty lubricating before and during sex, or if intercourse has become painful, your vagina is letting you know that it is lacking much needed estrogen.)  These are also the years when your ovaries' production of testosterone begins to decline. Testosterone deficiency creates a shift from low-libido to no-libido. If you add an extra twenty or thirty pounds, hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, vaginal dryness, and a frequent need to urinate, it is understandable why some peri-menopausal (and menopausal) women prefer flipping channels!

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is another hormone that influences the levels of your sex hormones thereby also influencing your sex drive. DHEA is called a "precursor hormone" because it can be converted to testosterone. Levels of DHEA naturally decrease with age. (By the time you are eighty years old, your DHEA levels will be about five to ten percent of the amount produced during your reproductive years.) Age is not the only factor influencing DHEA production. Chronic stress also depletes DHEA levels. Surveys of women have linked declining DHEA production in women with a decreasing tendency to think about or initiate sex, as well as reported decrease in feelings of sexual satisfaction.

In years past, sexuality during and after Menopause received little attention from the traditional medical community. Many women hesitated to report low libido or problems with arousal or sensation because they were embarrassed or doubted that their doctors would have the time or interest to address it. Today, millions of post-menopausal women in the United States realize they will likely enjoy another forty years of life. They want to know: "Why should I go without sex in my golden years?" Libido and sexual function should be a central component of your medical strategy for healthy aging. The problem is that many physicians do not know how to reverse the negative impact that hormone level decline has on libido and other aspects of female sexual health. For example, menopausal women who have had a hysterectomy will need to boost lagging hormone levels across the full spectrum: progesterone, estrogen and testosterone.

What you can expect from natural hormone balance? Relief from unwanted symptoms! You can expect improved libido, more lubrication, fewer night sweats and hot flashes, improved moods, memory and sleep, renewed strength and energy, the ability to shed extra pounds more easily, and a belly that goes from fat to flatter. When or if symptoms persist, adrenal support, additional bioidentical hormone supplementation and/or a compounded formulation may also be required.