Vernon Morningstar July 6, 2012
Do you suffer from anxiety or depression? Trouble sleeping? How about hot flashes, low sex drive or mood swings? Unexpected weight gain and fatigue? Ever felt like your body was on fire, that you wanted to scream and wondered if you were losing your mind?
These symptoms are signs that your hormones may be out of balance. They occur most frequently during PMS, perimenopause, menopause and following hysterectomy. If you are suffering, you could be a candidate for Bioidentical Hormone Therapy.
Natural Hormones
Made in a laboratory from soy beans or wild yams, bioidentical hormones are exact replicas of the hormones your body makes. They match natural hormones molecule for molecule. A more appropriate term would be human identical hormones. Since their structure is identical, your body can metabolize them without the health risks or harsh side effects associated with synthetic hormones.
Bioidentical Hormones Are Safe
Many women have been frightened by studies that link hormones to breast cancer and cardiovascular disease. Dr. Jeffrey Dach, M.D., a leading expert on bioidentical hormones, confirms, “hormone replacement therapy prescribe substances such as Premarin, Provera and Prempro that present real health risks with increased risks of breast cancer, stroke and heart attack.” While these are legitimate concerns, it is very important to understand that the studies are based solely on synthetic hormones and not bioidentical hormones.
Dr. JoAnn Manson, M.D., studied 10,064 women over 8 years of treatment, and found less heart disease in the women taking bioidentical estrogen. According to the French Cohort Study that followed 3,175 women for 9 years, breast cancer did not increase in women using bioidentical hormones. In the largest research report to date, Dr. Kent Holtorf, M.D., reviewed and evaluated results from more than 200 studies comparing bioidentical hormones to synthetic hormones. He concluded, "Bioidentical hormones are associated with lower risk, and are more efficacious… Until evidence is found to the contrary, bioidentical hormones remain the preferred method of hormone replacement therapy."
Get Tested
Your current hormone levels need to be determined before starting bioidentical hormone therapy. Saliva and blood tests are used to accurately measure your hormones (usually estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). When your lab results come back there may be some glaring deficiencies, but more often test results tend to be mixed and require careful interpretation. Baseline measures establish a starting point for monitoring changes over time, but diagnosis and treatment are based more on your actual symptoms.
Restore Balance
The goal is to use the smallest dose of hormone necessary to achieve optimum results. This is accomplished by using physiological doses that mimic the amounts that your body would normally make.
A compounding pharmacist mixes the hormones together into a customized formulation to meet your specific needs. Bioidentical hormones are taken as topical creams you put on your skin, orally, and intravaginal as suppositories or cream. There is no one size fits all. Doses have to be closely monitored and adjusted to get the perfect outcome for you. In addition, other factors such as diet, lifestyle and stress should be addressed to enhance hormone balancing.
Finding a physician knowledgeable about bioidentical hormones and experienced diagnosing and treating women is critical. If the doctor has actually endured the symptoms herself and takes bioidentical hormones that’s a big bonus as she is practicing what she preaches and knows first-hand what you are going through.
Significant Benefits
Bioidentical hormone therapy can increase your energy, improve sleep and rekindle your sex life. It brightens your mood and sharpens concentration and memory. Unnecessary weight gain is controlled and that blazing inferno inside of you is put out. Balancing your hormones also reduces the potential for Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Bioidentical hormones have been used effectively for decades to prevent and treat osteoporosis.
Take Care of You
You don’t have to struggle with the symptoms of hormone imbalance. We have successfully treated thousands of women at our centre in Vernon. Through supervised treatment, bioidentical hormone therapy could be the solution you’ve been looking for to feel healthier and younger than you have in years.