The Adrenal glands play the most important role in helping the body transition into menopause, and maintain quality of life after menopause. During and after the menopause transition, the adrenal glands are recruited to increase their contributions of hormones to make up for decreased contribution by the ovaries. Addressing the underlying cause will relieve the additional stress on the adrenal glands, and allow it to assist the body during and after the menopause.
Adrenal hormones are important to healthy menstruation, and stress is known to affect the menstrual cycle. The adrenal glands are the only source of testosterone in women, and after the menopause are the only source of the female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. These and other hormones play a major role in menstruation, sexual function, physical and psychological well-being, and the aging process, among other things. When these hormones are low, a number of unpleasant physical and psychological symptoms can occur. It has been observed clinically that those women who experience adrenal fatigue also experience PMS and are the ones who tend to have difficulty during peri-menopause and menopause.
When women enter peri-menopause and menopause, the ovaries slow their production of estrogen and progesterone and the adrenal glands have to pick up the slack for menopause to proceed smoothly. If the adrenals are already fatigued, it may be more difficult to meet this extra demand for hormone production. In fact, the adrenals may become even more depleted as a result, creating a vicious cycle. Pronounced morning fatigue may be a tip-off that low adrenal function is a factor in PMS or menopause discomfort. A saliva cortisol/DHEAS test that measures adrenal hormones at four different times in the day can help determine whether adrenal function is a contributing factor.
