Bioidentical Hormone Therapy

... Offers women freedom of choice for menopause relief and more...

Conventional Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) has for decades been the default choice for menopause symptom management. The emergence of conventional HRT was a breakthrough back in the 1960s and lasted up until only a few years ago, when its shortcomings have been revealed. A massive study-Women's Health Initiative (WHI)- tracking 161,808 postmenopausal women who were taking conventional Hormone Therapies was cut short after only four years of its intended 15 year span- because researchers found that the therapies' negative effects outweighed their expected benefits.

Confusion ensued, both among the health care practitioners and patients. Suddenly, women no longer knew where to turn for menopause symptom management. This became a major reason for concern not only for millions of women who were already under conventional HRT, but also for many other million women who are entering menopause as the Baby Boomer generation reaches middle age. In nowadays technological and knowledge era, women do not have to stay and suffer anymore as they care about the quality of their life. They do a little research and they educate themselves on other options available for their menopause related symptom management and approach their health care practitioners from a different position. One very exciting option- as controversial as it may be among health care professionals- is Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT). This option is now experiencing a massive surge of interest as it recently was the topic of discussion on Oprah's show, Dr. Phil's show, on "The Doctors" show, etc.

They are hundreds of doctors in the United States who implemented BHRT in their practice for many years already and they are helping thousands and thousands of patients get relief with their menopausal symptoms. And let's not forget that this is already a common medical practice for decades in Europe.

Why is BHRT compounding gaining such notoriety and such a growing demand?

1. Because hormones contained in BHRT products have chemically identical molecular structures as the ones a woman's body makes, so the body can distinguish no difference between its own hormones and those used in BHRT. This further helps BHRT deliver results that are virtually free of the side effects encountered with conventional HRT.

2. Because all these hormone components of BHRT products are FDA approved components. They are synthesized in an FDA approved lab from plants such as wild yams or soy beans.

3. Because BHRT offers customized/individualized solutions for hormonal imbalances encountered mainly by women around menopausal age.

4. Last but not least, because women need to be offered alternative choices and be allowed to decide, together with their health care practitioner, what is best for their health and quality of life.

How does a woman get access to bio identical hormone replacement therapy?

First: she has to find a knowledgeable health care practitioner who offers BHRT to the patients. This is still a challenging task for the patients as most of the practitioners are still in the dark about BHRT. But the increasing demand from informed patients motivates more and more practitioners to learn about BHRT and implement it in their practice.

Second: BHRT can be done only with a compounding pharmacy, which the practitioner should be working in close collaboration with. Each woman going through menopause will have her unique combination of symptoms, therefore she will need a uniquely tailored hormone formulation to be prescribed by her health care practitioner and prepared by the compounding pharmacist. A compounding pharmacy has access to superior, USP grade ingredients for these hormone formulations. (USP stands for United States Pharmacopeia)

Based on patient's or practitioner's preferences, the pharmacist will then compound/prepare the end product in any combination, form, shape, strength, or route of administration, whether it be a tablet, capsule, cream, gel, sublingual drops, suppository, etc.... ultimately providing an individualized, customized formulation based on the doctor's prescription.

Is hormone replacement therapy only for menopause symptom management?

No. Women may encounter hormonal changes leading to uncomfortable symptoms because of the hormonal imbalance as early as in their pre-teen ages to as late as age 70 and over. In other words, our hormones should act in our body in total harmony for us to feel good. When the harmony is broken, imbalance occurs altering our well-being.

The main goal of BHRT is to restore the hormonal balance in order to restore the well-being.

At any reproductive age: irregular menses, heavy menstrual bleeding, PMS, migraines, acne, mood swings, irritability, sleep disturbances, etc. can occur as a result of hormonal imbalances. A good practitioner would be able to determine, after a thorough assessment, if this is the case and provide the adequate help with BHRT.

What do menopausal symptoms refer to?

Menopausal symptoms refer to the different degrees of discomfort women encounter due to hormonal imbalances around menopausal years. Menopausal years consist of a few stages:

· Pre-menopause, the years before typical menopause symptoms occur. It can start as early as age 30, usually after age 35.

· Peri-menopause, the years immediate before menopause, usually starts around age 45.

· Menopause is officially installed after twelve consecutive months without menses.

· Post- menopause, all the years coming after menopause.

Is bioidentical hormone replacement therapy used for other purposes besides helping restore hormonal balance?

Yes. Besides helping restore the body's hormonal balance, bio identical hormone replacement therapy helps restore the physiological functioning it had years ago. This is why BHRT is at the core of anti-aging medicine. According to anti-aging medicine practitioner's belief, achieving hormone balance at physiological levels will help women get healthier, feel better, even get back in time... get younger and stay younger. All this is possible in combination with other healthy lifestyle factors such: proper nutrition, exercise, stress elimination techniques, etc.

Conclusion:

Compounding is like a finely tailored dress that is created to fit a woman's unique body perfectly while matching her personal preferences for color, fabric, and style, BHRT enables women to face the most important change in their lives with optimism and hope. When it comes to hormones, one size cannot fit all.