I love it when women tell me this….right after they tell me the reason the doctor they went to talked them out of natural hormone therapy….and into a sleeping aid, antidepressant or estrogen product (FDA-approved, of course, because we know they HAVE to be safe, right?) “But, Lyn! He’s the doctor!!” We had this happen yesterday as a matter of fact. And the unbelievable part is that we do everything in our power to educate and prepare our women for their doctor appointment, short of going to their appt with them. We arm them with literature, facts, studies, books, etc. and the women who are assertive and confident and know what they know….these are the women with the most success. But those women who think that their doctor walks on water so he must be correct in everything, these are the women who fail miserably; and until and unless they accept the fact that doctors tell me they have only had 4 hours of hormone training in medical school and that this was years ago, they are not going to get any better. We had a client go to a doctor yesterday with the following hormone levels (yes, we had her hormone levels checked at the tissue level of cells with saliva testing): estradiol .7 (range is between .5-1.7; progesterone level of 5 (!) with the range being between 12-100; and her ratio of progesterone to estradiol, which should fall between 100-500 was a whopping 7! So we know her hormone levels are depleted. Are you ready for her symptoms (which she shared with the doctor): brain fog, depression, anxiety, moody, irritability, low libido, weight gain, sugar cravings, aches and pains and fatigue. Oh, the most interesting piece of this gal’s saliva testing was in her cortisol. Most cortisol curves slope downward. Hers was an inverted “V.” I have never seen anything like it! So this gal has adrenal fatigue out the wazoo! What does high cortisol contribute to: sleep disturbances, fatigue, depression, weight gain, anxiety, bone loss, thyroid deficiencies and insulin resistance. So our recommendation included bioidentical progesterone and estrogen customized just for this client, and a strategy to heal her exhausted adrenal glands. Do you want to know what her doctor gave her? Yep-a prescription for a sleeping aid! Are you kidding me? So I have finally, after 2.5 years, come to the realization that the root of our issues may just be in the mentality of us women! We have got to get beyond reverence for our doctors. They are fine people (my brother-in-law is a doctor) and know a whole lot about a whole lot. But do they know enough about something that isn’t taught in medical school? How could they? Just asking! They know a whole lot about drug therapy and fixing symptoms. But are we finding the cause and fixing that? I don’t think so. And so it goes. We will keep on keeping on with educating our women and encouraging them to think for themselves and to dialogue with their doctor about thinking outside the box to try a more natural path. We had a funny story last week. A client went to her doctor and reported back that he began to shake his head no when she told him the reason for her visit (bioidentical hormone replacement therapy) and he saw saliva testing results in front of him. But then he stopped in mid-sentence and said, “But wait a minute. I’m not sure why I think this….must be something I read somewhere…..what I am reading here in front of me does make sense….let’s give it a try!” I love that story! It shows teamwork, being creative in thinking outside the box, and the willingness to try something that the client is interested in and has invested in. And why not give it a try? Others have and guess what? Their clients report back to them feeling better for the first time in years. It’s a win win for all! It just goes to show that one woman’s journey can and does impact the women who come after her. This is “paying it forward” at its best!
warmly,
Lyn
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