Confession #1: The Worst-Case Scenario

My body is in a state of decay. Yes. I said it. You heard it here. This was this big year for me…a birthday with a zero at the end. Okay. I’ll go ahead and tell you. I turned 40.

As I approached this birthday, I had great plans.

1. I would lose the weight I’ve gained in the last 10 years through 2 pregnancies, the death of my father, and a cross-country move.
2. I would regain my health which has really deteriorated because all my energy seems to go to my family with myself being the last priority.
3. I would work on my “look.” It’s been many years since I really put a huge amount of effort into the way I look. And I really just wanted to enter my 40s feeling good about what I saw in the mirror.

So in September of 2007, a good eight months prior to the big birthday, I scheduled the fabulous and always-looked-forward-to ANNUAL VISIT.

You know the one. The pap smear. Ah, yes. You gotta love the stirrups. It’s the most fabulous moment in a girl’s life, isn’t it? So I made an appointment with a new doctor in our new town (refer to the above-mentioned cross-country move) as a first step on my quest for a better life in my 40s.

The annual visit was pretty uneventful until Dr. Goodyear said, “So what are your goals for yourself this year?”

He knew I was turning 40. I started with my list. “Lose weight and get healthy. And I think something might be wrong with my hormones… Something just isn’t right, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I’ve been tested previously and told that my thyroid was just fine. But I don’t think it is.”

Dr. Goodyear has probably heard this as many times as he has seen patients. But for me, this felt like a scary confession. I’ve felt so alone with my struggles: weight, energy level, and turning 40.

So the good doctor said that we needed to start with my hormones. The testing was different than anything I had done before. In addition to drawing my blood, they made me spit in a cup.

I know. It sounds archaic.

Actually, I had to spit into 4 different vials at different points during the day on the 20th day following the first day of my last period. Did you follow that? It’s much easier than it sounds. But I recommend drinking a lot of water when you do saliva testing. It is hard to get that much spit!

So what happened next, you ask? Test results came back a few weeks later, and I was right. My hormones were all wrong. In fact, after I realized how out-of-whack I really was, I looked Dr. Goodyear straight in the eyes and said, “Am I the worst case you’ve ever had?”

He looked at me and said in the nicest possible way, “Yes.”

So here I am, the worst-case scenario. I am truly the hormonal woman. And I am on a personal mission to make sure that other women like me know that they aren’t alone and that there is help. Every week, I will update my blog and continue to share with you the journey I have been on since September of 2007. I have been using bioidentical hormones for 13 months now, and I am a completely different person than I was when I first stepped into Dr. Goodyear’s office. This journey continues. I’m not there yet. But every day I make another step towards the good health that I want so much.

Please join me on my journey, even if you aren’t a hormonal woman. You probably know someone who is!

–Elizabeth

Who’s Afraid Of The Big Bad Bioidentical Hormone?

What is Progesterone? Do women need progesterone after a hysterectomy? Does it cause cancer as some have been told? Does it disrupt the thyroid as some also have been told? What is truth? What is fiction? What does the evidence show?

Let’s work through some of these questions systematically.

What is Progesterone?

Progesterone is the hormone a woman’s body produces after ovulation each month. It balances the effect of estrogen in the uterus and throughout the body. When everything is working well in your body, estrogen and progesterone balance each other to create a normal menstrual cycle. However, when progesterone levels fall and estrogen dominates, a woman can experience heavy bleeding, irregular cycles, PMS, weight gain…

Some folks would have you believe that synthetic progestins (especially Provera) are identical to progesterone. This just isn’t true. They are not similar in shape, structure, or function. Progestins and progesterone do both protect of the lining of the uterus from excess estrogen. But that is where the similarities stop!

Race for the Cure… and a Better Understanding of Women’s Health

Breast cancer research has received a lot of attention lately through wonderful campaigns like Race for the Cure, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and similar efforts. All of this research has given us some wonderful insights into women’s health in general. Specifically, the research has revealed clear distinctions between bio-identical progesterone and synthetic progestins.

Numerous large studies have shown that synthetic progestins, such as Provera, increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer. In contrast, bio-identical progesterone can reduce a woman’s risk of breast cancer. This has been clearly tested and consistently confirmed. In fact, just having low progesterone levels makes a woman 5.4 times more likely to get premenopausal breast cancer. Even worse, such women are significantly less likely to survive a fight with breast cancer.

As a doctor, I am horrified by these statistics, and I want to help—through my own practice and through an attempt with many other doctors to educate women.

As a scientist, I am amazed that something as simple as progesterone deficiency results in a higher breast cancer risk.

Still Not Convinced?

Here’s a quick summary of the down and dirty science. Estrogen is a powerful stimulant to breast cell growth. (Remember, cancer is unregulated cell growth). When researchers added synthetic progestin, the growth of breast cells increased significantly. In contrast, when researchers added progesterone, breast cell growth decreased by 400%.

And here’s what that means. A woman’s body needs progesterone even after a hysterectomy. Progesterone doesn’t cause cancer—in fact, the opposite is true! Finally, a woman’s thyroid is not disrupted by progesterone—again, the opposite is true!

Progesterone is safe. Women’s bodies produce it for a reason. They need it.

Oprah Wonders if You Should Replace Your Hormones

I don’t usually watch Oprah, let alone record her show. Not that I don’t like Oprah, I just am busy working during her show hours. But that ended last week when I actually recorded my first Oprah show. I know, I know… why now?

Oprah was discussing her experience with Bio-identical hormones. This is not the first time that Oprah or a celebrity has talked about her personal interests. In most cases, I’m not a big fan of people offering their opinions just because they are famous.

This time, though, I’m actually cheering Oprah on!

Read more

Menopause is not a disease

“First do no harm.” This is from the Hippocratic Oath that every physician takes prior to graduating from medical school.

“First do no harm.” Here’s what that means for me: First, work with the body to prevent disease.

Often, we see patients after they already have a disease. At that point, we begin treatment and intervention—which typically involves introducing a drug not normally present in the body. This is why drug companies have to do so much testing to measure the effects/side effects of any new drug. When I prescribe treatment and intervention, I’m always weighing the benefits of a drug versus the risks associated with that drug. Medical training does a great job of helping doctors understand how to treat disease.

But PMS, perimenopause, and menopause and all the symptoms that go along with them aren’t the result of a disease. They are the result of hormone imbalances. Having imbalanced hormones is not the same as having a disease—and doctors should not treat a hormone imbalance as if they are treating disease.

Instead of medicating with synthetic drugs, doctors can seek to rebalance the patient’s hormones.

Bio-identical hormones represent the essence of this approach. (Dr. Dixie Mills has some good thoughts about Bio-identical hormones at Women to Women.) There is no rocket science or voodoo behind Bio-identical hormones as some may suggest. In fact, if you look at the scientific literature, the support is all for Bio-identical hormones. The rest of the world is way ahead of the US on this one.

Then why are so many physicians still focused on the disease model, instead of the health and prevention model? I can’t answer that question. But I can treat my patients differently—using methods supported by scientific literature as being more healthy and effective.

Bio-identical hormones merely represent understanding how the body works and working within the body’s framework. It makes a lot of sense. Patients receive hormones that are structurally and functionally identical to those produced in your body.

Hormone imbalance is not a disease. But doctors can treat the imbalance with Bio-identical hormones to give you better health and help prevent future disease.

Why you should be concerned about estrogen dominance

October is breast cancer awareness month!

Last week, in a post about three ways to help prevent breast cancer, I talked a little bit about estrogen dominance. You’re probably wondering what it is and why it matters.  I’ll do my best to explain this as thoroughly as I can without getting too technical.

What is it?

Estrogen dominance occurs when you stop ovulating. During the first half of a woman’s cycle, estrogen stimulates growth of her uterine lining. Half way through the cycle, ovulation occurs. At this point progesterone production dominates-which limits further estrogen growth.  Without ovulation, progesterone does not balance the estrogen produced in the first half of the cycle. Instead, a woman’s body continues to produce estrogen resulting in estrogen dominance.

When does this occur?

Estrogen dominance can occurs for several reasons.  First is when young teenagers start their periods. They often have irregular periods for the first two to three years because of lack of ovulation. Second is during perimenopause (the transition to menopause). During perimenopause, a woman again stops ovulating and stops producing progesterone to balance estrogen. Finally, estrogen dominance occurs in women who have polycystic ovarian syndrome. This syndrome is a collection of hormonal symptoms that have at their root cause, lack of ovulation and thus estrogen dominance.

Why is this important?

Estrogen dominance during the perimenopause puts women at a greater risk for weight gain and breast cancer. High levels of estrogen can lead to constant stimulation for growth. This means all estrogen is encouraging all cells to grow-normal cells and abnormal cancerous cells in the breast.

What can we do about estrogen dominance?

During perimenopause, the simple addition of bio-identical progesterone can balance the estrogen. This corrects estrogen dominance, helps women lose weight, and reduces the incidence of breast cancer.

(Special thanks to MesserWoland for providing copyright permission of the pink ribbon through Wikipedia.)

From The Doctor’s Desk: Stress Is a Doorway to Disease

Seasons has hosted, on several occasions, Dr. Eldred Taylor, an international expert in bioidentical hormones. During his speaking engagements here in Ruston, he talked with men and women about lots of exciting ways to help manage their health. Dr. Taylor is a talented teacher, and I want to share the way he taught our patients about stress and hormones.

Stress elicits a hormonal response, he explained. In fact, 75%-90% of all primary care doctor related visits can be directly attributed to stress according to the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association. It makes sense. When you are stressed, you are more prone to illness. That’s one effect of hormones, specifically cortisol.

Stress is a doorway to disease if it’s not treated and corrected.

Here’s what I mean by that. In nature, a zebra or horse running from a predator has acute stress response. Does the stress have a negative effect on the animal’s body? Sure. But the animal is running for its life. Either one of two things happen. The animal will get away, and the stress will end. Or the animal will die… and the stress will end. Either way, the animal is not going to suffer from constant stress.

But in contemporary society, many of us suffer from constant stress. When we experience stress, we too have a surge of hormones to help us fight or run away. You’ve heard of fight or flight. When we are running from a predator, everything works fine. The hormones activated by stress pump us full of energy, and we escape the predator. Or kill it.

But in contemporary society, sometimes we can’t kill our predators or run away from them. Sometimes our predators are coworkers or bosses. We don’t get along with these people, or perhaps we are intensely competitive, and it causes stress. Only we can’t escape these predators in the same way that a zebra can escape a lion. We have to fight with that coworker or boss every day. We experience the stress every day. Our bodies weren’t designed to handle this kind of chronic stress.

That’s why it’s so important to relax. Learn to control what you can. Learn to let go of the rest. I highly recommend things like aroma therapy and massages for relaxation. That’s why Seasons has developed a medical spa—because we want to do more than just help people who are not well. We want to help prevent people from getting sick in the first place.

Stress management is a good place to start.

Who needs Hormones?

Who needs hormones? The answer is: not everyone. Some need hormones, and some don’t. Additionally, a need for hormone therapy is not unique to women. Men can benefit from hormone therapy as well.

If you have symptoms of hormone imbalances, then hormone replacement therapy may be right for you. However, a “one size fits all approach” is never appropriate. Each individual’s hormone needs are as unique as his or her thumb print.

Hormone testing will help determine the specific hormone imbalances and direct treatment.

What are bioidentical hormones?

One of the most frequent questions we here is: “Hey! What is the difference between bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormones like premarin, prempro, premphase, and provera?”

I’m glad you asked! Synthetic hormones include conjugated equine (that’s horse in English) estrogens and progestins. (My wife is not a horse, and I’m pretty sure you aren’t either!)

The key difference between bioidentical and synthetic hormones is molecular structure. In an effort to fully replicate the function of the hormones produced by your body and to minimize the side effects, the molecular structure of the hormones must be identical to those produced in your body.

Synthetic hormones are similar but not identical. These structural differences lead to metabolism by-products that increase the frequency and intensity of unwanted side effects.

Bioidentical hormones are structurally and chemically identical to the hormones your body produces.

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You may have heard that there are not many studies about bioidentical hormones. Certainly, there have not been as many studies of bioidentical hormones as synthetic hormones. But, here’s why.

Pharmaceutical companies fund research for synthetic hormones through profitable patents and mass production. Bioidentical hormones cannot be patented, and thus there are limited funds for research. There are some European studies of bioidentical hormones, but they are small in number and limited in scope.

Related articles by Zemanta and Seasons

• Bioidentical hormones: What does the scientific evidence say?
• The Bioidentical Hormone Debate (www.postgradmed.com)
• Abstract: Are Bioidentical Hormones (Estradiol, Estriol, and Progesterone) Safer or More Efficacious than Commonly Used Synthetic Versions in Hormone Replacement Therapy? (holtorfmed.com)
• Study: Hormone therapy caused breast cancer for thousands (cnn.com)

What risks are associated with hormone replacement?

After reading many of our posts on Bioidentical Hormones, you may be thinking bioidentical hormones are risk free.

Unfortunately, they aren’t. The same risks associated with the synthetic hormones can be extrapolated to bioidentical hormones. However, limited studies already suggest that bioidentical hormones cause fewer side effects and risks than synthetics.

You may have heard that hormone therapy causes breast cancer. It doesn’t

Hormone therapy may accelerate the growth of pre-existing breast cancer, but patients taking hormone therapy are actually diagnosed at an earlier stage of disease when compared to those not taking hormone therapy.

If you want to know the exact risks for both synthetic and bioidentical hormones, here they are:

Cardiac Event: 7 new cases/10,000 women (26% increase)
Breast Cancer: 8 new cases/10,000 women (23% increase)
Stroke: 8 new cases/10,000 women (41% increase)
Pulmonary Embolus: 8 new cases/10,000 (200% increase)
Blood Clot: 18 new cases/10,000 (213% increase)
Alzheimer’s Dementia: (200% increase)

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