It is a common misconception that menopausal or premenopausal women are deficient in estrogen. Once a women stops ovulating, she produces almost zero progesterone. In contrast to this, once a woman stops ovulating she still releases estrogen that is stored in adipose tissue (fat). Therefore, even if she isn’t producing as much estrogen as she was before menopause, there can still be a great imbalance between the estrogen and progesterone ratio. This is referred to as estrogen dominance.
Scientific studies link estrogen dominance with a wide range of symptoms and conditions, including: hot flashes, night sweats, low libido, fibrocystic and tender breasts, heavy and irregular menstrual bleeding, mood swings, weight gain, uterine fibroids and foggy thinking. Estrogen dominance can also be associated with more serious conditions related to reproductive health (endometriosis and PCOS) as well as breast disease including cancer. Hormone imbalances triggered by medications like synthetic hormone combinations have also been found to contribute to estrogen dominance problems.
Women of all ages benefit from balanced hormones. With menstrual irregularities, PMS, endometriosis and infertility, saliva testing can be helpful in understanding the underlying condition. Health care providers working with peri-menopausal and menopausal women find saliva hormone testing to be a key step in correcting imbalances.