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.)