A-Z hormone therapy Articles

Bioidentical hormones have become successful marketing buzzwords. In 2006, actress Suzanne Somers first introduced the idea to the mass media and ever since, news of these seemingly safe, natural hormone creams has spread like wildfire.

Women are now regularly asking their doctors for bioidentical hormone therapy. Many doctors have built entire practices around prescribing bioidenticals, but did you know there is some controversy surrounding how safe they actually are?

What Are Bioidentical Hormones?

Natural hormones are hormones that are made by the human body. The term, bioidentical hormone, refers to hormones that have the same molecular structure as natural hormones. Synthetic hormones are hormones that have been made in the laboratory and have slightly different chemical structures than natural human hormones.

Controversy Around Bioidentical Hormones

They are controversial because it creates confusion. Marketing strategies use the term in ways that make you think they are natural and without side effects. The truth is, we don't know how safe they are because there is not enough research to support their long-term use. 

Interestingly, the Canadian Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the North American Menopause Society have issued statements advising women that bioidentical hormone treatments carry the same risks as traditional hormone therapies.

What Are They Used For?

Bioidentical hormones are most often prescribed by medical doctors for symptoms of menopause and peri-menopause. They are effective for symptoms like hot flashes, night sweats, mood disturbances, vaginal dryness and low libido. 

Often, bioidentical hormones are marketed for more than menopause relief. Women seek them out because they believe they will reverse aging, make their skin look younger, will help them lose weight and keep their hair strong and shiny. If you have seen advertisements that bioidentical hormone therapy can accomplish all this, then you may find yourself feeling mystified and wondering if they will be good for you too. Keep in mind, that they are prescription drugs and not natural health remedies. 

How Do Bioidentical Hormones Work?

They are chemically similar to the natural hormones produced by your body and it is thought that your body treats them like natural hormones. It's important to know that this has not been proven. The idea is that you are supplementing with hormones because your body is not making enough or the right amount. When a woman enters menopause, it is true, that her body will be making less estrogen; however, it is a normal stage of life.

How To Take Them

A prescription is required to purchase bioidentical hormones, which means you have to go to your doctor or work with a practitioner who has a medical license to prescribe them. Your doctor will send you for hormone testing, either blood testing or saliva testing or a combination of both. Based on the results of your hormone testing, you will be given an individualized prescription which you can take to your pharmacist who will make you a custom-compounded cream, gel, patch or spray. Bioidentical hormones should be prescribed in the lowest dose for symptom relief and for only short periods of time.

What is Progesterone?

Progesterone is a naturally occurring steroid hormone produced by the ovaries along with estrogen. These levels rise dramatically at ovulation, falling when and if fertilization does not occur. This sudden fall in this hormone is what signals menstruation and another cycle to begin.

How Pregnancy Effects Progesterone

If fertilization of an egg does occur, progesterone levels continue to rise, and it is this rise that prevents shedding of the uterine lining (menstruation), preserving the embryo. Eventually the placenta takes over for the ovaries and produces the higher amounts of this hormone needed to sustain the pregnancy for a full nine months. If for one reason or another a woman fails to ovulate, progesterone also fails to be produced and estrogen is unopposed.

Progesterone vs Estrogen

Progesterone not only plays a big role in pregnancy and fertility, but what is also important to understand that it constantly keeps estrogen in balance. That is, it essentially works at opposite times and stimulates opposite processes to estrogen. Estrogen, for example rises at the beginning of the menstrual cycle, stimulating ovulation, and declines when progesterone takes over for the last half of the cycle.

Symptoms of PMS and Menopause are often blamed on high levels of estrogen or estrogen dominant conditions. But, if we want to look at it from another perspective, these are also progesterone deficient processes. The body innately uses this hormone to oppose the power of estrogen, but if for one reason or another our bodies are unable to produce progesterone in adequate amounts, estrogen is free to run wild and wreak havoc on our bodies. Estrogen dominant hormonal imbalances play a role in the development of everything from PMS to some female cancers.

Menopause & Hormone Levels

During Menopause, estrogen levels decline to about 40% of their original levels, thus inhibiting ovulation, and also causing a decline in progesterone levels, in some women down to 0%. Once again, this allows estrogen to dominate unopposed and most likely is responsible for some of the more common menopausal complaints such as hot flashes, insomnia and irritability.

Whether it be due to the normal process of menopause or another abnormality in these hormone levels, both pre and post menopausal women may benefit from bioidentical hormone replacement.

Boosting Progesterone Levels, Naturally

Natural progesterone is available in both an oral (oral micronized progesterone) and cream form. Less common forms include vaginal or rectal suppositories and injection. Only the cream form is available without a prescription.

Natural progesterone is derived from extracts of Mexican wild yam or soybean and the hormone molecules that result from a manufacturing process are identical to the ones produced by a woman's own ovaries. It is important to understand that it is a laboratory process and an individual cannot ingest wild yam or soybean and expect the body to convert these to progesterone.

Benefits of Natural vs Synthetic Products

The benefits of natural progesterone versus the synthetic version (progestins) is that they are often better tolerated. Breast tenderness, edema, irritability and abdominal cramping are all frequent complaints from individuals using synthetic progestins.

Natural varieties have the added benefit of maintaining the patency of coronary arteries and improving cholesterol panels. Both natural and synthetic versions are highly recommended for every woman on estrogen therapy (unless you have had a hysterectomy) to protect the uterus from hyperplasia and cancer.

Oral forms of this hormone are more effective and more widely used with women on estrogen therapy due to these protective effects. Progesterone cream is more widely used with women who are not on estrogen therapy and who are looking for relief from either PMS or menopausal symptoms, especially those not improving with lifestyle changes alone.

When buying a cream variety, it is important to look for wild yam creams with bio-identical progesterone added. There is a wide range in dosage. Higher concentrations, up to approximately 400 mg/per ounce seem to be more effective. Base your dosage on the severity of your symptoms and always consult a healthcare practitioner to ensure that you are using both the oral and cream forms properly in order to ensure the best results.