Glossary Category: Hormone Health & Life Stage Transitions
Understand the hormones and symptoms that shape perimenopause, menopause, and midlife health – including estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone changes, and the therapies SPOKEmed uses to support you through them.
Hormones that are chemically identical in molecular structure to the hormones naturally produced by the human body. Used in hormone replacement therapy for perimenopause and menopause.
A state of cognitive impairment characterized by difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, mental sluggishness, and reduced mental clarity — commonly experienced during perimenopause and menopause as a result of hormonal, metabolic, and sleep-related changes.
The primary female sex hormone, produced mainly by the ovaries, that regulates the reproductive cycle and plays critical roles in bone health, cardiovascular function, brain health, metabolism, skin, and mood.
An autoimmune condition in which the immune system attacks the thyroid gland, gradually impairing its ability to produce thyroid hormone. The most common cause of hypothyroidism in the United States.
The clinical use of hormones — typically estrogen, progesterone, and sometimes testosterone — to supplement declining hormone levels during perimenopause and menopause, reducing symptoms and supporting long-term health.
Sudden episodes of intense body heat, flushing, and sweating caused by hormonal fluctuations during perimenopause and menopause. The most recognized symptom of the menopausal transition.
Reduced sexual desire or interest, often with hormonal, psychological, relational, and physical contributing factors. In midlife women, low libido frequently has identifiable and treatable hormonal causes.
The point in time marking 12 consecutive months without a menstrual period, signaling the permanent end of ovarian reproductive function. It is diagnosed retrospectively and typically occurs between ages 45 and 55.
Episodes of excessive sweating during sleep caused primarily by nocturnal hot flashes during perimenopause and menopause. Night sweats disrupt sleep architecture and have compounding effects on metabolic health, mood, and hormonal regulation.
A complex hormonal disorder affecting women of reproductive age, characterized by irregular periods, elevated androgen levels, and often polycystic ovaries — with significant metabolic implications including insulin resistance and elevated diabetes risk.
The transitional phase before menopause — typically lasting 4 to 10 years — during which estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone levels fluctuate and decline, producing a wide range of physical, metabolic, cognitive, and emotional symptoms.
A female sex hormone produced primarily by the corpus luteum after ovulation. It plays critical roles in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, sleep quality, mood regulation, and protection of the uterine lining against estrogen’s proliferative effects.
A sex hormone present in women at lower levels than in men, playing important roles in libido, energy, mood, muscle strength, bone density, and cognitive function. Testosterone declines with age and hormonal transition in women.
The collective capacity of the thyroid gland to produce, convert, and deploy thyroid hormones — primarily T4 (thyroxine) and T3 (triiodothyronine) — which regulate metabolism, energy, mood, weight, temperature, and virtually every cell in the body.
A condition caused by declining estrogen during and after menopause that causes thinning, drying, and inflammation of vaginal and urinary tissues. It is now more broadly termed Genitourinary Syndrome of Menopause (GSM).