Signs of Perimenopause: Dr. Phil Quizzes Ann Louise Gittleman

Ann Louise Gittleman Talks Hormones and Perimenopause with Dr. Phil

By Virginia Hopkins

Author and nutritionist Anne Louise Gittleman, author of the book Before the Change: Taking Charge of Your Perimenopause, brought natural hormones into the spotlight in the mainstream media with an appearance on the Dr. Phil show. Dr. Phil’s wife talked about her perimenopause experiences, and Gittleman gave specific suggestions for achieving natural hormone balance. Ann Louise Gittleman is a longtime fan of Dr. Lee and progesterone cream, and her suggestions for perimenopausal women were right on the mark, including recommendations to use magnesium, zinc and natural progesterone.

Few of those in the national media have been willing to talk about natural hormones in any detail, largely thanks to pressure from pharmaceutical advertisers who spend billions every year in TV advertising. It’s a testimonial to Dr. Phil’s independence and courage that he was willing to bring Ann Louise Gittleman onto his show, and to plug her book, Before the Change: Taking Charge of Your Perimenopause. No doubt the Women’s Health Initiative, a huge study published in a part last summer, helped the cause, as it showed that women using PremPro had a significantly higher risk of heart disease, breast cancer, strokes and gallbladder disease than women on no hormone replacement.

Now there are tens of millions of baby boomer age women seeking answers for perimenopausal symptoms, as they have abandoned their PremPro and are experiencing hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness, weight gain, mood swings and other symptoms of the onset of menopause. Dr. Phil no doubt receives lots of mail requesting more information on hormone replacement and perimenopause, and Ann Louise Gittleman gave millions of women valuable and useful information.

Dr. Lee gives detailed solutions for perimenopausal symptoms, including fatigue, breast tenderness, PCOS, PMS, insomnia, memory loss and other problems in his book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause: How to Balance Your Life and Your Hormones from Thirty to Fifty. In particular, the chapter on the adrenals and stress will help many women who experience fatigue and memory loss as they approach menopause. Millions of baby boomer women have tried to juggle their careers and family at the expense of their own health, and the result is tired adrenal glands that need specific kinds of support to get back on line.

In addition, thanks to conventional HRT that features excessively high doses of estrogen and synthetic progestins, many women find themselves at risk for breast cancer and strokes. Drs. Lee and Zava address these concerns in great detail in What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer: How Hormone Balance Can Help Save Your Life, which is now available in paperback.

Again, congratulations to Ann Louise Gittleman and Dr. Phil for putting the spotlight on natural hormone replacement!

Possible Symptoms of Perimenopause and Menopause Caused by Hormonal Imbalances

  • Hot flashes

  • Night sweats

  • Vaginal Dryness

  • Weight gain

  • Tender breasts

  • Fibrocystic breasts

  • Mood swings

  • Irritability

  • Insomnia

  • Memory Loss

  • Dry skin

  • Irregular periods

  • Heavy bleeding

  • PMS

  • Fatigue

  • Depression

  • Low thyroid symptoms

  • Low libido

  • Water retention/bloating

  • Cravings for sugar and refined carbohydrates

For specific solutions for perimenopausal symptoms from John R. Lee, M.D., please take advantage of the numerous resources on his website, including What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Premenopause.

Copyright © 2003, Hormones, Etc. All rights reserved. Photocopying, reproduction, or quotation strictly prohibited without permission of the publishers except for comment and review.

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perimenopause, natural hormones, Dr. Phil, Ann Louise Gittleman, premenopause

What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About PREmenopause

Balance Your Hormones and Your Life from Thirty to Fifty.
by John R. Lee, M.D., Jesse Hanley M.D. and Virginia Hopkins
Warner Books 1999 (395 pages)

Real solutions from John R. Lee, M.D. for PMS, fibroids, fibrocystic breasts, weight gain, fatigue, endometriosis, irregular or heavy periods, infertility, miscarriage, and other premenopausal hormone imbalance symptoms, in detail. He also covers the topics of stress, birth control pills, hysterectomy and cancer. Many case histories are included, and Dr. Hanley adds a new dimension to this book by addressing the emotional issues of premenopause symptoms as well as the use of herbs and nutritional supplements to treat symptoms.