Menopause andropause

Kamyar M . Hedayat, MD, Medical Director
Full Spectrum Health: An Endobiogeny Medical Center
6480 Weathers Place Ste 106, San Diego, Ca 92121
www.fshcenter.com
858-455-9726

INTRODUCTION
 Life is a series of natural transitions
 Fetal life to birth
 Adolescence
 Adulthood
 Menopause/Andropause
 Senescence
 However, living is a series of adaptations and
modifications of these transitions
(c) 2013: Full Spectrum Health: An Endobiogeny
Medical Center www.fshcenter.com

Objectives
 Hormone review
 What is a hormone?
 Where do they come
from?
 Menopause
 What it is
 Why it comes about
 Symptoms
 Treatment options
 Andropause
 What it is
 Why it comes about
 Symptoms
 Treatment options

Testosterone

Hormones
 Hormones are chemical messengers that manage the
metabolism of the body
 Metabolism includes how cells and tissues are
built, recycles and built again
 Hormones affect our feelings, mood, strength of
bones, muscles, tendons, etc., immunity, determine
our sex, our gender and much more
 Hormones manage our reaction to every stress, and all
the grand transitions in life, including menopause and
andropause

Sex Hormones
CHOLESTEROL PROGESTERONE
DHEA
TESTOSTERONE
DIHYDRO-
TESTOSTERONE
ESTROGENS
ADRENAL
GLAND
GONADS
FAT
CELLSLIVER

Menopause
All it is and
all it isn’t

Menopause: What it is
 Menopause is when the monthly (meno-) menstrual
cycle ends (-pause)
 Purpose of menstrual cycle: prepare a woman for a
possible pregnancy every month with large increases
in estrogen, then, progesterone
 All a woman’s eggs are present at birth. They mature at
a certain age, then involute over time
 When the period of fertility has ended, the body
ceases to expend energy on this monthly
cycle…Menopause

Why are there symptoms?
 The need for estrogen does not end with the end of
fertility
 Everyone—men and women—needs estrogen to live
 Estrogen builds tissues, helps with energy
production, helps stabilize mood, improves quality of
skin, helps with lubrication, balances role of
testosterone
 The symptoms of menopause from the attempt to find
another way to make estrogen (and progesterone) that
does not involve the ovaries

Decline in Estrogen Production
…three back-up ways to make estrogen: Adrenal glands, fat, liver

Recall:
CHOLESTEROL PROGESTERONE
DHEA
TESTOSTERONE
DIHYDRO-
TESTOSTERONE
ESTROGENS
ADRENAL
GLAND
GONADS
FAT
CELLSLIVER

Symptoms of
Menopause
 Most symptoms of
menopause arise
from
• Over-stimulating
Adrenals with the
nervous system
• Over-producing
testosterone
• Under-producing
Estrogens
• Over-accumulation of
fat (for estrogens)
• Congesting the liver
• Low kidney chi

What to do?
 Is Menopause a disease?
No
 Should it be treated? Yes:
if it is symptomatic
 The goal of life is to seek
balance
 With increase in life
span, live better instead
of merely longer
becomes more
imperative

Why to treat it
 Reduce risk of “men’s diseases” due to drop in estrogen
 Heart Disease
 Alzheimer’s
 Reduce risk of “female diseases”
 Osteoporosis
 As well as quality of life issues:
 Libido
 Skin quality
 Mood imbalances, etc.

How to treat it
 Hormonal
 Synthetic hormones
 Bio-identical hormones
 Medicinal plants
 Nutritional
 Energetic: Acupuncture
 Metabolic: Oxygen
therapies
 Structural: Massage, Chi
Ni tsang
 Detoxification: IR
sauna, medical detox
 Aesthetics:
Acupuncture, oxygen
therapies

ANDROPAUSE

What it is
 Andropause is a decline in testosterone production
 Andropause is not simply “male menopause”
 Men are more dependent on testosterone than women
 Decline is slow, not sudden
 Symptoms are more subtle
 Culturally and medically, andropause is either brushed
off as “mid-life crisis” or ignored

Why it occurs
 Similar to women, andropause is related in part to
fertility needs and virility
 However, unlike women, men are constantly
producing new sperm throughout their adult lives
 With advancing age, the need for a high amount of
androgens declines
 What makes andropause more complicated is the
relationship of testosterone with sex hormone binding
globulin, androgen receptors, and estrogen

Testosterone and SHBG

Pseudo-Andropause
 Liver disease
 Beta blockers
 Zinc deficiency
 Magnesium deficiency
 Alcohol consumption
 Chronic marijuana use
 Sedatives

Role of Various Androgens

Symptoms of Andropause
 Usually, we see a decline in one or two of the major
androgens, not just Testosterone:
DHEA, Testosterone, DHT
 Low sex drive
 Mood instability, irrational decision making
 Decreased muscle mass
 Loss of muscle strength
 Increased upper and central body fat
 Osteoporosis or weak bones and back pain

DHT Over-compensation
 Often we see an over-conversion of testosterone to DHT:
 Cardiovascular risk
 Male pattern hair loss
 Prostate issues

Risks of hormonal treatment
 According to advocates of hormonal treatment, risks
of male hormonal replacement may include:
 Male breast cancer
 Prostate cancer
 Blood clots
 Increased heart disease
 Diabetes (from increased insulin resistance)
 Kidney disease
 Swelling of the hands and feet

Treatment Options
 Hormonal
 Synthetic hormones
 Bio-identical hormones
 Medicinal plants
 Nutritional
 Energetic: Acupuncture
 Metabolic: Oxygen
therapies
 Structural: Massage, Chi
nit san
 Detoxification: IR
sauna, medical detox
 Aesthetics:
Acupuncture, oxygen
therapies

Bio-identical hormones-beware
 Bio-identical hormones are almost the same as
synthetic hormones:
 Concentrated and aggressive
 Force your body to use what it is given without being to
able to regulate it in a natural way
 Often requires monthly blood tests, changing the doses
of your “cocktail” and a lot of trial and error

The Endobiogeny approach
 Natural plant therapy: Whole-plant therapies
 Encourage your body’s natural production of hormones
 Improve your body’s sensitivity to hormones.
 Does not require monthly testing
 Does not require “cocktails” of hormones
 Diet: Eating the right foods can help your body make
more sex hormones from back up sources
 Lifestyle: managing stress and body image issues is
also important

Examples of hormonal plants
Estrogen-like Progesterone-like Testosterone-like
Sage (Salviaofficinalis) Yarrow
(Achilleamillefolium)
Eleuthro
(Eleuthrococcussenticocc
us)
Clary sage (Salvia sclarea) Lady’s mantle
(Alchemillavulgaris)
Ginger
(Zingiberofficinalis)
Maca (Lepidiummeyenii) Maca (Lepidiummeyenii)
Ginseng (Panax ssp.) Ginseng (Panax ssp.)

QUESTIONS and DISCUSSION

Menopause andropause

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