Category Archives: Hormone Replacement Therapy

Is There A Natural Medicine that Works for Menopausal Symptoms? A Leading CAM Expert Offers Advice

Last month, while attending the Scripps Conference on Natural Supplements, I met Dr. Tieraona Low Dog,  whose presentation on Botanicals and Women’s Health drew a packed house of medical professionals eager to learn more about complementary and alternative medicine. And who better to learn it from than Dr. Low Dog, who was a highly respected herbalist before receiving her medical degree.  Naturally, I was  interested in what she would recommend for women who want to go through menopause “naturally.” That is – without the use of hormones. I think you’ll be surprised at her response as I was during our one hour conversation: … [Read more]

Conjugated Hormones – “It’s Natural for Horses, Not Women,” says Dr. Steven Brody

I recently attended The Scripps Conference on Natural Supplements in beautiful La Jolla, CA where I listened to a presentation on bio-identical hormone therapy in menopause by Dr. Steven Brody, a gynecologist and assistant clinical professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Dr. Brody’s time slot coincided with another, equally compelling presentation on “Chocolate and Tea: A Scientific Overview and Tasting Demonstration.”  It was a tough call, I admit, yet he drew a full house of mostly female physicians and nurses.  And when the hour was up, no one would let him go. His discussion continued outside the presentation room, as a sea of women, notebooks in hand, peppered him with more questions.  He was still holding court at lunch the next day as more conference attendees (perhaps the ones who chose chocolate over his presentation) pulled up their chairs to join him at his table. Despite all the research, articles, FDA actions, dueling press releases and Oprah shows, there is still a lot of confusion about bio-identical hormones, and an urgent need for unbiased information.

In Dr. Brody’s opinion, conjugated hormones – namely Premarin, which consists of about six different conjugated estrogens derived from the urine of pregnant mares, is “one of the worst offenders for woman’s health in the last 50-100 years.  It’s natural for horses, not for women,” he said. … [Read more]

BHRT- The Debate Continues in Today’s WSJ Health Column

Melinda Beck’s “Health Journal” column in today’s Wall Street Journal focuses on “The 7 Things You Should Know About Hormones.“  She tries to clarify the debate over bio-identical hormone replacement therapy by offering 7 facts about bio-identicals, some of which are, well, debatable such as: don’t trust saliva tests, and hormones from compounding pharmacies aren’t safer than conventional HRT.  I don’t know if those statements are true, but I do know that there is still principled debate on both sides.

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Dear Oprah: Thank you!

It was refreshing to hear an open, frank discussion about Menopause, hormones and hot flashes on national TV – and on the most popular talk show for women to boot.  It was downright historic! And long overdue. As Oprah put it, it’s about time that “the veil of shame” around menopause was lifted and that we should “get a conversation started about it.”

Only someone like Oprah, with a worldwide platform, could pull this off, so I thank her profusely! Hopefully, her initiative will begin an “oral tradition” of sharing information about Menopause with our friends and daughters so that women can take control of their own lives and, as she put it, “demand to feel better!” … [Read more]

Watch Oprah Today To Get the 4-1-1- on BioIdentical Hormones

If you’re curious or confused about bio-identical hormones, tune into the Oprah show today for a good explanation from Dr. Christiane Northrup, author of The Wisdom of Menopause  (# 1 on Amazon’s long list of books on the topic) and more recently The Secret Pleasures of Menopause.

Once you’ve made a decision to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT), you have a choice of taking synthetic hormones such as Premarin, which is made from a mare’s urine; or, you can choose to take something like the Vivelle Dot Estrogen patch or Prometrium, which is structurally identical to the naturally occurring substance in our bodies. Most bio-identical estrogens and progesterone come from soy (estrogen) or yams (progesterone). … [Read more]

Balancing Hormones with Bioidentical Hormone Replacement

Last weekend at the BlogHer gathering, I met Tomima Edmark, a 51-year old Dallas woman, who told me that she’s never had a menopausal symptom. My first thought was, “that’s not fair!” But then she explained. Tomima started taking bioidentical hormones eight years ago, when she first began experiencing perimenopausal symtoms. With the help of a medical professional who specializes in hormone balance, Tomima says she feels and looks better now than she did a decade ago. My second thought? Why didn’t I think of that?

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Spray on HRT for Hot Flashes

If you’re suffering from moderate to severe menopausal hot flashes you may want to ask your doctor about an estrogen spray that is applied once daily to your forearm. It’s called Evamist and it was approved by the FDA last summer and reported in the June 2008 issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. You can read a summary of the article here. It’s made from 17-Beta estradiol, a compound made from plants to be similar to the estrogen hormone that we produce from puberty to menopause and is involved in over 400 functions of the female body. (See my March 11th blogpost for an explanation on the three types of Estrogen). The metered spray delivers low-doses through the skin, thus bypassing the liver.

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