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This article is from the WebMD Feature Archive
Your Brain on Menopause
You have this incredible best friend named Hannah. And you have been through it all, together - marriage, pregnancy, parenting, job promotions, job loss, spousal problems, maybe even divorce. There isn't anything that you and Hannah haven't shared in your lifelong friendship. You couldn't be closer if you were sisters.
Then one day you meet Hannah for lunch. You're wearing this brand new blue sweater and you can't wait to get her opinion on it. But when you ask her how she likes it, she says it's nice -- but comments that she likes you better in pink.
KABOOM! In an instant, your best friend turns into the wicked witch of the West! You're feeling hurt beyond belief, immediately convinced she's always been jealous of you, and, totally certain that the only reason she said you look better in pink is because you actually look better in blue! Within moments you work yourself up into believing she was never really your friend at all.
What's going on? It's just your brain -- on menopause! A time when everything can seem topsy-turvey, when you cry at the drop of a hat, when every single molehill looks like a mountain, and, yes, a time when even a seemingly innocent comment from a good friend can leave you screaming mad or unbearably hurt.
Menopause Hormones Affect the Brain, Too
But what's happening, and why? In a word, the answer is "hormones."
"The constant change of hormone levels during this time can have a troubling effect on emotions ... leaving some women to feel irritable and even depressed," reports the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Indeed, while everyone thinks of hormones as the chemicals that drive our reproductive system, in truth, there are receptors for both estrogen and progesterone throughout our body.
When these hormone levels begin to decline, as they do in the months and years leading up to menopause, every system that has these hormone receptors registers the change, and that includes your brain.
And while most of us can recite chapter and verse about what happens to our uterus or ovaries around this time (including problems like irregular bleeding or declining fertility), we hear very little about what happens when the hormone receptors in our brain begin running on empty!
What does happen? A disruption in an entire chain of biochemical activity, which in turn affects the production of mood-regulating chemicals, including serotonin and endorphins.
The end result: Mood swings, temper tantrums, depression, surprising highs followed by equally unexpected lows -- and none of it seems to make any sense.
"Your ovaries are failing and trying to keep up estrogen production. Some days they overshoot it, other days they can't produce enough," says Darlene Lockwood, MD, assistant professor at the University of California in San Francisco.
Each time your hormones do a little dance, your brain chemistry has to compensate. When the change is small, that compensation occurs quickly, and you hardly notice any symptoms.
But when it's more dramatic, an entire range of unexpected behaviors can come alive: You burst into tears when the bakery is out of rye bread. You weep uncontrollably during a greeting card commercial. You find that one minute you're loving your son's new girlfriend and the next you have an overwhelming urge to push her face into a cream pie. And nothing seems to make any sense.
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Menopause Guide
VIVELLE-DOT (estradiol transdermal system) IS AVAILABLE BY PRESCRPTION ONLY.
INDICATION
Vivelle-Dot is used after menopause to: reduce moderate to severe hot flashes; treat moderate to severe dryness, itching and burning in or around the vagina; help reduce your chances of getting osteoporosis (thin weak bones); and treat certain conditions in which a young woman's ovaries do not produce enough estrogens naturally. Vivelle-Dot 0.025 mg/day is only used to prevent osteoporosis from menopause. If you use Vivelle-Dot only to treat your dryness, itching, and burning in and around your vagina or if you use Vivelle-Dot only to prevent osteoporosis from menopause, talk with your healthcare professional about whether a different treatment or medicine without estrogens might be better for you.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Estrogens increase the chances of getting cancer of the uterus (womb). Report any unusual vaginal bleeding right away while you are taking estrogens. Vaginal bleeding after menopause may be a warning sign of cancer of the uterus (womb).
Do not use estrogens with or without progestins to prevent heart disease, heart attacks, or strokes. Using estrogens with or without progestins may increase your chances of getting heart attacks, strokes, breast cancer, and blood clots. Using estrogens with progestins may increase your risk of dementia (decline in memory and thinking skills).
Vivelle-Dot should not be used if you have unusual vaginal bleeding; currently have or have had certain cancers, including cancer of the breast or uterus; had a stroke or heart attack in the recent past (for example, in the past year); currently have or have had blood clots; currently have or have had liver problems; or think you may be, or know that you are, pregnant.
The most common side effects that may occur with Vivelle-Dot are headache, breast tenderness, and back pain.
You and your healthcare professional should talk regularly about whether you still need treatment with Vivelle-Dot.
You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.
Please see Full Prescribing Information for Vivelle-Dot.
Ob-Gyn Laura Corio talks about the importance of exercise during menopause.
