What They Don't Tell You About Menopause: A Gynecologist's Unofficial Guide to Premenopausal, Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Life by Heather L Johnson;

Author:Heather L Johnson; [Johnson, Heather L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Vearsa
Published: 2020-10-29T13:19:15+00:00

Bioidentical Natural Hormones

Unfortunately, there has been much use and misuse of this term in literature and advertising. As a reaction in the past to the use of pregnant mares’ urine in the form of Premarin, which contained many different forms of estrogen, there developed a cottage industry of what are termed bioidentical natural hormones that are chemically similar or structurally identical to estrogen but derived from plant sources such as clover, yams, and soy. These are manipulated in the lab to the form(s) of estrogen generally used by the body. In theory and probably in practice, this makes sense: it’s less work for the body to convert these substances to usable forms. However, there is nothing “natural” about the man-made lab process of creating these hormones nor are plants somehow more natural than animals. (If you are vegan, you may want to stick with products derived from plant sources.) At the end of the day, your cells need estradiol to do their work. Initially, the only way a woman could get natural estradiol was from places like the Women’s International Pharmacy or from local apothecaries. Unfortunately, the compounding process was not regulated, and women could not be certain of what they were actually getting in terms of dose or purity. That has all changed, and natural hormones are now readily available and regulated by the FDA for safety and efficacy. I personally feel better about taking those than the unregulated ones, but the choice is yours. I must admit that I’ve had a few patients who felt better served by these alternative medications after trying the FDA-approved ones. Also, be ready to pay a lot more for these compounded products; that payment will likely be out-of-pocket, because many insurance companies will not pick up the cost. In addition, they will likely not cover the costs for blood or salivary estrogen levels, tests that many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) physicians order to monitor treatment, as the range is wide and dosage will generally be based on efficacy anyway. The dose you end up with is the one that works for you. If you have diabetes or thyroid disease, you are used to measuring levels and adjusting treatment based on the numbers. This does not hold true for HRT

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