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.

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!

 Way back when my mother, her friends and my aunts were discussing the types of hormone therapies they were trying for their menopause symptoms, I really did not pay too much attention. It all sounded foreign and was too far off into the future for me to be concerned about it then. Boy, does time fly!

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) has come a long way since those days and with continuing research and education, it will remain a viable option for some women.  After doing some research on the subject, I have posted a page with a general overview – here.

As a woman who is not one for taking drugs (besides over-the-counter pain reliever), in my research into menopause symptoms and treatments, I have been looking into alternative therapies, and will have a page for you on that soon (it's almost done).

The choice is a highly personal one, as every woman is different and each person will have differing levels of physical and emotional experiences when it comes to menopause.