Hot Flashes / Night Sweats   |   Weight Gain / Bloating   |   Lack of Sleep   |  Mood Swings / Depression / Anxiety  Memory Loss |   Sexual Dysfunction / Dryness  

What is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy?

If you’re going through menopause you may be experiencing symptoms of hot flashes, lack of sex drive, weight gain, mood change, bloating and sleeplessness. Depending on how severe these symptoms may be, you may have to consider real help in the form of HRT or bioidentical HRT.

Often, doctors prescribe Premarin to combat the symptoms of menopause. Premarin is made from a pregnant mare’s urine. Some women have an adverse reaction to it in terms of weight gain and shy away from this alternative because of the risk of breast cancer.  Some women then choose to avoid the Premarin and take antidepressants to control the mood swings and depression. Unfortunately, the antidepressants may kill whatever lingering sex drive you might have.

The hot 40 year old female may succumb to the vision in her mind of her mother at 50. There is an acceptance of her looks as they change and she embraces the woman in her mind as her version of her mother. This is what she will look like in the family portrait. This is where she belongs. But if you are not ready to accept this transition, you need to take action. You will feel better and look better if you take some replacement. This action starts with a learning process: Read Research Talk to your doctor

Make the decisions that is right for you.

Here’s an evaluation of the Women's Health Initiaive Study of 2002 that has caused many doctors to rethink their HRT advice for women:

"In July 2002, a long term government funded study of HRT stopped because the data showed that the risks of long term Prempro use clearly outweighed the benefits. The study followed 16,000 initially healthy postmenopausal women randomly assigned to take either Prempro or placebo. Those on the synthetic hormone combination were found to suffer more breast cancers, heart attacks and strokes and blood clots than the women on placebo.  A second study from the National Cancer Institute, released the same day, reported that women who used estrogen only hormone replacement for longer than 10 years doubled their risk of ovarian cancer.

After decades of trying to convince all women that menopause was a deficiency state that could be cured by HRT, we finally realize the truth. There is no magic bullet; one size fits all from one prescription or drug remedy of any kind that is right and healthy for all of us. And because each of us is an individual with differing needs, constitution, beliefs, and environment, there never will be.

On the other hand, there’s no reason to throw out the baby with the bath water. Though it’s now clear that estrogen won’t prevent our current epidemic of cardiovascular disease, HRT has some very apparent benefits. Even in the Women’s Health Initiative study, the women who were using Prempro were at a decreased risk for bowel cancer and fracture compared to those who were on placebo.  A second branch of the study, involving 11,000 women on estrogen alone in the form of Premarin, was halted in early 2004 because this type of estrogen at this dosage, used was also associated with a higher than expected risk of stroke and blood clots. Despite this, no one would disagree that HRT offers many women one of the best ways to get relief from perimenopausal symptoms such as hot flashes.

Excerpted with permission from the author. For more information on Dr.Northrup, please visit www.drnorthrup.com, the premier website for women's mind/body medicine and health.

BREAST CANCER

The Women’s Health initiative study, published in 2002, looked at the use of conjugated estrogen with progestins between 1993 to 1998. Their results shocked the medical world, but not those who had been keeping up on less publicized research articles. Foreign estrogens cause an inflammatory reaction in the body when combined with progestins, which can result in more blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, autoimmune disorders and breast cancer than estrogen alone. Unfortunately, this study was sensationalized in the media, resulting in doctors (who seem to get their medical information from the press, not the medical journals) terminating hormone therapy for thousands of women out of fear of litigation. It seems they missed the concept that estrogen alone was STILL being studied, as the same response had not been observed.

Like endometrial cancer, women who take estradiol and develop breast cancer have smaller, less aggressive tumors than women without hormone therapy. Researchers think that estradiol may have a direct inhibitory effect on established breast tumors, resulting in a more favorable outcome. If you consider that the mortality risk for the average women is much greater for cardiovascular disease (22%) than from breast cancer(3.3%), a woman will gain more useful years of life taking hormones even if she has a high risk of breast cancer.

 Excerped from Larrian Gillespie, The Menopause Diet, Healthy life Publications,2003

 Available at:  http://www.menopausediet.com  

Bioidentical Hormones

Bioidentical hormones are manufactured to have the same molecular structure as the hormones made by your own body. By contrast, synthetic hormones are intentionally different. Drug companies can’t patent a bioidentical structure, so they invent synthetic hormones that are patentable (Premarin, Prempro and Provera being the most widely used examples).

The great appeal of bioidentical hormones is that they are natural, and our bodies can metabolize them as it was designed to do, minimizing side effects. Synthetic hormones are quite strong and often produce intolerable side effects. Moreover, the compounded bioidentical hormones can be matched individually to each woman’s needs – something that’s just impossible with mass-produced products.

Excepted from  Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP

more information available @:

http://www.womentowomen.com/bioidentical-hrt/bioidenticalhormones.asp

Bioidentical Hormones are available to you through compounding pharmacies. They can be prescribed to you by your doctor and with your blood analysis and assessment of your physical condition, you can avail yourself of treatment. There are many reputable physicians who use this method, some use a combination of both pharmaceutical and bioidentical hormones. If you are already on pharmaceutical hormones and wish to change, your body may need some time to adjust to it. But it may be worth the wait in weight loss alone.

 excerpted from Larrian Gillespie, MD, The Menopause Diet Healthy Life Publications, 2003

more information available @:

https://www.menopausediet.planetnet.com/cgi-local/redirect.cgi?goto=/Store/store.htm&code=RuthGantman

 What do female gynocologists take for the change?

“So what predicts a woman’s use of hormone replacement therapy? Women who are white, have undergone a hysterectomy, are more highly educated or live in the west have a higher rate of hormone usage. But there is a particular group of women who are nearly twice as likely to use HRT and they are women doctors. In a study conducted at Emory University in Atlanta, women doctors are more likely to use HRT “because they have a greater ability to scientifically evaluate the benefits and risk” says Dr. Sally Mc Nagny, author of the study. I was personally amused when the breakdown of HRT users ranged from 8% in Massachusetts to more than 40% on the west coast with a national average of 24%. Not surprisingly, they are significantly more likely to be gynecologists with 60% of women physicians between 40 and 49 using HRT compared with 49% between 50 and 59 and 36% of those 60 to 70 years old. Women physicians have a few other notable traits: they are much more likely not to smoke or drink alcohol. In fact, the reported behaviors of women physicians exceed national goals for the year 2000 in all examined behaviors and screening habits for a healthy lifestyle. Our British compatriots are no slouches either. Women doctors in England use HRT to prevent osteoporosis and heart disease in 73% of those surveyed, while selecting a lifestyle that includes skim milk, a lot of fruit and vegetables and fiber, along with a physical activity at least once a week. It seems women doctors are voting with their prescription pads to support HRT with long term prevention in mind.”

Excerpted from Larrian Gillespie, MD, The Menopause Diet, Healthy Life Publications, 2003

This book and other helpful information  available @        http://www.hormonediva.com/

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