Dear Friend,

This month we continue Beth's story from last month. We already learned that, until recently, Beth was able to successfully manage her symptoms of perimenopause with a few lifestyle changes and our ProCycle^® Gold vitamin and mineral formula. Recently, her cycles have become very irregular and hot flashes have returned, so Beth decided it was time to take the next step and measure her hormone levels.

Which Testing Option

"Women's Health America has always stressed the importance of individualized treatment to meet each woman's specific needs," says Beth, "so it was no surprise that they offer three options when it comes to having my hormones tested. One option is for free hormone testing. It is a great deal for women who are using hormone therapy and have their prescriptions filled at WHA's pharmacy but not an option for me since I haven't started HRT yet. Another option was for me to purchase a personal test kit and choose which two hormones to measure. That would have been great a year or so ago when I was just curious about estrogen and progesterone, but I wanted something more complete. I went with the Restore^® program."

Restore^® Program

"I chose Restore^® because I had the five most important hormones measured (estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and cortisol) as well as my rate of bone loss. I don't know if all insurance covers testing but since my doctor ordered the tests, my insurance covered the cost. So now I have a complete baseline profile and will be able to see what has changed the next time I test. The Restore^® program also includes specialized attention from a WHA case manager who works with me and my doctor to help determine the best course of treatment."

The Tests

"I got my Restore^® test kit in the mail along with complete instructions. Collecting the urine samples for the bone loss test was very easy. Collecting the samples for the saliva hormone test was also easy, but it took longer than I thought to generate enough free-flowing saliva to fill the little tubes, so don't panic if the tube doesn't instantly fill up."

Test Results

"The results were sent to my doctor so we could review them together. The test showed that my NTx rate of bone loss value was excellent, which I expected since I take ProCycle^® Gold and do so much weight bearing exercise. My levels of testosterone and cortisol were also within the target therapeutic range, however, estrogen, progesterone and DHEA were all somewhat low."

"In discussing these results with my doctor and WHA, I learned that even though my estrogen and progesterone levels were low, at this point in time they have declined proportionately and are still relatively 'balanced', which is helping to keep my symptoms to a minimum. They also said that low DHEA is not unusual to see because it is a precursor, so when other hormones decline, your body uses it to make the hormones that are 'missing'."

Black Cohosh

Based on these results, my doctor and I went with two avenues for treatment. The first was black cohosh, an herbal supplement we hope will help get the hot flashes under control. Estrogen replacement was another option we considered, but since my estrogen level hasn't "bottomed out" yet and my rate of bone loss measurement was so positive, we decided to wait."

"I always want to know what it is I am taking so I did a little research and looked black cohosh up on the Internet. I found out Native Americans used it to help with all kinds of ailments and introduced it to the European settlers. Today, it is officially recognized in Germany as helpful for menopause symptom relief, especially hot flashes, and is becoming popular here again. There are also quite a number of recent studies that show it helps. So, I decided to try it and ordered WHA's Black Cohosh Plus."

Progesterone Therapy

"The other consideration was prescription progesterone therapy, which I probably should have done a year ago when my cycles had become irregular and very difficult with intense PMS. At that point, a low dose of progesterone could have helped to reduce symptoms and keep my cycles more regular. Now that my cycles are so irregular and with fewer symptoms, my need is not so great so I decided to just try WHA's non-prescription progesterone cream."

Wait and See

"Now, I wait and see what happens over the next few months. I'm hoping these self-care treatments along with lots of exercise, good food and ProCycle vitamins will get me through to menopause. After that, I will definitely consider estrogen replacement to help keep my body healthy as I age."

Look For More From Beth

We will check back with Beth and give you an update in the months to come. If you have any questions about her story or your own PMS symptoms, perimenopause symptoms or menopause symptoms, please call us at 800.558.7046. We can help!

In Good Health,