Health & Well-Being Pre-Menopause and Beyond

Did you miss the webcast about hormone replacement therapy on Oprah.com with Dr. Christiane Northrup? Well, don’t worry – my personal opinion is that you didn’t miss much, but if you really want to view it, you can go to Oprah.com and scroll down to the bottom of the page to access the webcast.. I had submitted a few email questions when the show was first announced as well on the day of the webcast, and it was all for nothing because most of the questions featured were via telephone or Skype.

The questions posed were some of the first ones that I had when it came to deciding why I should use bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Questions that I now know the basic answers to, but wanted to see what Dr. Northrup’s answer would be – and I also thought they were very useful to women who might be just starting their research into bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

One of my questions was about the hormone testing itself – blood, saliva, or urine? How does each of these tests measure hormone levels? Which test is most accurate? Which test is most costly? When are the tests done and how often? I was surprised to learn that there are vast differences between each method.

Another thing I had asked about was the fact mentioned in Suzanne Somer’s book about still getting a menstrual period while on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy – is this because of the way she is implementing the therapy, or does everyone on bioidentical hormones continue to have a period?

Instead, irrelevant questioning and handholding questions wasted too much time for a short webcast. What I mean by “handholding” questions – women who feel great with no particularly troublesome problems, who are doing all the right things in the way of diet, exercise, supplements, etc. and wanting to know if there is anything else they should be doing. Just looking for a pat on the back if you ask me. If it ain’t broke – don’t fix it. Time was wasted giving “atta-girls” when the purpose of the webcast was to answer real questions and give real information. Or was it to promote Dr. Northrup’s book?

Then there was the call from the 27 year old with an irrelevant question about becoming pregnant – what the heck??? I am sure these questions were prescreened, so why that one got in, I’ll never know.

There must have been a free day this week due to the inaguration, because the Oprah show is rebroadcasting that show on bioidentical hormones today. Try to catch it (or record it) if you can. Lots of good info.

You should also check out Oprah.com on Thursday January 29th at 9p.m. ET – 8p.m. CT, for The Hormone Webcast with Christiane Northrup M.D.  If you have any questions for Dr. Northrup you can submit them now! What a great opportunity to have your questions about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or HRT in general answered by an expert on the subject. And yes, I already put in my 2 cents.

This show is a “must see” for anyone who is confused about hormone replacement therapy and anyone who needs to know the basics about synthetic hormones vs. bioidentical hormones. Hopefully it will be aired again, or made available on Oprah.com.

Yes, I am happy to admit that my predictions about this episode in my previous post, were wrong (as warned)! In fact, there was only one small blurb about Suzanne Somers at the end of the show.

If you already know about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), then you really didn’t miss much – but you will want to tune in to future shows. Oprah said that she would be going deeper into the subject within the next few weeks.

I did manage to tape the 3:30 a.m. rebroadcast and watched it twice so that I could tell you about it (I wasn’t quite awake the first time around). By the way, I found that this is the best way to watch Oprah’s show – with all the facts flying at you, it’s easy to go back and view things you may have missed (and you can skip past all of those commercials).

Oprah had guest Robin McGraw (Dr. Phil’s wife) discussing her experiences with hormone imbalance and promoting her book, What's Age Got to Do with It?: Living Your Healthiest and Happiest Life She made a valid point that I have been trying to stress to my doctors for years, which was symptoms of hormone imbalance often appear long before the menopause phase of life.

This is something I have discussed with my own daughters. She (McGraw) feels that you should have your hormones checked in your 20’s – I personally feel that is a little early, unless there is a problem. I do feel that it is very useful to have your hormones checked before the onset of any imbalance, so that you have a more accurate reading of what “normal hormone levels” are for you.

A personal note here – The term “Menopause” seems to be taboo to some, and because menopause is actually when the menstrual period has ceased, I feel that the phrase “hormone imbalance” is a more accurate way to describe the symptoms we experience before menopause.

Robin McGraw’s story about what happened to her when she went to her doctor about perimenopausal symptoms she was having sounded identical to what happened to me and surely to many other women – maybe even you. Basically, her doctor handed her prescriptions for synthetic hormones and anti-depressants.

One of the most important things emphasized by McGraw, and repeated throughout the show, is the need for women to take charge of their health, make your health and well-being a priority and research, research, research all of the options available. I agree completely! Gone are the days when we assume doctors know everything – there is nothing wrong with asking questions and doing your homework. Visit your doctor armed with the information you have found, questions and concerns. If you are made to feel inferior or belittled (it happens) then find a new doctor!

Another guest on the show, Christiane Northrup, MD, author of the book, The Wisdom of Menopause: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing During the Change, 2nd Edition who gave a very easy to understand explanation of the hormones Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone, detailing what symptoms you may have when you have too much, or too little of each. In addition to giving a brief history lesson on hormone replacement therapy over the years, she also explained the difference between synthetic hormones and bioidentical hormones – very informative!

As predicted though, there had to be one naysayer, which in this case turned out to be Wulf Utian MD, Executive Director of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS) who was obviously only in favor of FDA approved products. One statement he made that sent me through the roof was that bioidentical marketing claims that “they (bioidenticals) have all the benefits and carry none of the risk” he also added that if you believe that, then you probably believe in the tooth fairy. He said that the terms Bioidentical, Natural and Non-Synthetic are all marketing terms and “mean nothing.”

I have to disagree with your statement Dr. Utian, because I have yet to find any claims of no risk from the bioidentical practitioners, manufacturers, organizations, etc. – I have only seen only claims of less risk when compared to synthetic hormone products. There are risks to any type of medication today, natural or synthetic, and it would be foolish to think otherwise. Ok, I will end this post before I blow my top.

Watch Oprah’s episode on Compounding Pharmacies with Dr. OZ in two weeks!

FYI – Tomorrow, Thursday, January 15th, 2009, Oprah’s show will be about bioidentical hormones.

Now I’m not sure whether she will be pro-bioidentical hormones or against, since she addresses the subject as “controversial.” I’ve been wrong before (too many times) but my guess would be that she will be on the side of the almighty buck…..the pharmaceutical companies.

You will probably hear more of the Suzanne Somers story as she will no doubt be promoting her latest books, Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones and Breakthrough: Eight Steps to Wellness. There should be a few tidbits about the BHRT theory thrown about, and then the hammer will fall……the spiel from “regular” MDs on why you should follow their tried and true methods (outdated as they may be) of hormone replacement therapy.

Then of course, there will be the typical admonitions (fear and intimidation) against using any therapies not approved by the FDA.  It should be interesting though – sure hope they prove me wrong.

If you don't get the chance to watch it, you can probably catch parts of it on Oprah's site later or check back here for my review here tomorrow.

UPDATE: Because of the television coverage of the plane crash in New York, the show was not aired at the regular time. You will have to check with your local NBC station for the rebroadcast time, if any. My local station was so gracious…….3:30 a.m. is the broadcast time here!! I'm not lucky enough to have Tivo, so I cannot guarantee that I will be able to view it.

If you had the opportunity to see today's episode of Oprah, "The Great Debate: Should You Replace Your Hormones?", please share your thoughts on the show. Thank you!

The Sexy Years came as a complete surprise – certainly not what I had expected when I initially sat down to read it. Suzanne Somers takes a complicated subject and humanizes it with her very personal story, accompanied by information from medical experts she has worked with in her effort to live a hormonally-balanced, vivaciously happy, second-half of life.

Her comical description of the uncomfortable symptoms of menopause – “the Seven Dwarfs of Menopause…Itchy, Bitchy, Sweaty, Sleepy, Bloated, Forgetful and All-Dried-Up” – was an insight to how positively she handles the monkey-wrenches life can throw at you.

Her “take charge” attitude is to be admired when it comes to how she handles the limited choices that are given to women suffering the symptoms of menopause. This book is one of the reasons why there are many women who now know that the one-size-fits-all traditional hormone replacement therapy, which may be the only one recommended by their gynecologist, is not their only option.

She brings to light the fact that many doctors do not know enough about female hormones because they never received adequate training, and therefore urges women to seek out doctors who are knowledgeable on the subject, if their current doctor is not. Many of us already know the reason medications are ‘pushed’ at us (and that’s not just HRT) – it’s the booming pharmaceutical industry.

Parts of the book contains interviews she conducts with her endocrinologist, doctors and well-known specialists in the field of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), where she asks the questions we might ask. In return, there are factual and interesting answers we can understand without getting lost in the medical mumbo-jumbo. It was interesting to read the passages from various women and their choices/experiences with traditional HRT, BHRT and one that used no hormone replacement therapy at all.

As far as the men in our lives, it was not so much of a surprise as to how our changes can affect them; however it was extremely enlightening to learn about the hormonal changes they also experience as they age, which can cause a loss of energy and stamina. They too, have options available to help balance out the changes

If you are looking for a book that explains how bioidentical hormone replacement therapy works in plain English, this is an excellent introduction. If you are familiar with the concept, but are confused about where to start, what doctors to look for, etc. (as I was) – then I highly recommend reading The Sexy Years.