As we mentioned in other articles, endometriosis grow somewhere else other than the endometrium also reacts to hormonal signals of the monthly menstrual cycle, building up tissue, breaking it, and eliminating it through the menstrual period. Hysterectomy always is the last resource in treating endometriosis for woman who has exhausted all the treatments without success, or endometrial tissues has become cancerous, her doctor may suggest some kinds of hysterectomy. If the varies were also removed in the endometrial hysterectomy, then estrogen replacement theory may be necessary to restore the level of estrogen in the woman body.

Estrogen is produced by the ovaries and adrenal glands. It helps to regulate the menstrual cycle and reproductive organs in woman’s body. The removal of ovaries causes hormone imbalance of reproductive system resulting in all kinds of symptoms of menopause. In that case, your doctor may suggest estrogen replacement therapy(ERT)

I. What is estrogen therapy

Estrogen replacement therapy helps to restore the balance of hormones in the women reproductive cycle caused by menopause state or temporary menopause state or the removal of ovaries after hysterectomy. By giving the additional estrogen to the patient body through injected, oral or patches, it helps to reduce the symptom caused by low level of estrogen.

Since women with hysterectomy may require different amount of estrogen intake, please make sure check with your doctor to see which form of estrogen therapy is worked well for you.

II. Types of estrogen hormone

1. Estrone

Estrone is produced by adrenal glands mostly in body fat and muscles. Without supporting from the ovaries,the level of estrone is dropped significantly . Low level of estrone causes hot flush.

2. Estradiol

Estradiol is produced by the ovaries. Since the ovaries are removed, level of estradiol also is dropped significantly. Therefore, you doctor may suggest entinyl estradiol, which is a synthetic estrogen to be taken because its effects are similar to those of estradiol. There are other kind of estrogen, such as plant base or animal mixture of estradiol and estrone (conjugated estrogen) which can be converted to estradiol by our body including sodium estrone sulphate and sodium equilin sulfate cenestin, enjuvia, premarin.

3. Estriol

Estriol is another estrogen hormone that is produced by placenta. It is produced in great amount during pregnancy. Estriol is an important indicator of a fetus’s well-being.

II. Benefits and Risks

Unlike women in menopause, women with removal of ovaries normally only need to take a small amount of estrogen.

1. Benefits

a) Reduce hot flash

b) Reduce vagina dryness

c) Risk of itching around the vagina area

d) Reduce the risk of osteoporosis

2. Risks

a) Increase risk of breast cancer

b) Increase risk of blood clots in lung and leg

c) Risk of heart attach and stroke

d) Increase the risk of live damage

e) And sometimes unusual vagina bleeding.

I hope this information will help. If you need more information or insurance advices, please follow my article series of the above subject at my home page at:

http://medicaladvisorjournals.blogspot.com

To read the series of endometriosis visit:

http://endometriosisa.blogspot.com



Thanks to Kyle J. Norton for contributing this article to our Menopause blog:

Bleeding After Menopause

In some cases, the causes of early menopause are clear, but there are situations when you keep asking why did that happen, and have no idea which can be the cause.A common cause of premature ovarian failure can be an autoimmune disorder. When this happens, the body senses parts of itself as being intruders, so, antibodies will attack those parts. Antibodies may attack your own ovarian tissue, your endometrium, or one or more hormones that regulate ovulation. This can happen in the case of premature menopause, and if you have a family history of autoimmune disorders, it is a great possibility that this is the cause for your early menopause.

It was seen that defects on an X chromosome may cause some cases of hereditary premature menopause. This defect to an X chromosome, also called “fragile X syndrome” seems to interfere with the production of eggs. So, women who have this syndrome will have a lesser number of eggs in their ovaries, and this will lead to an earlier menopause.“Turner’s syndrome” appears when you are born without a second X chromosome, or without part of the chromosome. As a result, the ovaries will not develop properly, and some of these women will never have their periods at all. There are situations when premature menopause appears because some women have three X chromosomes, and this affects the ovarian development too.

Oophorectomy and total hysterectomy are causes of early menopause due to surgery. The patient experiences premature menopause after removal of both of the ovaries, -and this is called a bilateral oophorectomy- or removal of the uterus, both fallopian tubes, and both ovaries, operation called total hysterectomy. As a result of these operations, progesterone levels plunge, and menopause appears right away.Sometimes, as a result of a hysterectomy in which one or both ovaries are left intact, it happens that immediately after surgery or up to a few years later one or both ovaries will fail. This may happen because during a procedure like cyst removal, the ovary or ovaries are damaged.Tubal ligation can also be a cause that leads to premature menopause in some women.

It was seen that the doses of radiation or chemotherapy used to kill cancer can damage the ovaries as well, and there appears premature menopause. In some cases there appears temporary menopause, but even when the ovaries start working regularly again, there can appear infertility.Recently, doctors have begun to prescribe the drug named Tamoxifen as a preventative measure for women who have a high risk of breast cancer. Everyone focused on the positive aspects of this drug, but it is important to know that it has as a potential side effect the apparition of premature menopause.

If there is a family history of premature menopause, it is important to know that there is a great chance for daughters to go through menopause at about the same age their mothers did.If a pregnant woman will contract a viral infection, it is possible to affect the baby’s ovarian development, and when the baby is born, will have a lower number of eggs, which will result in premature menopause.

It is known that there are some diseases that can cause symptoms that overlap with those of menopause. Hyperthryoid can cause palpitations and sweats, and hypothyroid can cause hair loss, weight gain, moodiness, and amenorrhea. The reversal of symptoms can be obtained with proper diagnosis and treatment.A disease that is marked by overproduction of prolactin, hyperprolactinemia can lead to amennorhea, and it is known that one of the typical signs of this disease is galactorrhea.Usually, this disease is treated with drugs like Parlodel.Women with pitiuitary disorders often go through amennorhea, and they discover their periods have stopped. There may be necessary a scan to determine whether they have a tumor or lesion, which can be treated through surgery or medication.Skipping periods and a number of other symptoms, including excessive hair growth can be caused by the polycystic ovarian disease.We can mention some other causes of amennorhea, like excessive weight gain or weight loss, excessive exercise, use of certain drugs, recent use of birth control pills.Through blood tests or “progesterone challenge” test, the doctor will be able to determine the cause of the symptoms.

For more resources about menopause or about early menopause symptoms please review http://www.menopause-info-guide.com/early-menopause-symptoms.htm



Thanks to Groshan Fabiola for contributing this article to our Menopause blog:

Bleeding After Menopause