What happens when estrogen levels are low? : In the first stage of menopause, women will be forced to choose between saving enough estrogen in their fat cells to keep making breast milk (called maternal lipogenesis), or giving birth for the final time. Their fertility decreases at this point, causing them to lose the hormones needed to produce estrogen in their ovaries (as it decreases), effectively limiting the amount of breast milk they can make. At this point, most women are unable to produce enough estrogen in their ovaries to produce breast milk, and the fat in their breasts increases.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may be necessary for estrogen replacement.
The final stage of menopause takes place when estrogen production in the ovaries stops completely. At this point, estrogen can only be produced in the breasts and the area around the ovaries. Women will still be able to get pregnant, but in that stage, it is called amenorrhea.
Other estrogen activities
In addition to being a hormone, estrogen is also used by the body in other areas.
Of the four estrogen receptors in the body, three are located in the brain, while one is on the cervix (termed the estrogen receptor C3). Some studies show that estrogen helps create connections between neurons, so the brain is connected to the hormones in the liver.
Estrogen also plays a role in regulating insulin release from the pancreas.
In the gastrointestinal tract, estrogen controls cell growth and is the main constituent of lactoperoxidase. This enzyme helps to kill the bacteria that cause nausea and vomiting.
In the uterus, estrogen plays a role in regulating cell differentiation.
Perimenopause
Perimenopause is the period between the end of a woman's ovary‘s fertility (known as menopause) and the end of the menstrual cycle (known as menopause). This period usually lasts about five years after the end of a woman's reproductive period.
Perimenopausal women typically suffer from hot flashes, insomnia, depression, anxiety, mood changes, anxiety disorders, and low energy. When temperatures drop, perimenopausal women may become more stressed, which can cause feelings of depression.
Perimenopausal women also show symptoms of menopausal symptoms, including bloating, vaginal dryness, headaches, insomnia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), obesity, and menstrual irregularities (blood abnormalities, clotting disorders, and severe menstrual cramps).
Estrogen plays a role in all of these symptoms. It increases the hormones and nutrients needed to make menopausal symptoms worse.
If you experience menopausal symptoms or other symptoms of perimenopause, you may want to talk with your doctor to discuss what you can do to relieve your symptoms, and how your treatment plan will affect future pregnancies.
Embolism
Estrogen may also help you in your daily life during perimenopause.
For example, estrogen has been shown to help with fertility issues during menopause. Women who take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may find it easier to get pregnant when they are older.
Estrogen may also help increase your body's energy, improve blood circulation, and regulate estrogen in other areas of the body. Estrogen supplements will also help your body retain more vitamin D, which helps to regulate estrogen.
Estrogen and breast cancer
Surprisingly, estrogen may also increase your risk for breast cancer, but the risk is generally very low. Most studies show an increase of up to 8% in breast cancer in women who take hormone therapy.
The risk increases for women who take estrogen in larger doses. The studies don't show that estrogen in larger doses increases the risk of breast cancer. Also, studies show the risk of breast cancer with menopausal hormone therapy decreases the longer the women take it.
Most of the studies that have shown an increased risk of breast cancer have been in women who use estrogen supplements as part of their hormone therapy. Studies that have shown a lower risk of breast cancer, but still an increase in risk, have examined estrogen pills. This is because the drugs are available in different dosage strengths (typically the women who take the higher dosages that report increased breast cancer risk).
Women who take estrogen pills are also more likely to experience endometrial cancer and vaginal bleeding. Women who take hormone therapy generally have a higher risk of other health problems related to estrogen in the body, including osteoporosis, depression, vaginal dryness, urinary tract infections, and blood clots.
Your risk of breast cancer decreases if you stop taking estrogen, but studies show that estrogen in women with breast cancer decreases estrogen in the blood, which can increase breast cancer risk.
Estrogen and menopausal changes
Estrogen is also a component of the body's plan to produce more estrogen in response to menopause. The plan is set up by the brain to make estrogen during menopause, so the body produces more estrogen after menopause to help the body adjust to the lowered levels of estrogen it produces during menopause.
If you stop taking estrogen in response to menopause, the natural changes in your body may slow down or even stop. This is called perimenopause.
The most common symptoms during perimenopause include:
- changes in your sleep
- unexplained hair loss
- difficulty with breast or pelvic pain
- low libido
- low energy
- a rapid drop in mood
As a consequence of the lack of estrogen in your body, your body may become more resistant to ovulation, which means the estrogen that you produce may not be as effective.
Estrogen and fertility
If you take hormones to prevent or treat symptoms of menopause, you may stop taking your medication when you conceive. This will lower your estrogen production.
If you conceive soon after stopping menopausal hormone therapy, your baby will probably have an increased risk of birth defects. Taking estrogen supplements during pregnancy is usually not recommended, since the risk of breast and ovarian cancer is still high in pregnant women.
Your hormone levels will likely return to normal once you stop taking hormone therapy, but it may take several months for this to happen.
Estrogen therapy during menopause
The primary effect of taking estrogen pills during menopause is to reduce hot flashes and night sweats. You'll also use estrogen as part of a more complex approach that will reduce symptoms of menopausal pain and improve other symptoms, such as hot flashes. This more complex approach aims to keep your body at a constant level of estrogen, which will eventually decrease the effects of menopause.
Some of the other benefits of taking hormone therapy are:
- Decreased risk of heart disease
- Decreased risk of heart disease
- Reduced risk of bone loss
- Reduced risk of osteoporosis
- Improved breast cancer risk
- Reduced risk of breast cancer
- Decreased risk of vaginal atrophy and vaginal dryness
- Decreased risk of infertility
- Decreased risk of vaginal atrophy
May also increase bone density in some women
Note: Most women can safely take estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms. However, if you have heart disease or other health conditions that raise your risk of heart diseases, such as liver disease, osteoporosis, kidney disease, or blood clots, you may not be a good candidate for hormone therapy. If you have thyroid problems, your risk of heart disease is also higher.
Ovarian cancer
Doctors currently treat ovarian cancer in women with estrogen therapy. Studies show that the use of estrogen therapy reduces the risk of ovarian cancer, but there's still an increased risk. Women with estrogen-sensitive tumors have to be treated with estrogen.
Not everyone responds to estrogen treatment, though. Some patients have more severe side effects, such as breast cancer.
Ovarian cancer in young women
If you are under age 55 and haven't had a period in more than a year, your risk of ovarian cancer is about two-to-five times higher.
Estrogen therapy and ovarian cancer
Doctors recommend using a combination of estrogen and progestin, such as a combination estrogen/progestogen pill.
Estrogen alone (imatinib) usually isn't effective in ovarian cancer because it targets the cancer cells but not the surrounding normal cells.
Estrogen and your risk of breast cancer
Estrogen therapy for breast cancer is an effective treatment, but women who are at a higher risk of developing breast cancer may still not have the right amount of estrogen in their bodies to keep the disease at bay. In these cases, doctors may recommend having your ovaries removed so the estrogen circulating in your body can be channeled directly to the breast tumors.
It is also possible to develop breast cancer while taking estrogen, which can lead to cancer spreading to other parts of the body. These women may need to stop taking estrogen.
Conclusion
With the modern development of hormone therapies, modern physicians are now better able to treat menopausal symptoms in a manner that works with a woman's natural cycle. Even though it has been known for more than two centuries that estrogen affects many aspects of women's health, it's only recently that modern physicians have been able to use this knowledge to ease symptoms and help women avoid illnesses.
If you're concerned that you may have problems with menopausal symptoms, talk to your doctor. They can help you understand which menopausal symptoms may be caused by a hormonal imbalance and the best way to treat them. They may also be able to recommend alternative remedies to relieve your symptoms while you work on making lifestyle changes to prevent those issues in the first place.
