oestrogen. These hormones are androstenedione (derived mainly
from the adrenal glands, but these do decline with ageing) and
testosterone.
Androstenedione is the precursor to testosterone production,
as well as oestrones and oestradiol which make up oestrogen.
The adrenal glands and ovaries each produce about 3mg a day of
androstenedione in pre-menopausal women. After menopause,
however, the production of androstenedione in the adrenal glands
generally halves. The impact of this in a post-menopausal body is that
a range of symptoms begin to be experienced. It is these symptoms
that, for many women, define how menopause is experienced. For
women who are particularly sensitive to these changes in hormones,
it’s not only irritability and depression that set in, but also weight gain
around the mid-riff and poor sleep patterns, as well as exhausting
hot flushes and night sweats.
Hot flushes and night sweats
Sometimes known as ‘hot flashes’ these are clinically defined as an
instability of the vaso-motor system. This is the system that is driven
by the adrenal glands through the sympathetic nervous system and
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