“LET ME CHECK WITH MY DOCTOR!” July 8, 2010
Posted by admin in : Hot BHRT Topics, Natural Hormone Compounding Doctors, Uneducated doctors , add a commentI love when I hear this…..”I just want to check with my doctor before I sign up for customized natural hormone therapy.” I always think to myself, “WHY??” I know women love their doctors. I also have a great one, Dr. Paul, whom I enjoy, actually get a kick out of, and I KNOW he has my best health as his goal. But when I took in all of my studies and literature on natural hormone therapy AND I told him this is not only my philosophy BUT MY PASSION (!), he looked at me like I had grown two heads!! He had really never heard about it; most certainly had NOT learned anything about it in medical school, so really couldn’t add much to the conversation. Trust me when I tell you that doctors are NOT learning this in medical school! They ARE learning how to diagnose and treat illnesses with drug therapy. This is just what they do. And that’s not a bad thing! I know when I’m sick, I go to my doctor, he diagnoses my illness, prescribes my medication and I get better. That is his job and I appreciate that. BUT IN THIS AREA OF WOMEN’S HEALTH-HORMONE IMBALANCE-HE IS PRETTY MUCH OUT OF THE LOOP! Identifying a hormone imbalance involves checking hormone levels, preferably through saliva testing, which measures the hormones at the tissue level of cells; and then creating a specific strategy customized for THAT individual to best replace those hormones with customized, compounded hormones that bioidentically match the hormones that are no longer being produced in your body. Pretty simple! It is a matter of determining the CAUSE of the imbalance and fixing that; not just drugging you as a band-aid to alleviate the symptoms. See the difference? One method determines the cause and fixes that. The other simply ignores the cause and just drugs to help alleviate the symptoms. I discovered that most women in my age group were all on anti-depressants for their hormone imbalance because that is really all their doctor knew how to do. That is why I opened my Happy Hormone Cottage. I just couldn’t take one more woman being put on an antidepressant or worse, a synthetic drug masking as a hormone, where there are serious health risks associated with them. And to have this method as THE standard of care just boggles my mind! How did we let this happen?? I think it is exactly because women say, “Let me check with my doctor.” Why NOT say, “Let me do some research. I know there is information out there….let me find it. I want to become informed and empowered in THIS area of my life!” Because the truth is that if YOU don’t do that and you JUST rely on the opinion of others-probably most especially the opinion of those who have gone to medical school, your hormone imbalance issues: weight gain, fatigue, low libido, memory issues, brain fog, low energy and no joy-will simply be band-aided with drug therapy and you will never really find the cause to fix that. This is why I do what I do. We have to get the word out there. Just because natural hormone balance isn’t taught in medical schools does not make it a bad thing. It just makes it something WE have to learn about and teach our doctors! So the next time I hear, “Let me check with my doctor,” I’m going to say, “Why don’t you go teach your doctor what YOU know. YOU could be the one to change lives!”
a sense of betrayal March 24, 2010
Posted by Lyn in : Natural Hormone Compounding Doctors , 2commentsI had an experience today that has really left me feeling betrayed. You know we work with doctors all over the Dayton area. There are some good ones out there who really do respect and validate women, who are truly interested in their health and work with us to find the cause of their hormone imbalance issues instead of band-aiding their issues with a drug. We thought we had found a good doctor in Cincinnati to work with us. He is a D.O. and seemed very genuine. Our clients we sent to him, for the most part, liked him and he signed off on our recommendation for their natural hormone therapy. Interestingly enough, we began to notice a pattern with this doctor. We would have a client who would go to our website; order a saliva kit; and fill out the online personal symptom sheet and medical history form on our website. The saliva test results would come back to me; I would call the client to get the name of her doctor; her insurance information AND I would tell her that we would make the recommendation for her hormone balance and fax it to this doctor. After she meets with him and he faxes back the signed prescription form to our compounding pharmacy, we will make an appointment to meet at the cottage for a free consultation. At this consultation, we will hand off the therapy, show her the dosage and the best delivery system for her, tell her what she can expect, answer her questions, and most importantly, tell her our commitment to staying connected. I am available 24/7 to answer any question and concern that arises AND furthermore, I call, email and check in with them often. You see, I am ALL about building relationships. I have a passion for helping women navigate the rough waters of hormone imbalances and I feel our great customer service can make the difference between success and failure on this journey. So what happened with this particular Cincinnati doctor today? I found out that when my clients go to him, he is sending them to the compounding pharmacy ACROSS THE STREET to make their therapy!!! Why?? Why would he take a client who we have already not only established a relationship with BUT have also gotten in her test results, written the recommendation for her hormone balance FOR him AND invested a lot of time and energy into? Why?? So here is the thing. Not only does that show a deep lack of integrity on his part, and a lack of professional courtesy….what it also means for the client is that I am no longer able to help them. He has effectively stopped any future contact. Because my compounding lab does NOT make her therapy, I have NO way of knowing what ingredients they use or what the quality of their ingredients might be or even what therapy they made for her. So I am not able to stay connected, help or counsel her! Imagine Pam’s surprise when she called me tonight because she is having an issue she needs help solving with her therapy and I told her I couldn’t help her because her doctor cut me out of the loop. She was upset!! It is like having that doctor deliver a baby and do all the work and then having the mother of that baby pay an entirely different doctor who had NO part in the delivery. Does this make any sense what-so-ever? To make matters worse, I have sent this doctor supplies, teaching aids, and
information to make his job easier in this field of natural hormone balance. I am upset for my clients, myself and our compounding pharmacy. (he is now off our website’s list of practitioners we work with. We all deserve better!)
Take Charge Of Your Own Journey January 15, 2010
Posted by Lyn in : Natural Hormone Compounding Doctors , add a commentI am always amazed by the feedback from our clients. On occasion, we have had a few of our “hotties” not get optimal treatment. Take Lisa D. for example. She is a 45 year old periomenopausal woman who chose to visit her family doctor. Without looking at her saliva test results or our recommendations for HRT, he instead prescribed Climara patches and Prometrium 100 mg capsules. Both of these commercially made medications are bioidentical-Climara is estradiol amd Prometrium is progesterone. They are one size fits most. The problem I have is that many doctors who prescribe BHRT this way use the client’s symptoms to make their diagnosis.My question is why? Why aren’t hormone levels being checked before treating these clients? Aren’t other body issues treated by measuring levels? Can you imagine a doctor prescribing blood pressure medication without checking your blood pressure? How about being given a prescription for a cholesterol lowering medication without measuring total cholesterol, LDL and HDL? How about treating diabetes without getting blood sugar readings? Why the inconsistency when it comes to hormone therapy? I believe doctors owe it to their patients who come to them expecting a recommendation for natural hormone therapy, to check their levels BEFORE making a recommendation for therapy. We believe that saliva testing is the most accurate testing available for measuring hormones at the tissue level.(we do make saliva kits available on our website’s online store). Furthermore, we believe that one woman’s hormone levels aren’t another woman’s hormone levels, so why prescribe a “one size fits most” therapy? Let’s get those hormone levels checked with a saliva test, study personal symptoms and family history, and then make a recommendation for a prescription for a natural compounded hormone that is made just for that woman. The beauty of this is that it can be tweaked throughout the month if needed, and we can make adjustments to the dosage very easily. I think every woman owes it to herself to become educated and knowledgeable about her body before visiting her doctor, so she can take charge of her own journey!
Thank You Doctor Blaylock January 14, 2010
Posted by Lyn in : Natural Hormone Compounding Doctors , add a commentI got the best phone call this morning! One of our clients who just began her natural compounded hormone therapy in early November called me to say, “Lyn, I am not an overly dramatic person, but I have to tell you that you saved my life!” She went on to say that her hair has stopped falling out, her depression has lifted, her energy is returning and she feels like she has her life back. The practitioner we sent her to was very compassionate and hopeful that he could help her, and she is so grateful that he did!
I read an interesting article by Dr. Russell Blaylock in his December 2009 BLAYLOCK WELLNESS REPORT. It helps explain the disconnect between traditional doctors approach to periomenopausal and menopausal women and our natural approach. In his article entitled, “Alternative Medicine Doctors Assailed by Mainstream Doctors,” he says that “those outside of medicine are not aware of the intense infighting between medical center professors, private practitioners and specialists that is the daily fair of the medical community…..It is not that most physicians are really evil and want patients to suffer needlessly, it is that they are so intensely brainwashed in medical school and residency training that they instinctively react against anything not within the bounds of their training. It is almost a reflex.” Dr. Blaylock goes on to say that he thinks in its quest to become the epitome of scientific medicine-now called evidence-based medicine-the medical profession has lost sight of its original goal to heal and relieve suffering! That struck a chord with me and made me realize we must keep on keeping on and must NOT discount the holisitic health or natural approach to treating illness. To read more from Dr. Blaylock, please visit www.blaylockreport.com.
Case in point, why are physicians and the medical establishment attacking compounding pharmacists over bioidentical female hormone replacements? Their claim is two fold-one, that the hormones are not standardized and two, that they increase a woman’s risk of developing breast cancer. Dr Blaylock says that he is always “amazed that post- menopausal women who went to their gynecologists were all given the same dose of Premarin and the doctor never tested their hormone levels. They just all got the same dose. Normally, women secrete a number of sex hormones, including three forms of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Testing is needed because each woman will have different levels and replacement needs to be individualized to replace these hormones. Sex hormones play a major role on brain function, explaining the severe depression often accompanying menopause. In addition, estrogens have been found to play a major role in protecting the brain from damage and degeneration. To deny a woman relief from an assortment of debilitating symptoms based on a lack of testing and a false fear of cancer is poor medicine.” Hooray, Dr. Blaylock! I couldn’t have said it better myself!