Progesterone Deficiency
One of the most important of the sex hormones in your body is progesterone, often called the hormone of pregnancy because it helps the fetus to survive during pregnancy. Progesterone is produced in the ovaries of women and the testicles of men. Men and women also manufacture progesterone in the adrenal glands.
If you are a woman, as you approach your late 30s and early 40s, progesterone levels decline and estrogen levels rise and can leave you in a state of estrogen dominance. The delicate balance of estrogen and progesterone is upset and can cause numerous health problems. A deficiency of progesterone can lead to the following symptoms:
PMS
Night sweats
Sleep problems
Weight gain
Low libido
Miscarriage
Painful swollen breasts
Infertility
Anxiety and stress
Water retention
Pain in the abdomen
Low thyroid
Headaches
Aggression
Tearfulness
Low bone density
Very heavy periods
Bioidentical hormones – especially progesterone if estrogen levels are high can resolve all of these symptoms.
Progesterone levels are tested by either a saliva test or a blood test for hormone levels on the 21st day of your cycle.
Progesterone is not the same as progestin. Neither is it beneficial to use the progesterone or wild yam creams that you can buy in a health store. These creams consist of phytoestrogens which might increase the hormones that your body produces, but they do not replace lost hormones. Progestin is synthetic and will produce all kinds of unwanted side effects such as water retention, nausea, jaundice, depression and insomnia and make your symptoms worse. Progesterone, supplied by a compounding pharmacy is bio-identical to the progesterone that is produced by your body.
Through the use of bioidentical progesterone, you will experience better moods, improved sleep, a higher libido, protection against cystic breasts, loss of weight, improved thyroid function, normalized blood sugar levels, increased energy, endurance and stamina.
Natural progesterone will balance your symptoms of estrogen dominance because there must be a balance between estrogen and progesterone levels in your body. Only a qualified bioidentical doctor can prescribe bioidentical hormones and they can only be obtained from a compounding pharmacy. Remember, you must never use estrogen alone because this can be very dangerous to your health. You must use it with progesterone which will counteract against the unwanted side effects of estrogen dominance.
Filed Under Menopause, Perimenopause, Progesterone | Leave a Comment
The Difference Between Bio-identical and Synthetic hormones
If you have reached premenopause, menopause or andropause, you may be asking what is the difference between synthetic hormones and bio-identical hormones. Synthetic hormones are manufactured in laboratories by one of the major pharmaceutical companies in a one dose fits all pill. They are chemicals, man made and therefore synthetic and produce unwanted side effects such as fluid retention, bloating, sore breasts, dizziness and nausea. There are also potential dangers that were revealed by the Womens Health Initiative research in 2002, dangers such as increased risk of increased risk of breast, stroke or uterine cancer.
Bioidentical hormones, unlike synthetic hormones, are extracted from natural plant sources, such as soybean and wild yams, and their molecular structure is the same as that of the hormones manufactured in our bodies. They act in the same way as our own hormones when we were producing our own hormones. Bioidentical hormones are taken in a rhythmic or biomimetic manner, imitating the monthly rise and fall of the hormones in our body. They are compounded by a compounding pharmacist into cream, lozenge or pellets in the doses prescribed by your bioidentical doctor to fulfill your specific hormone requirement needs. Each prescription is made specifically for you.
Within a few days of beginning bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT), you will find that most or all of your symptoms have disappeared. Other advantages of replacing your diminished hormones are; weight loss, improved sense of well being and mood, improved libido, lower cholesterol levels, decreased risk of heart attack and stroke, decreased risk of osteoporosis, improved look and feel of nails, skin and hair, and more.
Your bioidentical hormone doctor will answer all your questions, perform blood tests to check your hormone levels can provide you with all of the safety information, inform you of symptoms and health solutions such as improved diet and nutritional supplements and provide you with the guidance you may need to navigate your menopause, premenopause or andropause. After an appointment with your doctor, you will have the information you need and be fully informed before making the final decision on whether to take synthetic hormones or bio-identical hormones.
A qualified anti aging specialist or bioidentical doctor can help you achieve a healthy and happy lifestyle with treatments and lifestyle changes that will allow you to sail through menopause with a breeze.
Filed Under Andropause, Bioidentical Doctors, Bioidenticals, Biomimetics, Menopause | Leave a Comment
Smoking and Bioidentical Hormones
I’ve had lots of emails from our readers who still smoke, asking about the dangers of smoking and bioidentical hormones together, so many in fact, that I thought I should do some research and talk to my bioidentical doctor about the issue.
Now everybody knows, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last 20 years, that smoking is definitely bad for you and your health. We all know that with smoking your chances of lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease and bronchitis. We also know the dangers of smoking from second hand smoke on the people and children around us. Second hand smoke can cause lung cancer.
Aesthetically, smoking gets on your clothes, smells up your home, burns your clothes and makes you smell like an ashtray. Along with this, there is the cost of smoking which can add up to big dollars over time. If we say that smoking costs $7.00 on average per day, $210 per month, and $2,520 per year, the costs add up. There are more fun ways to spend your money than wasting it on cigarettes.
From a vanity point, for those interested in how they look as they age and interested in anti aging, smoking dries out your skin, causes wrinkles around the eyes and the mouth, discoloured skin and overall increases the aging process. It also, by the way, causes the early onset of menopause in women. Smoking causes free radicals to form in your body which causes damage to DNA and disease.
Smoking reduces the absorption of vitamin C – a very important antioxidant for the health of your skin. Vitamin A, which protects the skin from damage, is reduced in the body. Collagen, which is vital for the elasticity of the skin, is broken down by the production of an enzyme produced when one smokes a cigarette. Also, smoking constricts the blood flow in the capillaries, which cuts off oxygen and nutrients required to nourish the skin.
And how does smoking effect hormone levels? What are the dangers of smoking and bioidentical hormones? For younger women trying to get pregnant, smoking can cause infertility. For premenopausal and menopausal women, smoking is one of the worst habits to keep. If one inhales enough nicotine, it will convert in the body to an anti-estrogen, a catechol estrogen or otherwise know as a xenoestrogen which will make it necessary for your bioidentical doctor to prescribe higher doses of the bioidentical hormone estrogen to combat your menopause symptoms. Catechol estrogen damages the DNA and causes cancer.
These are all the facts about the dangers of smoking, especially during menopause and while using bioidentical hormones. I asked my doctor about bioidentical hormones and smoking and she said that it will increase the chances of lung cancer by 62%, and your risks of breast cancer and stroke increase dramatically too. Smoking will decrease the circulation in your arms and legs, possibly leading to blood clots. In other words, if a patient continued to smoke, she would stop prescribing bioidentical hormones until the patient ceased smoking.
One of the things you have to do once you reach menopause if you are not living healthily before menopause is to make major lifestyle changes. One of the first things you should do is quit smoking, as well as remove chemicals from your life, exercise and eat a nutritious diet. Bioidentical hormones will ease the passage through menopause and combat menopause symptoms. Using bioidentical hormones and smoking is not a wise health choice. Making these changes will increase your health and wellbeing and reduce your menopause symptoms.
There are many ways to help you quit smoking if you are still smoking at menopause. There are smoking cessation aids such as nicotine patches and nicotine gum. There is also various medications available on the market which you can obtain from your bioidentical doctor by prescription. These drugs are called Wellbutrin, Chantix and Zyban. Talk to your doctor about solutions for getting rid of the habit of smoking. If you are smoking and using bioidentical hormones, you should also speak to your doctor about this subject.
It’s obviously not a good decision to continue smoking and use bioidentical hormones at the same time. You must remember, bioidentical hormones are still hormones and must be used carefully and as prescribed by your bioidentical doctor. So, for my readers who have emailed and asked about the dangers of smoking and bioidentical hormones, the choice is clear: Don’t do it.
Filed Under Bioidentical Doctors, Bioidenticals, Estrogen, Menopause, Perimenopause, Progesterone, Testosterone, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
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