Bioidentical Hormones, Natural and Safer Alternatives to Hormone Replacement Therapy

Did you realise that HRT has potential for causing life-threatening side effects when used for long periods, and some actually result in more risks than benefits.

For example, we were staggered to learn the actual source used for the most common prescription form of estrogen, called Premarin, is actually pregnant horses urine!!

No wonder that many women today are looking for alternatives to conventional HRT. In fact, a study conducted in the late 90s by the North American Menopause Society found that more than 30 percent of women use alternative therapies such as:-

• natural estrogen
• herbal supplements
• plant estrogens, i.e., soy supplements
• acupuncture

The book we recommend at the end of this page has a bonus report which details a number of points to consider before using natural products, including providing information relating to dosage, long term use and what sort of remedies do not work. For example "soy shakes" as a drink would have to be consumed in considerable quantity to offer any real benefit, and yet if you don't know any better, this is probably the first kind of "soy", easily available from the supermarket, that springs to mind and many women wonder why their hot flashes aren't abating!

Bio-Identical Hormones

There is a whole section devoted to compounded bio-identical hormones, together with the 3 types of estrogen, and the benefits of progesterone, and the various forms they are available in.

Let me tell you something very interesting about bioidentical hormones.

The only natural thing about them is their molecular formula which is identical to the molecular formula of hormones our bodies make. That is a crucial piece of information that unfortunately for all of us, most conventional doctors aren’t aware of.

Bioidentical hormones have been used for thousands of years, originally by the ancient Chinese nobility, who consumed dried young women's urine to counteract menopausal symptoms, because it contains the metabolic waste products of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Unfortunately you can't patent women's urine (think big corporate business here), and so in the late 60's, a U.S.A. company called Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals introduced a synthetic (non-bioidentical) drug called Premarin. This is a hormone replacement made from pregnant mare’s urine, which they were able to patent, and hence make plenty of money from! [Hormones obtained from horse urine are not biologically identical to human hormones, therefore are not natural in the "bio-identical" sense].

Premarin (and later a derivative drug called Provera) were marketed for 30 years to millions of women as the "fountain of youth", the ultimate way to eliminate symptoms of menopause, and even prevent cancer, heart disease and osteoporosis.

Then in the early '90s, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, who were treating more than a million women a year with Premarin and Provera, partnered with the National Institutes of Health to perform a national study to determine the long term effects of the two drugs in post-menopausal women. The premise for the study was based on assumptions, without any proof of effectiveness.  With extensive financial support, and free Premarin from Wyeth, the NIH went ahead with the study. And it's goal? To prove that aging women needed Premarin to protect them from diseases of aging.

Incredibly, and after almost 8 years, the study was halted abruptly in Summer 2002, because too much contradictory data had accumulated against Premarin suggesting the participants actually experienced increased incidence of certain types of cancers, heart attacks and strokes. Extensive media coverage created mass confusion among millions of women taking the drugs, and the doctors who prescribed them.

Naturally the government became concerned the results from this study might expose its intimate involvement with Wyeth. Subsequently a federal decision was made to distance the NIH from Wyeth; A public statement was made to the media that "all hormones are bad". And yet, Premarin and Provera were not removed from the market!

Initially doctors were told to stop writing Premarin/Provera prescriptions. But in time, the Wyeth marketing machine resumed except this time "low dose" Premarin and Provera came onto the market with the recommendation for its use "for as short a period of time as possible".

For a while it appeared as if no other research or options for women in menopause was available. But then women around the country started learning about bio-identical hormone options from a growing number of new medicine doctors and compounding pharmacists, while at academic institutions no one talked about hormones if they could possibly help it.

Then in 2004 a book called The Sexy Years by Suzanne Somers brought the option of bioidentical hormone therapies to the general public, and what had been a grass roots movement started to gain speed, and by 2005 bioidenticals had reached millions. By now Wyeth had lost billions of dollars and had to retaliate. They submitted a Citizens’ Petition to the FDA requesting stronger regulation and supervision of the pharmacies that produced bioidentical hormone preparations. Bear in mind that the practice of pharmacy and medicine are now legislated at the state level, so effectively Wyeth was now asking for the government to step in and protect their special interests.

Tens of thousands of women sent in letters and e-mails to the FDA demanding the Wyeth petition to be rejected. Women were saying, “Please let me keep getting my bioidentical hormones from the compounding pharmacies”, and were asking to keep this viable treatment option out of the reach of Wyeth and "their special interest".

Wyeth counteracted quickly with website information on menopause further promoting the use of Premarin, and conventional medical experts negatively describing the word "bioidenticals" as if it were a term invented solely for marketing purposes, which created yet more confusion.

Next, in October 2006, a new, well-intentioned but controversial book "Ageless" by Suzanne Somers pushed the barriers even further. Unfortunately, though Ms. Somers is an avid proponent of bioidentical hormones, she is not a medical expert and gave bad advice, and her book only served to push bio-identicals further into the proverbial menopause fire - you could say it suffered a hot-flash!

"We believe Ageless is considered detrimental and dangerous to the thousands of women who read it because the book freely and repeatedly blurs the line of medical ethics and science with hearsay. The so-called "protocols" endorsed and promulgated throughout the book may expose women to serious health dangers. They offer a "one size fits all" approach, endorsing dangerously high levels of estrogen. Not all women need to supplement their hormones: There are a range of nutritional and lifestyle approaches that can help women improve their health and hormone balance. If considering biodentical hormone therapy, women (and men) should work with qualified health professionals experienced and trained in the treatments with bioidentical hormones, a trained medical practitioner who understands disease states, their diagnosis and treatment. In addition, if bioidentical hormone therapy is prescribed it should be based on an assessment of the woman's hormone levels and then physiologic doses should be prescribed.",Erika Schwartz (M.D.),SUNY Downstate College of Medicine,NAMC,Author of The Hormone Solution - New York Post

Most recently, a resolution in support of Wyeth asking for more regulation from the FDA in the area of compounded bioidenticals, has now been passed by the AMA. This is a major crisis, where women’s health is at stake.

Bioidentical hormones are an option and choice for women: 30 years of scientific research and clinical experience have shown it to be viable and safe. Academic centers and the government should protect women and side with women’s health, not the big pharma. Our doctors should become more aware of bioidenticals, and you as a woman should have the opportunity to learn about them.

If you are in need of help with combating your menopausal symptoms we highly recommend this book which you can learn about by clicking here:-