This article should be viewed as an addendum to my last article, an article that pointed out the ability of Amberen to banish the migraines of menopause. The final sentence in that article read as follows: “The woman who elects to use Amberen can maintain an optimal hormonal balance.” On reflection, I realize that I should have written this: “A healthy woman who elects to use Amberen can maintain an optimal hormonal balance.”
I have not talked with my doctor about using Amberen. I hesitate to use any drug that creates changes in my endocrine system. When I was much younger, my doctor advised me against using birth control pills. He knew that my system had delayed for a protracted period of time, attainment of the hormonal level that is found in a typical young, adult female.
In my previous article, I wrote about the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. I indicated that Amberen targeted that axis, helping the woman’s neuroendocrine system to delay the consequences of progression into a particular stage of life—the stage known as menopause. Now it so happens that the same axis can behave abnormally in a young female. That is what happened to me, for a time. For more than half a dozen years, I listened to other girls complain about the pains of menstruation, but I did not have regular periods.
While I was in high school, I developed an undiagnosed neurological problem. That problem impeded the functioning of my hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. Once that problem had been diagnosed and corrected, then I did begin to have periods. Still, my physician wanted to be sure that I could keep my neuroendocrine system in balance. That is why he told me not to use birth control pills.
More than 35 years later, I can not forget or discount that suggestion. As someone who has studied biomedical research, I find it impossible to invite problems, by making unscheduled changes in my hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis. I am content to deal with the consequences of any natural changes to that axis.
In future articles, I plan to offer more information about the physiological and biochemical changes that are associated with menopause. I will also write about alternative ways to treat the symptoms of menopause.