Health & Well-Being Pre-Menopause and Beyond

The doctor I selected to pursue my interest in BHRT favors blood testing above saliva testing, so my first question was, “what is this going to cost me?” I was told, “well, your insurance should pick up some of the cost, although they won’t pay for everything.” The nurse suggested that I use a lab (like Quest) instead of having the blood drawn in their office, because the lab they use charges much more.

Like many people who have insurance I have a co-pay in addition to a huge deductable ($3500) in order to save premium costs. So whatever the charge, I would be paying it in full because my deductable is not yet met. In addition, I am paying for the doctor’s fee out-of-pocket because this type of doctor is not covered by my insurance.

One thing that wasn’t explained to me prior to having my blood tested (and should have been), was that most of the lab work ordered would not be covered at all, because insurance considered it to be “outside of the standard lab testing.” I say “most of” because since I had never had general tests done for such things as Cholesterol, Vitamin D, etc.

I almost had a heart attack when I logged into my insurance account and saw the bill from the lab…..$1,772.24!!! Now I know most initial charges from doctors and labs to insurance companies are inflated, but this is ridiculous! Once my insurance company rejected the claim, I was billed directly from the lab for $704.22 – still way out of my budget.

So my advice to you is that if you are going to have any blood testing done, then find out the costs in advance – ask the lab – and be prepared to pay for it all yourself. This also goes for the doctor’s consultation fees – do not be embarrassed (like I was) or afraid to ask up front what the initial consultation fee is and what they will be charging for follow-up fees whether you see them in person, or consult over the phone. After all, this is where they make (some of) their money.

It is a shame, but until insurance companies approve of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, you are pretty much on your own.

As women search for more natural solutions to their menopause symptoms, inquiries about bioidentical hormones have been on the rise – and so has the controversy.

HOMECoalition.org has launched a “Take Action” campaign to help the public protest the FDA’s ban on bio-identical estriol. It is an interesting read – you don’t even have to read between the lines to understand what is going on there. It is disheartening to see that once again, it’s all about money, money, money.

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is also referred to as human-identical HRT, or natural HRT, depending on the source. Bioidentical hormones are derived from plants and have the same molecular structure of hormones produced by the human body, so they look and act like the hormones that they were made to replace. See my page on Bioidentical Hormones for details.

Bioidentical hormones are custom-tailored to an individual’s specific needs and contain no extra chemicals to hinder their acceptance into the body. For this reason, they cannot be patented – and because they cannot be patented, pharmaceutical companies are not able to profit from them.

The only bad thing that comes from pharmaceutical companies not being able to market bioidentical hormones, is that the power they possess over the medical community (and the public) will not be put to good use. You won’t see any advertising from pharmaceutical manufacturers, no medical education seminars for your OB/GYN, and certainly no public awareness campaigns.

So, how is that a bad thing? Women who may not be very proactive about their health, or who may rely solely on the advice of their gynecologist might never know they have this option.

I have been hearing about bio-identical hormones for a while, but have never really paid attention to all of the fuss. However, with perimenopause looming, catching up on my reading and research about pre menopause symptoms and treatments has moved up on my list of priorities.

It never hurts to do some research on your own – you never know, (unless you are dealing with a specialist) maybe you will bring new information to your doctor.

Most of us have heard of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), which is made up of synthetic estrogen, progesterone (or a progestin) and testosterone. From what I understand so far, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), also referred to as Natural Hormone replacement Therapy, is made up of a blend of hormones that are supposed to be customized to a woman’s individual hormone needs. That “need” is apparently determined through a saliva test.

Bioidentical hormones are created from plants and are manufactured to be a “custom fit” to a particular individual’s own chemical/molecular structure. Even though bioidentical hormones have been around for years, many doctors are unfamiliar with them (I will leave my personal opinions out here, but you are probably thinking the same thing).

Manufacturers claim that bioidentical hormones are safer than the standard synthetic hormone therapy, however according to the FDA these claims regarding safety, efficacy and superiority of BHRT have not been substantiated.

As always though, when a celebrity becomes involved, whatever they are ‘into’ becomes the rage, or center of attention. When Suzanne Somers published two books in recent years, The Sexy Years: Discover the Hormone Connection–The Secret to Fabulous Sex, Great Health, and Vitality, for Women and Men and Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones, describing her experience with bioidentical hormones and how they relieved her menopause symptoms, doctors were plagued with calls from patients wanting to know more about this form of hormone therapy. So thank you Suzanne Somers, for at least bringing another option to our attention that many of our doctors would not have otherwise.

I have to say that I was not really considering reading her books, since she is not a medical expert, however after rethinking that theory I have reconsidered and recently purchased a copy of The Sexy Years to add to my reading pile. I considered the fact that no one I know personally has tried BHRT and it may be very informative to read about someone’s own experiences – better yet, it will more than likely be something I could understand and relate to and not filled with a bunch of medical jargon that would be hard to digest. Be sure to check back later for my review!