Peri-Menopause (45-55):

Peri-menopause. I try not to use this term so much since it is not so pleasant but this is the truth – with the average age of menopause being 51 years old in the U.S., peri-menopause signs and symptoms emerge in their the mid-40’s after finishing the childbearing age of 44-45. Some women come to see me for an irregular period, heavy period, short period, brain fog, anxiety, irritability, depression, vaginal dryness, increased PMS signs, UTI, changes in their sleep pattern, fatigue, allergy symptoms, and more ache & pain. Bifidobacteria strain of probiotics reside mostly in the large intestines and it tends to decline with age and it is a very true fact when I do patient’s stool analysis test. It almost always comes back low for the patients above 45 of the age. It will be wise to take soil-based gentle universal probiotics with probiotics high in Bifidobacteria 2-3 times per week.

Until I mention the term “peri-menopause”, the word did not even cross their mind because they are still having a period. The most common one my patient express is feeling like “not yourself” you used to be. Eventually a couple of years before the menopause, you will see the “typical sign” of menopause like hot flashes and the cycle starts skipping like every other month become every 6 months and eventually no period for 12 months which we call the day of “menopause”.

Most of my patients coming to see me are the age of 37-44, to get pregnant. However since I have experienced the peri-menopause phase and entered the menopause phase, I am pretty confident, I can help you whatever the symptoms you are having now or the last couple of years. It is all about the balancing hormones, ladies!

This is a tough period in terms of women’s health. If you take care of yourself well in the peri-menopausal stage, your post-menopausal era will become so much easier to deal with. Think about the age of 46-56 women around you, most of the women are busy taking care of or worrying about their grown-up children, taking care of the grandchild, or taking care of aging parents, started dealing with more ache and pain than your 30’s. Really busy time of your life but yet you need to deal with the restless night with sweating, exhaustion, sweet craving, weight gain around the abdominal area, always looking for a car key and spare eyeglasses. This is also around the time your physical checkup started to show the red flags but it does not mean you need to go straight start taking the medication, ladies!!!

Your cycle is getting longer and longer and you are getting migraine headache or sinus headache before you “might” getting the next period, you may read this article about histamine and DAO (Diamine Oxidate). When estrogen is getting the momentum and progesterone is getting low before the period comes, your body tends to get sensitive to the chemical called histamine which you get from foods.

Try Femmenessence’s MacaLife for Peri-Menopausal Symptoms for 3 months.

This is a great article to read “the powder of progesterone” written by Dr. Anna Garrett

The connection between Vitamin D deficiency and Weight-gain – ZRT Lab

The book to read “What your doctor may not tell you about premenopause” written by John Lee, M.D.

This is the great exercises chart to Strengthen Your Pelvic Floor

It sounds strange but if you would like to get relief from your problem, it may worth trying -> Vaginal Steaming

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Post-Menopause (55 and later):

If you got into “post-menopause” very likely at the age of 55 and later, I am very certain I help you. Because I have been there after I struggled for the last few years.

The peri-menopause phase of your life starts in the late 30’s -the 40s’ to the early ’50s. Some women get into the peri-menopausal phase very early but some do not. They have the hot flash, restless sleep, moodiness, vaginal dryness, frequent muscle aches do not recover quickly as it used to be, fatigued all the time even though sleep 10 hours at night, crave sugar, gaining weight around the abdomen, etc… But, oh boy,  I was not prepared for what post-menopause affect my daily life started at the age of 55. Every time I can not find my phone and the car key, I started asking myself, is this the part of post-menopausal AGE syndrome (just getting old) or something I need to worry about like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease? I started reading articles, purchasing webinars, and training about brain-related diseases. If you are started having numerous symptoms and blaming for “it is the part of an aging process”, you are like me. It is very scary and I am telling you that it is NOT related to AGE syndrome. Your brain works as sharp as when you are in the ’30s as long as you know how to take care of yourself correctly.

I have been there, struggled to find the answer for the last few years after got into the post-menopause phase of my life. My post-menopause problems started with a frozen shoulder on both sides (a decade later I found out it was from eating too much high oxalate foods), UTI which I have not had since my 20’s, restless sleep, warm hand, and feet at night, short-term memory loss (where my keys, where’s my phone syndrome!), thinning hair, palpitations, weight gain around the abdomen, irritable for the small things, sugar cravings ever before, afternoon fatigue (my thyroid was affected!), various pain do not recover quickly and the list continues. I finally found the solution and I feel like my late 40’s again. If you are the age of 45-55 peri-menopausal age, I am capable to suggest to you what you should be paying attention to and if you post-menopausal-like me, I can really hear your pain and struggles.  I am more than happy to help you to find the right solutions for you.

If you are gaining weight around the abdomen and not able to lose weight despite the fact you go to the gym 5 times per week. My suggestion to you is to check your Progesterone level tested. Dried urine test (I use DUTCH Complete from Precision Analytical) or Saliva test (Neuro Lab, Diagnostic Tech, ZRT Lab) will give you the accurate marker number.  The chances are your progesterone level is not only low but very low. Imagine just like your gas tank in your car has flushing blinking the red light on but you have been ignoring for a while and keep driving. Your car finally slows down and stops running.  This is exactly what I am saying – even though your Estrogen level is low in your blood test as well as progesterone level is but being progesterone is VERY low relatives to Estrogen makes your body become Estrogen Dominance. What is Estrogen Dominance? The main symptoms of Estrogen Dominance are restless sleep, gaining weight around the abdominal area, fatigue, hot flash, night sweat, irritability, depression, short-term memory loss, hair loss, etc… sounds familiar? The good news is there are a few solutions to this but NOT getting HRT (synthetic Hormone Replacement Therapy). It all depends on the severity but my patients are not just uncomfortable but almost at the end of the rope. Get the proper help! Do not wait! Here are informative links for you to read. The book written by Dr. John Lee is especially helpful.IMG_3201 (1)

  • Post Menopausal menstrual cramp
  • Post Menopausal bleeding western medicine protocol: If your ultrasound shows endometrial lining is under 4mm, no endometrial biopsy is necessary. If your number is between 4 mm and 9 mm, your doctor will suggest you get an endometrial biopsy. If the lining is thicker than 9 mm, you have to get the endometrial biopsy done.  If your cervix is tight or/and not straight, you feel the pressure the equipment to go in. This is extremely uncomfortable for some women, especially women who have never given birth. Take a painkiller of your choice for 40 min. ahead of time and start pressing acupressure point onSP6 while you are waiting for your doctor to come in and push LI4 when you are on the table. Having an ice pack on your forehead helps you from your blood pressure to go down (feeling of fainting). Put a drop of peppermint oil on the temple to help you to calm down as well. Be patient and practice deep and slow breathing !!!
  • Try Femmenessence’s MacaPause for 3 months.
  • Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy:
    • If you are looking for safe, reliable, cost-effective, organic, and Non-Synthetic “Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy”, this is a great site called Menopause Method runs by two M.D. They have trained thousands of doctors around the world. Contact them to find out if there is a doctor who trained in this method practices near you.

Unusual menopausal signs and symptoms – check the following sites before calling your doctor:      

The great article about sarcopenia – preventing muscle loss as we age – By NY Times Jane Brody

The secret of centenarians:

This chart is from Bluezone to find the secret of centenarians in the world. I do not know much about Sardinia, Italy but I can tell you Okinawa, Japan, and Loma Linda where I lived there for two years back in the late ’80s.

Okinawan is not a typical Japanese. Very laid back, “enjoy the life” is their motto. When it comes to food intake, they eat the moderately light typical Japanese meal comes with a bowl of rice and miso soup, and tofu, kelp, and fresh vegetables and seafood. They have amazingly sweet fruits just like the state of Hawaii produce. They are able to harvest the freshest vegetables, kelp, and be able to catch fish from the ocean surrounding the island. They eat a lot of soy-based food from tofu to everything made from soy. But it is NOT synthetic soy we find in the soy protein powder. Organic soybeans are grown locally. Okinawa is a tropical island like Hawaii. You can see the difference between Hawaiian and the U.S. mainland. I have never got to like it but they eat Goya (bitter melon) a lot. Bitter melon is known for stabilizing the blood sugar level and stimulate the liver to be nice and healthy to detox the toxins. I can easily move and live there!

Loma Linda is the unique place I lived when my husband was studying at Univ. CA-Riverside in the late ’80s. They are vegetarian or vegan and what I remember the most is people know people. It is a city, not the town but it seems the majority of Loma Linda citizen has the same religious belief which is the center of everyday living. We felt we could not belong there and came back to the east coast!

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