Understanding
Homeostasis and Hormones in the Study of:
Menopause
and the Thyroid
I find it a
lot easier to first learn the words through the dictionary. After that, I like
to learn about them. It makes it easier for me to understand them more
intricately.
Homeostasis as defined by the oxford dictionaries
states:
Noun: The tendency toward a relatively stable
equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by
physiological processes.
The process of
maintaining homeostasis in humans is regulated by three organs: the kidneys,
the liver, and the brain. These regulate the temperature, iron content in our
blood, retention and production of energy, and overall blood composition.
To maintain homeostasis means that the body is responding internally to
the changes outside, which means like the weather for instance. It is basically
the perfect harmony of the proper functioning of the internal organs. However,
as I previously mentioned, the main machines who work for us to create this
balance are the kidneys, liver, and brain. The kidneys are responsible for controlling
blood water levels, reabsorption of substances in blood, and regulation of salt
and iron content in the blood. Which also includes, excretion of urea and other
wastes which is controlled by the kidneys. On the other hand, the liver
performs the functions of stabilizing carbohydrate metabolism and removal of
toxic substances. The brain is the big boss of all the functions, controlling
the autonomic nervous and endocrine systems, which help in retaining
homeostasis. This, in turn determines the metabolism of our body.
If our amazing body is unable to maintain homeostasis, it will
eventually cause death. This situation is called homeostatic imbalance. When
negative feedback, overpowers, and destructive positive mechanism takes over, a
heart attack may occur. This imbalance may also lead to dehydration, diabetes,
hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia.
I am the proud owner of one of these glycemias, I however did not know
there were two different ones. I have the one whereas I get the shakes, and
require peanut butter crackers. I have been told on multiple occasions I was
borderline diabetic, and I needed to change my eating habits. Every time the
doctors and nurses ask me I answer I answer “Uh huh.” When they say “Hypo or
hyper.” I don’t have a clue. It was in the eighties when I was diagnosed, and I
am not drinking that nasty orange sugar water again and getting sick, it was
disgusting!!
Hormones as defined by
medicine.net states:
A chemical substance produced in the body
that controls and regulates the activity of certain cells or organs. Many
hormones are secreted by special glands, such as thyroid hormone produced by
the thyroid gland. Hormones are essential for every activity of life, including
the processes of digestion, metabolism, growth, reproduction, and mood control.
Many hormones, such as neurotransmitters, are active in more than one physical
process.
Ugh hormones. The very mention of them,
and most generally people will go in different directions. Hormones can happen
during pregnancy, and menopause, even during puberty. This why when a man, and
a mean a human man hears a woman speaking of hormones, the man will run the
other way. To the man, it means ‘escape quick!’ and trust me, if a woman’s
hormones are off balance, the man is safest to avoid her in most cases.
For this instance, I am going to speak to
you about menopause, and the way hormones work while the female is going
through the change of life.
To begin, allow me to introduce menopause
to you in a way that you will understand better. The woman is now over the
hill, which is usually considered over forty in most cases. However, menopause
can affect any woman at many different ages, when stress is involved.
But
the thing about menopause is the many ways the body goes through changes. Now
for each person, these signs can be different, or the same. It all depends on
the person. But in most cases, most women experience: night sweats, depression
and or anxiety, hot flashes, irregular and or loss of menstrual cycles, loss of
libido, mood swings, change in body odor, irritability, irregular heartbeat,
and even sometimes panic disorders.
But this is by far the worst part. Some
women even notice hair loss, sleeping disorders, fatigue, difficulty
concentrating and even memory loss. There are even other changes to be noted,
such as dry skin, dizziness, vaginal dryness, and weight gain.
And the thing is, this is just the body
adjusting to getting older. Although scientists and doctors have proven
throughout the years that depression can happen to anyone at any age, it
afflicts almost nineteen million Americans each year, and up to one in five
American women will suffer from clinical depression at some point in her life.
Many women first experience symptoms of depression during their twenties and
thirties.
Irritability during menopause is most
often caused by hormonal changes, which happens when low levels of circulating
estrogen have an adverse effect on the neurotransmitters in the brain that are
responsible for regulating mood.
When the woman’s estrogen levels drop
during perimenopause, collagen production also slows down. Thereby, when the body starts running low on
collagen, it shows in the skin, as the skin gets thinner, drier, flakier, and
less youthful-looking. Skin dryness leads to pruritus, or itchy skin, a
frustrating symptom that can disrupt both women's sleeping and waking lives.
There are four stages in menopause. They
are as follows: Early menopause, premenopause, Perimenopause, and
postmenopause.
Early menopause is usually when the woman
is in their twenties or thirties, premenopause is usually in the thirties to
forties, menopause itself is usually in the forties to fifties and then
postmenopause is there after which is exactly as it sounds. Right after
menopause.
Everyone thinks of hormones as the
chemicals that drive our reproductive system, in truth, there are receptors for
both estrogen and progesterone throughout our entire 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,
which includes the most vital organ of all. The brain. And as with any moos
disorder, like depression, a disruption in an entire chain of biochemical
activity, which in turn affects the production of mood-regulating chemicals,
including serotonin and endorphins gets all stirred up.
Your hormones are doing their dance, while
the serotonin and endorphins are doing theirs, and all at the same time, your
brain is trying to manage everything. In the meantime, the serotonin can’t find
their dance partner, and the endorphins get angry with the endorphins, and your
hormones get all stirred up and you either end up screaming, or cry, or having
a tantrum, because your brain doesn’t know what to do, and neither do you. This
is menopause.
You wake up in the morning ready to do the
laundry, and then you get started and realize when you look in the mirror that
your old, and fat, or gray haired, and life is passing you by, and that you
have so many ‘I wish I would’ves’ that you have never done, that when the phone
rings, you scream and yell at the telemarketer for no reason. Then you turn on
the TV and a show comes on you, and you start crying. When your husband comes
home and ask how your day went, you rip into him for never understanding you,
and never being there for you. You didn’t mean to, you don’t even know where
that came from. This too, is menopause.
Menopause is like losing control of your
mind, but watching you in control because, you know what you’re doing, but by
the time you do it, it’s too late. It’s your brain working faster than your
mouth kind of situation, with a touch of mood swings, and so much more.
However, let it be known, that in most
cases menopause is a normal stage of life. I tried to find out if there has
ever been a case whereas a woman has never had any signs or menopause at all,
but I couldn’t find anything. I however, don’t think any of my search engines
understood what I was searching for.
The next hormone problem I would like to
discuss with you, is yet another problem I face.
The thyroid.
The thyroid is a small, gland located at
the base of the neck just below the Adam's apple. It’s part of an intricate
network of glands called the endocrine system. The endocrine system is
responsible for coordinating many of the body's activities. The thyroid gland
manufactures hormones that regulate the body's metabolism (this is the process
by which the body creates and uses energy). There are several different
disorders that can arise when the thyroid produces too much hormone
(hyperthyroidism) or not enough (hypothyroidism). You may recall me mentioning
these earlier in this paper, now perhaps we may get to understand them better.
There are four common thyroid disorders
which include: Hashimoto's disease, Graves' disease, goiter, and thyroid
nodules.
These are the signs for
Hashimoto’s disease:
Include: Fatigue, depression, constipation, mild
weight gain, dry skin, dry, thinning hair, pale, puffy face, heavy and
irregular menstruation, intolerance to cold, enlarged thyroid (goiter)
The signs for Graves’
disease:
Include: anxiety, irritability, fatigue,
hand tremors, increased or irregular heartbeat, excessive sweating, difficulty
sleeping, diarrhea or frequent bowel movements, altered menstrual cycle, enlarged
thyroid (goiter), bulging eyes and vision problems.
The signs for a goiter:
Include: swelling/tightness in the neck, breathing
and/or swallowing difficulties, coughing or wheezing, hoarseness of voice
The signs of thyroid
nodules:
Include: high pulse rate, nervousness, increased appetite, tremors, weight
loss, clammy skin
What is
hypothyroidism?
Per the
oxford dictionary:
Noun: Abnormally low activity of the thyroid gland,
resulting in retardation of growth and mental development in children and
adults.
What is
hyperthyroidism?
Per the
oxford dictionary:
Noun: Over activity of the thyroid gland, resulting
in a rapid heartbeat and an increased rate of metabolism.
Ok so what
is metabolism for those of who don’t know?
Per the
oxford dictionary:
Noun: The
chemical processes that occur within a living organism in order to maintain
life.
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid) symptoms
include the following: Fatigue, Increased sensitivity to cold, Constipation, Dry
skin, Weight gain, Puffy face, Hoarseness, Muscle weakness, Elevated blood
cholesterol level, Muscle aches, tenderness and stiffness, Pain, stiffness or
swelling in your joints, Heavier than normal or irregular menstrual periods, Thinning
hair, Slowed heart rate, Depression, and last but not least impaired memory.
Hyperthyroidism symptoms include the
following: weight loss, hair falling out, warm, red, itchy skin, loose bowel
movements, sweat a lot, irregular heartbeat, nervous, moody, weak or tired.
My question to anyone reading this is as
follows: with so many ailments and disorders, researching what is wrong with
one’s self is impossible. You hear things on the television about
prescriptions, and sometimes they scare you out of taking them, like
‘flushing!’ So many prescriptions today have that affect. Like, what is that?
You take it and you’re going to flush your toilet all day? I mean seriously!
Personally, I have depression and am on
depression medications and have been on them since I was eighteen. For the
last….hmmm… I would have to guess around maybe nine years they have finally
found a medication that has stabilized me. Now mind you, I still need and want
someone to talk to. My husband works two jobs and is barely home. My children
are raised and no longer home. I am alone ninety percent of the time. Maybe the
aloneness is starting to get to me, I don’t know. I do keep a diary too. But on
top of that, I have a thyroid disorder, I am obese, and I have one of those
thyroidisms too. I also am in menopause. Maybe post by now, who knows. I
haven’t had a menstrual cycle in like ten years now, and yay! But all the
symptoms I read putting this paper together, do you know how many I have? I
have arthritis, I’m 52 man! My body hurts! What do you expect, not to mention
I’m fat! I have a hip replacement, two knees replaced, an ankle and a shoulder.
But I am not one of those people that when you say it, “Oh! Oh! That’s wrong
with me too!” I am not my grandmother and I am not a hypochondriac.
However, after doing this assignment, I
did realize one thing. Hormones and your brain have a lot to do with one
another, and it is no wonder that when a woman’s body goes through things like
menopause, child birth and pregnancy, and even their menstrual cycle, as well
the common thyroid problems, that it takes a toll on the human body. It is
causing turmoil, and confusing the brain, and the body, and sending mixed
messages, so that signals are getting crossed and therefore the end reaction is
a system blow out. The human body is an amazing thing, very delicate, very
intricate, and so masterful, one should not be so shocked and upset when a
woman blows a gasket. Look at how complex we are, we give birth to tiny little
humans. We do such much! We should be allowed to blow a gasket once in a while,
I’m just sayin…
Before I close, you wanted to know to know
how homeostasis would affect my choice in hormone studies? With menopause, as I
stated, if the woman is introduced to stress, the menopause, or pre or
permenopause will and can come sooner. As for thyroid conditions, the
environment can affect these as well. It is as with anything. It is how we eat,
and what life choices we make. Now, I don’t mean life choices as in whom we
marry. I mean life choices as in, do we take care of ourselves. Like for
instance: do you live on the streets, or do you live in a home? Do you live in
a home, or a dungeon not being fed? Do you live in a country, or nation where
the people are starving? These environmental issues will affect anything and
everything in the outlook and outcome on the growth, and lifestyle, and way
that your body chooses to develop. It is best to take care of your body like it
is the only one you will ever have, because it is. Treat it like it is gold,
and put only the best things into it, make it last longer. If it were a new
car, would you wash it daily and put special fuel into it? Yes? Then why not
your body?
Resources:
BMJ Group. "Menopause: What is
it?" Patient Leaflet. 2007.
Hopkins, Virginia. Lee, John R. M.D.
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause. New York: Warner Books Inc.,
1996.
Love, Susan M.D. Menopause and
Hormone Book. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2003.
Martin, Raquel. The Estrogen
Alternative. Rochester, VT: Healing Arts Press, 2000.
Also:
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