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Understanding Her Menopause for Dummies

One day she is purchasing much needed feminine products and the next, she is dripping in sweat ripping her blouse off and cranking down the AC. Menopause, the change of life, is inevitable for women, but what does it mean?

The average age of menopause is 51 years old and on average symptoms last seven to ten years. That’s right- Seven to Ten years! Symptoms may include, but are not limited to: hot flashes, night sweats, anxiety, insomnia, depression, hair loss, weight gain, vaginal dryness, painful intercourse, and brain fog. Bloody Hell! Well, actually periods (menses) cease so it’s just Hell.

Menopause is rare amongst mammals. Only in humans and a few whales does the female species lose the ability to reproduce. In theory, this helps ensure the children’s offspring survive. Thanks for the help Grandma! Menopause is a natural biological process that is marked by the end of menstrual cycles, cannot be cured, but can be treated. Well if it’s natural, it must be OK, right? Yeah, go ahead and ask her how she feels about that.

Most women won’t need a doctor to tell them they are in menopause. They will know it! However, blood tests can be helpful in determining if ovulation is possible. Skipping periods during peri menopause is common and expected. Often, menstrual periods will skip a month and return, or even skip several months. Periods also tend to happen on shorter cycles, so they are closer together. Despite irregular periods, pregnancy is still possible! When the woman has not had a menstrual cycle for one full calendar year, she is considered menopausal. On blood tests, her FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) will be HIGH and her estrogen and progesterone will be LOW. Essentially, her ovaries have stopped producing hormones. Enter above stated symptoms….. Or not. Menopause does not play fair. Some women will sail through this transition with rarely a hot flash and others will be pummeled in every hormonal hail storm that nature can fling. Healthy lifestyles such as proper diet, exercise, hydration, stress management and sleep most certainly help alleviate unwanted symptoms, but even the cleanest of clean living can get completely derailed.

Hormone replacement therapy is available for most women. Like most medications, there are risks and benefits. Choosing to take HRT (hormone replacement therapy) is a personal decision as medically no woman is required to be on hormones. However quality of life is usually much improved on HRT as the goal of treatment is to extinguish symptoms. The safest treatment is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) at the lowest effective dose for the shortest amount of time. That being said, many women simply choose to stay on hormones for many years.

BHRT is the use of bio identical estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. The effective goal is to diminish hot flashes and night sweats, improve mental acuity, enhance libido and improve bone health. Many women also find they are less anxious, manage stress better, experience higher quality of sleep and diminished joint pain. Women who are considering BHRT should have a lengthy consultation with a qualified medical professional. This consultation should include a discussion of risks and benefits, contraindications, appropriate usage and blood work should be analyzed and watched through out treatment. It is also important to note that BHRT can be stopped at any time without a taper. The only downside would be that symptoms may return in which case the woman may resumer BHRT if she chooses.

Age may be just a number, it may be a mind set, but it is doesn’t have to be a victim of biological tyranny. Don’t sweat it.

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MEET ELIZABETH BECKNER AND DAISHA ESCAMILLA

OUR CALIFORNIA LICENSED PHLEBOTOMISTS

Liz started doing personal blood draws after her son, Dashiell, was born with Zellwegers disease. His diagnosis required numerous blood draws and drug levels throughout his life. After sitting through long wait times at the labs followed by watching many different phlebotomists, many new to the job, struggle to find his veins, often poking him multiple times, as a seasoned phlebotomist, Liz decided to draw his blood at home and hand deliver it to the lab myself. Soon after she began doing personal touch blood draws so she can now offer that same personalized service to you.

Liz graduated from Pepperdine University with a degree in Biology in 1994. She moved to Santa Barbara and earned her phlebotomy certificate in 1995. Liz began working at St. Francis Medical Center in the Physical Therapy Department and quickly transferred to the Laboratory. Perfecting her venipuncture techniques on all floors of the hospital, including post-operative patients, pregnant women going into labor, sick or premature babies, and emergency room patrons, she then improved her patient care skills working for internal medicine doctors, one of whom was the Medical Director of Hospice and won Doctor of the Year. In 1999, Liz started working with a group of local retinal surgeons. Her primary job consisted of injecting dye into arm veins and photographing its flow through the patients retinal vessels. When patients are worried about their diagnosis or apprehensive about the procedure because of difficult veins, her quick, almost pain free needle stick and kind but professional bed side manner would put them at ease.

The various settings and patients Liz has encountered over the years have enabled her to become very skilled at finding the smallest and most fragile of vessels. Her specialities include infants and the elderly, diabetics of all ages, patients with rolling veins, on blood thinners or chemotherapy. She lives in downtown Santa Barbara, travels from Goleta to Carpintera and brings all the necessary supplies directly to you. All she needs from you is a lab request and your home or office becomes an instant draw station. Appointment times are very flexible, and she is friendly, reliable and punctual. Be kind to your arm and treat yourself to the luxury blood draw you deserve!!!

MEET MICHAEL BROOKINS; BS, CNMT, ABAAHP

Mike brings more than just a medical perspective to his clients; at the age of 14, he began an athletic career as a pole-vaulter that would end up taking him on an incredible journey over the next 13 years of his life. Throughout his athletic journey Mike was constantly working to find the ideal balance of fitness and proper nutrition in order to maximize his performances. Combined with his medical knowledge the years of athletic experience provide a unique and successful combination that serve to benefit his staff and clients.

“After I shifted the focus of my practice from Sports Medicine into Nuclear Medicine specifically Interventional Endocrinology. I found myself questioning our western medical paradigm…Here I was performing thyroid cancer and Hyperthyroidism treatments with harmful radical thyroid radioactive ablations which really made me take a hard look in the mirror and become more of a researcher to find safer and more effective options to better treat my clients. During my research I realized that there were very few, if any, medically directed programs focused towards achieving a “Healthier Lifestyle” rather than typical “Diet” fads.” A few years later after training and working with some of the worlds foremost Bio-identical Hormone Replacement specialists I became Board Certified in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine. Sort of just found my passion and the answers I had been looking for with this new specialty finally after years of treating people with the Band-Aid “fix it when its broken” mentality instead of at the root cause.”

Mike has spent the last 10 years in Anti-Aging, Functional and Regenerative Medicine. He has trained over 120 physicians in Anti-Aging and Regenerative Medicine and consulting for their practices. Today his vision is a reality, and clients from all of the world come to benefit from the successful programs that have been established at Age Management Institute Santa Barbara. He firmly believes in educating the patient about the importance of good nutrition, hormone balance, stress management, and regular exercise is the key to aging well and having a high quality of life well into your golden years.