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Plan a night with your best girlfriends at least once a month. Get together, talk and lots of laughter.
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| -DrErika |
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 Detoxification
Detoxification is for everyone who wants to feel better, have more energy, enjoy better health and support their immune and hormone balance with pure, organic and natural protein supplementation. |
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| Mary Davenport |
| At the age of 29, my doctor put me on Premarin, subsequent to my total hysterectomy. For the following 20 years of my life, I felt rotten, had very little energy and a general overall loss of interest... |
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Before you spend another dime on the soy products and the progesterone creams, black cohosh and dong quai, please read the following:
I was introduced to the concept of natural hormones approximately 10 years ago by one of my patients. Being a conventional doctor, my initial reaction was: “ Quackery, forget about it!” Shortly after that initial incident, I found myself in a precarious position. I felt horrible. I had hot flashes, night sweats and sleep was a nightmare. I tried synthetic hormones and birth control pills and only felt worse.
Out of desperation, I turned to the “quackery” of what I and a few million other women believe to be “natural” hormones; supplements that could be bought at the local health food store or on the internet (you can even see their advertisements on national TV).
I’m referring to those products that come in tubes and jars and profess to be progesterone and those in packets, drinks, bottles, pills, powders, you name it- soy products called isoflavones. These “natural” hormones were made from soy and yams and I believed that was what “natural” hormones were.
All these products came with fancy booklets and promotional materials. They had names that held the promise of relief and made claims of symptom improvement.
They all referred to scientific studies, they all spun out a big story. Skeptical but desperate, I bought every one I could find. Initially, I was hopeful.
Some of them seemed to diminish the hot flashes, others helped a little with the bloating. Nothing helped with sleep so I had to turn to conventional medicines and rely on Valium and Ambien to get a little shut eye.
Within a few months I abandoned the “natural” hormones. Whatever help they provided was short lived and disappointing. The cost was becoming prohibitive and the numbers of pills and concoctions I was taking multiplied with astonishing speed.
The experience only served to reinforce my original belief. This “natural” stuff was sheer “quackery”.
Finally, at the recommendation of yet another patient I learned about another type of bioidentical hormones. This type was different. It was available by prescription only. Only doctors or nurse practitioners could write the prescription and it seemed like no one in my profession knew about them.
Once I tracked them down, I thought I’d give them a try. I worked with pills, capsules and creams. They were all bioidentical hormones and I could only get them by writing a prescription.
I started doing research and trying them out on myself and a few of my patients at the same time. In no time, I was myself again. My patients raved. Gone were the hot flashes, bloating, and the insomnia.
My sex drive, perpetual good mood and trim figure returned so quickly I was afraid it was all placebo. Unlike the over the counter “natural” hormones, the prescription ones did the trick. They returned me to a younger, healthier and happier Erika. (The rest of the story is in my second book, The Hormone Solution.) Ten years have passed since that time. I have been working with the “real bioidentical hormones with thousands of women.
I have developed protocols and systems of administration. I have fine tuned the dosages and work only with pharmacies that follow my methods that have proven successful on a consistent basis. So what is the difference between over the counter “natural” hormones and “FDA approved, prescription only bioidentical hormones? |
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- “Natural” hormones in over the counter preparations are not hormones. They are plant derived supplements that offer occasional hormone-like effects.
- In the case of Progesterone in over the counter preparations- most contain low doses ( subtherapeutic- under the level needed to produce true symptom relief) of natural progesterone. Therapeutic levels require a measured dose of micronized progesterone.
- Yam creams claiming to be progesterone, contain yam extracts which cannot be transformed by the body into progesterone ( they contain substances called saponins which prevent absorption of the active progesterone into the body)
- Other “natural” over the counter hormones that claim estrogen effects are soy derivatives. They belong to the category called phytoestrogens. These substances contain soy derivatives called isoflavones – genistein,daidzein, and glycitein). These substances are proteins. To date no scientific studies have supported claims made by their manufacturers and distributors that they produce any type of hormone effects. They may mask some of the symptoms of hormone imbalance, like hot flashes and insomnia, but they do not provide hormone balance. Masking the symptoms without providing treatment for the root cause of the problem may be even more dangerous than the original symptoms.
- Because over the counter “natural” hormones are not under the jurisdiction of the FDA, their manufacturers and distributors can make claims without the backing of scientific studies.
- Herbs used to treat symptoms of menopause include black cohosh, dong quai, vitex and many others. A small NIH sponsored study in 2003, showed increased incidence of breast cancer in the study participants taking black cohosh. The other herbs have not been subjected to any serious degree of scientific scrutiny to date. ( You are the Guinea pig)
- Marketing is the primary tool used by the manufacturers and distributors of the “natural” over the counter hormone industry. Women who are desperate with symptoms and whose physicians are not knowledgeable or caring enough to learn and help, have fostered the creation of a multi-million dollar industry founded on hype and promotion with minimal if any scientific basis.
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- FDA approved, prescription bioidentical hormones are estradiol, micronized progesterone and micronized testosterone. They are the active hormones, identical to the hormones our bodies make when we are young.
- These hormones are made from soy and yam oils via pharmaceutical processes of concentration and purification. The final product, the active hormones are distributed in powder form to pharmaceutical companies and compounding pharmacies.
- You can only obtain bioidentical hormones by prescription from a physician or nurse practitioner. Anything else is not bioidentical hormones.
- It is only bioidentical hormones that can treat the root cause of your symptoms- hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, mood swings, depression, loss of sex drive, weight gain, hair loss, joint pains, fatigue, loss of memory and thinning bones. Everything else, over the counter or medication, are only treating the symptoms and not the root cause. For that reason, the results are so variable and inconsistent.
- Dosing of bioidentical hormones is critical to success. Your physician can write prescriptions for natural estradiol, micronized progesterone and micronized testosterone which you can get at the local pharmacy. The only drawback to the available preparations is that their dosing is rigid so it does not suit everyone’s need. Having said that, pharmaceutical “natural” hormones are still better and more effective than over the counter so-called “natural” hormones.
- The best way to take bioidentical hormones is from a compounding pharmacy. But be aware that all compounding pharmacies are not created equal. Unless your doctor has solid and long term experience with the use of “natural” hormones and the compounding pharmacy he/she uses is also expert in the compounding of “natural” hormones, you may not get the results you can and should get from your bioidentical hormones.
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They work when they are properly dosed and dispensed in the correct preparations.
Finally, I have been working with bioidentical hormones for over ten years now.
I have developed protocols and fine tuned dosing through my own personal experience and the successful treatment of thousands of women. I am convinced, bioidentical hormones are the ideal treatment for symptoms of hormone imbalances at all ages.
The results my patients (Thousands of them) and my personal experience are remarkable and consistent. Aging can and is effectively delayed when your hormones are in balance. Over the counter preparations will never get your hormones in balance, they are NOT bioidentical hormones.
Take my quick survey to see if your hormones are in balance
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