She Blurted Out, “Dr. Sears, I’m Miserable!”

A.G. walked into my office one afternoon and nearly broke down into tears.

“I’m entering menopause and I’m miserable,” she blurted out.

Truth is, she was beyond miserable. She was desperate. She had gained 20 pounds and lost all her sex drive. She feared her husband was going to leave her. She had already seen doctor after doctor but was growing more frustrated.

First, she saw her OB/GYN, who asked A.G. if she was still having her periods. She was. Many women still experience periods in perimenopause — the early stages of the big change. However, once the doctor heard this, she told A.G. to come back when her menstruation stopped.

The problem with this common approach is that you continue to have symptoms, and you also miss the opportunity to prevent some post-menopause problems, which is much easier than reversing them later.

Still suffering, A. G. went to her general practitioner. He diagnosed her as depressed and wrote a prescription for an anti-depressant.

A. G. took the prescription.

“It seems to numb my feelings of depression some, but I still don’t feel right. My sex drive is now worse than it was. I’m eating like a bird but I’m still gaining weight. It’s gotta’ be these pills.”

It’s no wonder she was at her wits’ end when she arrived in my office.

I measured A.G.’s hormone levels with a simple blood test. I looked at her estrogen, her progesterone, her DHEA and her testosterone.

I had a hunch what I would find but I can never be sure without the tests. A.G.’s estrogen was actually quite normal but she had low progesterone and zero testosterone.

I gave her a shot of testosterone to jump-start her recovery and a prescription for bio-identical testosterone and progesterone.

That was on a Monday.

On Wednesday, she called my office thanking me.

Within weeks, A.G. was her old self again. We stopped the antidepressant in two weeks. She slimmed down, was sleeping soundly through the night, and her sex drive was back. Even her husband called to tell me how happy he was with his "new and improved" wife – and made an appointment to get his hormone levels checked!

Before taking any drug for symptoms relating to menopause or perimenopause every woman should have her hormone levels measured. You have a broad range of options – from doing nothing, to intervening in this natural process (and avoiding the drugs), to nutritional changes, to herbs, to real hormone replacement at varying doses and combinations.

In fact, if you suffer from symptoms of menopause – the irritability, sleeplessness and weight gain – you might never think of asking your doctor about testosterone. But you should.

Unfortunately, many doctors respond to complaints like these with the wrong solution: estrogen-mimicking drugs. These drugs address some of the discomforts of menopause, but not all. And the drugs are not necessary. You can get the real thing in the form of bio-identical testosterone.

This alternative is both reliable and easy to use. Your doctor can write a prescription for the exact amount of natural testosterone you need. A compounding pharmacist can make either oral testosterone or a testosterone ointment. Your doctor can give you instructions on the frequency and times of day to best address your situation.

If your doctor isn’t familiar with compounding, you can find a compounding pharmacist on The International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists homepage at www.iacprx.org.

Do not take testosterone without having your blood levels checked. You should have a full hormone panel. You may need bio-identical estrogens too.

As long as your dose is appropriate for you and your blood level, testosterone will not turn you into a man.

The healthy testosterone range for a woman is from about 35 to 85. A healthy man’s range is from 300 to 900. When you start any hormone supplementation, you should have your hormone levels checked every three months for the first year. Then you can drop back to annual tests.

I use bio-identical hormone replacement therapy including testosterone in women with great success. I’ve had menopausal women tell me they feel better than they have in years. Some even tell me they’re feeling like they’re in their 30s again.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD