Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is the practice of supplementing or replacing hormones which your body is no longer producing.  HRT is also one of the hottest and most debated topics today.  Frequently prescribed to relieve menopausal symptoms and as a preventative measure against osteoporosis and heart disease, it raises questions for many women:  Should I?  Shouldn‘t I?  Which ones? How much? For how long?

Why look for individualized natural Hormone Replacement Therapy?

A one-size-fits-all approach to Hormone Replacement Therapy may work well for some women and not for others, since no two women‘s hormone levels are exactly the same.  This should be taken into account when prescribing replacement hormones, as well as each individual woman‘s response to different hormone preparations (capsules, topical creams, lozenges, and suppositories).  A noninvasive and extremely accurate saliva test will measure an individual‘s reproductive hormone levels, and can be used to monitor any hormone supplementation.  This helps ensure that a women gets the correct prescription at the correct dosage, for her individual needs.  A baseline saliva test conducted in a women‘s thirties can be particularly beneficial to her future hormone health, as it can help establish her optimum hormone levels.

Why consider Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Natural hormones are prescription medications, regulated by the FDA.  Derived from soybeans and wild yams, natural hormones are converted in a laboratory into hormones identical to those produced by your own body.  We call them "natural" or "bioidentical" because their molecular structure matches those of your body‘s own hormones exactly.  This becomes important when a hormone binds with your body‘s hormone receptor.  In other words, natural hormones are received by your body as though they were your own-they fit your hormone receptors the way they‘re supposed to.  Synthetic and animal-derived hormone do not have this advantage!!

What are the potential benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy?

-a feeling of being "normal" again
-guard against heart disease
-decreased bone loss
-reduced hop fractures
-Raise good (HDL) cholesterol
-Improved blood flow
-Prevent plaque formation
-eliminate or reduce hot flashes 
-reduce sleeping difficulties and night sweats
-Enhanced healthy functioning of internal organs
-protect eyes from cataracts and dryness
-promote a sense of well being
-Increased energy
-Improved midlife short term memory loss
-prevent vaginal dryness and thinning & shrinking of vaginal tissue
-lowered incidence of urinary tract infections
-improve skin elasticity

Today‘s women have choices of lower doses and safer forms of hormone therapy which were not previously available. Work with your doctor and pharmacist to get the benefits you want from hormone therapy with fewer side effects and risks.

---