BUYER BEWARE! January 29, 2010
Posted by Lyn in : Hot BHRT Topics , add a commentI have to tell you that when someone offers you something that sounds too good to be true, it very often is! Let’s take the case of pellet therapy. Pellets that offer estrogen and testosterone, and are supplemented with progesterone- in either a topical cream or even a capsule, can be a balanced approach IF the woman’s hormone levels are checked prior to the pellet implant and that is the therapy of choice by that client and her practitioner to balance the woman’s hormone levels. Implanting just testosterone pellets alone, while ignoring the need for estrogen and progesterone, in my opinion, doesn’t make sense. How is that balanced hormone replacement therapy? When these pellets are pumped into the woman’s body every 3 months-sometimes checking levels and sometimes not-scares me. Too much testosterone can make women aggressive and mean; and over time even change the woman’s facial appearance as it begins to take on masculine features! The moral of the story is to do your homework before engaging in any type of hormone replacement therapy. Read, research and ask the tough questions. If something sounds too good to be true-buyer beware!
Getting a Second Opinion January 18, 2010
Posted by Lyn in : Hot BHRT Topics , 3commentsI just overheard a comment from a neighbor that made my hair stand straight up! They were talking about a recent bone density test and how an acquaintance of theirs found out that she has osteopenia (that slippery slope on the way to osteoporosis!), so her doctor recommended she increase her dosage of calcium. First of all, calcium is a mineral and she is NOT calcium deficient…she has bone loss. So “upping” her dosage of calcium may help a little, but it’s not going to signal the osteoblasts to make more bone. Hormones do that! It is the role of estrogen and testosterone (and researchers also suspect progesterone plays a part in bone density) that build bone. So when women reach their middle-years and begin to produce less hormones, this compromises bone density and many women find themselves on the road to osteoporosis. The beauty of replacing your hormones in your middle years with natural compounded hormone therapy that is customized for you based on your hormone levels, is that it rebuilds bone-thus increasing bone density and putting your bone density levels back in the normal range. I can speak from personal experience with osteopenia at the age of 49, the lack of benefit from current “bone building drugs” on the market (they actually make bad bone!!) to my journey to natural hormone replacement. Six months from the date I began using my natural hormone therapy, my bone density scan came out in the low-normal range- a far cry from the osteopenia readings I had been getting earlier! To add insult to injury, this same neighbor went on to say that HER doctor told her that she should never use hormone replacement therapy and that even a broken bone (hip perhaps??) is better than the risk of HRT. THIS is probably the singular most ridiculous statement I have ever heard a practitioner make. It shows total ignorance of the subject matter. Since when is it ok to lump all HRT under one umbrella and label it all bad? I understand that Premarin and Prempro-the synthetic drugs of choice are bad, bad, bad. (whoever thought giving a woman horse pee in the first place and having the FDA actually approve it was wacked!) But to lump the synthetic drugs with BHRT and natural compounded hormone therapy is just ignorant AND quite frankly, wrong. If YOU have a doctor saying this to you, it is your job to get a second opinion. Even better, in this area of women’s health, where the waters are muddy and confusing, it is up to each woman to educate herself, ask the tough questions, do the research and choose the right path for her. Let’s focus on the CAUSE of the symptoms (i.e.bone loss) and take a holistic path, shall we, instead of a “let’s drug you and band-aid your problem” approach that is so popular among most practitioners today. Become empowered! Take charge of YOUR journey!
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!
Shop Around For A Good Doctor January 14, 2010
Posted by Lyn in : Case Studies In Natural Compounded Hormone Therapy , add a commentI have another story to share with you of an experience a good friend of mine had recently. She shopped for a new ob/gyn to both treat her for an existing condition (that he resolved) and to prescribe natural compounded hormone therapy for her. She has attended our happy hormone hours and came to the cottage for a consultation and knew this was the best decision for her. When she called the office and asked if their doctor did sign off on natural compounded hormone therapy, the receptionist said, “Yes, I believe he does.” So my friend went in for her appointment with this doctor, got a clean bill of health and when it came time to discuss natural hormone therapy, his response was, “I only prescribe BHRT. I don’t deal with natural compounded hormone therapy.” The reason is because it takes time, energy and effort to work with women once they are on their therapy and sometimes tweak it over the course of a few months to get it right. We have lots of doctors who work with us and do just that. These are doctors who think women are worth the time it takes to get it right! Other doctors, like my friend’s doctor, will prescribe the one-size-fits-most BHRT based on their client’s symptoms. It doesn’t matter that it makes sense to check your hormone levels first to see what you might need. For them it’s just easy to slap an estrogen patch on you! Even the lowest dose of the estrogen patch, in my opinion, is WAY too much estrogen. And IF you are lucky enough to be prescribed progesterone to balance out that estrogen patch, the most popular one on the market today is prometrium and it’s a capsule. You know how I disagree with that delivery system because it impacts the liver. I believe that women are worth the effort it takes for a doctor to get it right: check your levels (preferably with a saliva test) and then prescribe a natural compounded therapy made for YOU based on your body’s needs. How hard is this?
The moral of the story is this: shop around for a good doctor who really does respect and validate women. Menopause is NOT in your head. It IS a physiological response to aging. Ask the tough questions. Demand to be heard. You know that doctors are not Gods who know it all. They know what their drug reps tell them. It is up to YOU to do the research in this area of women’s health and to think for yourself. You deserve it! Do what is best and right for you. Please don’t settle just because your doctor does. YOU ARE BETTER THAN THAT!
Take charge of your journey. Do it today. Do it for you.
Warmly,
Lyn
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!