While estrogen levels don’t fall until later in the menopause transition, progesterone levels decline sooner and more dramatically leading up to menopause.īody signals that include symptoms such as hot flashes are most likely the result in a shift in the balance between estrogen and progesterone.Īnother risk to progesterone is that the body releases cortisol in response to physical and psychological stress.

Progesterone is also the precursors for other important stress and sex hormones (which means it’s needed to make other hormones). encouraging fat burning and the use of stored energy.helping protect against depression and increasing a sense of well-being.protecting against fibrocystic breast disease.Progesterone is responsible for many important tasks, such as: However, that is not the only role that progesterone plays in a woman’s body. The main purpose of progesterone is to prepare the body for pregnancy and provide the necessary support to ensure the fetus is carried to term. However, if the adrenals are not functioning well, sufficient progesterone won’t be produced which can cause havoc in the body. The adrenal glands are part of your long-term, back-up hormonal replacement part system and are designed to release whatever female hormone you may need. But what many people don’t realize is that the adrenals also produce other hormones, including the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone. The adrenal glands are widely known for the production of the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. The Problem With Diminishing Progesterone At this stage, the adrenals take over the job of producing the sex hormones and menopause symptoms often become more pronounced. At some point during this transition, the ovaries get smaller and stop producing estrogen and progesterone altogether. The decline of hormone production starts slow (typically around age 35) and speeds up through her 40s as a woman approaches actual menopause. However many people use the term “menopause” to describe the entire process.) Postmenopause is the stage after menopause has occurred.

It starts as perimenopause, during which time the ovaries begin to make less of the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which interferes with an egg being consistently released each month. (By the way, the term menopause actually refers to when a woman has been 12 consecutive months without a period or other signs of fertility. The menopause process is gradual and has a few stages along the way.

Understanding the changes that happen in the body is vital, as natural decline in hormone levels during menopause can significantly affect a woman’s health for years to come. Menopause (the ceasing of menstruation and reproduction) is a normal change that a woman will go through on average between the ages of 50 and 55 – although it can happen much earlier.

Symptoms of adrenal fatigue