What are they you ask?
Well most women take synthetic hormones. These are made by pharmaceutical companies to mimic what your body naturally makes. Most of them (Premarin, etc.) are made from the pee of horses. Weird. Yuck. Also they are becoming very controversial because many of them have terrible side effects like giving you breast cancer.
BioIdentical Hormones are hormones derived from plants that are "identical" to what your body makes. Because they are a natural product they are unpatentable. For this reason pharmaceutical companies can't sell them and make millions of dollars. This is the reason they do not promote the use of them and since most doctors get all their info on drugs from pharmaceutical companies, most doctors know little about them.
BioIdentical Hormones have to be made by a compounding pharmacy. You still have to have a presciption for them so you have to find a doctor that believes in them. Not an easy task I'll tell you! I copied this info from my pharmacy website.
Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy
It has been calculated that in the United States in the year 2000 alone, an estimated 20 million women will become menopausal. The routine hormone replacement prescriptions given today consist of a synthetic progesterone (medroxyprogesterone acetate) and a combination of horse estrogens (Premarin).
This approach often fails to take into account women's individualities and differences in chemistry, background, and lifestyle. Women are instead offered a standard, one-size fits all therapy for a complex situation involving both physical and emotional symptoms.Natural hormone replacement therapy means that the replacement hormone prescription consists of the exact chemical makeup as what the human body produces. These ideal bio-identical substances are available and have been safely prescribed by European physicians for over 50 years and by physicians here in the U.S. for the past 20 years. These natural hormones are almost entirely without the side effects of the synthetic and semi-synthetic hormones commonly used. Women are no longer willing to accept the risks associated with these synthetic hormones, and are looking for safer alternatives.Many doctors, however, are still unaware of the natural hormones. Pharmaceutical companies find it difficult to make them commercially available since the substances themselves cannot be patented. New research is emerging though and an estimated 2 million women are currently benefiting from natural, plant-derived estrogens and progesterone.Myers Drug has been working with women and their physicians to compound natural hormones specific for each individual since 1997. It is an honor and a challenge as a pharmacist to be a resource that enables many women to successfully navigate this complex aspect of life. Many unique formulations and dosage forms can be compounded to meet the specific needs of each woman.
Anyway, being a hippie type chick I am all about going the natural route. I have been on my hormones for a little over a month and they are just a cream that I rub on my skin.
Very cool!
Thursday, August 09, 2007
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2 comments:
That's good information. I had a hysterectomy at 40 and was on hormones for over 12 years. I finally decided I don't think we were made to be on hormones for the rest of our lives. I think a lot of it is pharmaceutical bullshit anyway. So I weaned myself off and I'm fine. I am fine, right? Somebody? Am I okay??
I have heard a lot of people say that. Make sure and take lots of calcium to avoid osteoporosis cause that is caused by loss of progesterone. I think if you feel ok then you are probably ok. However they have seminars at Myers drug that are very informative if you need more info.
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