Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Dr. Sima Aidun N.M.D. is a Naturopathic Doctor offering holistic, natural, integrative care to women of all ages. Her main focus is using Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy for perimenopause and menopause. Her Office is located in Scottsdale, Arizona. She also serves Gilbert, Mesa, Tempe, chandler, Cave Creek, Deer Valley, Care free, Fountain hills, and Phoenix area.

Bioidentical Hormone, just one among many! With so many treatment modalities to choose from, one of the challenges facing perimenopause and menopause women as well as their healthcare practitioner, is determining what approach to take regarding various treatments,especially hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

There are many options, ranging from no intervention at all to conventional, non-bioidentical HRT. Approaches which lie somewhere in between involve the use of herbal and nutritional supplementation or the use of hormone replacement regimens that are friendlier more gentle than those typically prescribed. While conventional HRT provides certain benefits, it is not without significant risks. This is where bioidentical HRT comes into play.

Bio-identical, natural hormones are made from plants:

They are identical in their chemical structure to the hormones produced by the human body. Bioidentical hormones are the closest in chemical structure, actions, and interactions to those hormones produced by humans.

The Effects of Bioidentical HRT on The Body

Because bioidentical hormones are identical in structure to our own body's sex hormones, their actions are relatively gentle and effective. Bioidentical natural hormones attach themselves to the human cell binding sites, which are areas on the cell surface that specifically recognize substances cells need to use in order to maintain their healthy function. Estrogen and progesterone receptors recognize bioidentical hormones (taken as prescription) the same way that they recognize hormones produced naturally by our own human bodies.

Natural, bioidentical hormones are derived from a plant molecule called diosgenin found in soybeans and wild yams. After diosgenin is extracted from these plants, it is converted into bioidentical progesterone in the laboratory. In turn, progesterone can be converted by a chemist into the three human estrogen hormones: estradiol(E2), estrone (E1), and estriol (E3).

Symptoms of hormonal imbalances occur as we get older due to deficiencies or lack of main female hormones in our body after menopause: estrogen and progesterone. These deficiencies require replacement in order for the imbalance to be righted and symptoms to be resolved. In our body, natural hormones act directly to target the root cause of hormone deficiency symptoms.

Remember : Wild Yam products such as cream and supplementation are not the same as natural progesterone, even though they might contain diosgenin. Diosgenin cannot be converted into progesterone in a woman's body, just in a laboratory settings.

As previously mentioned, today there are more therapeutic options available to menopausal patients than ever before. At the same time, some experts have estimated that only small proportion (approximately 17%) of U.S. women for whom HRT is appropriate are actually taking with even lower rates among women of lower socioeconomic status. This maybe partially blamed on the atmosphere of consumer mistrust of the pharmaceutical industry and the associated fears related to breast cancer. Conflicting data in the literature, the inability to ensure that cancer will not result as well as the potential for future litigation also predispose many doctors to avoid prescribing HRT. The healthcare practitioner's role must be to provide assistance to the patients in making a positive health-promoting as opposed to a fear-based decision when it comes to HRT whether it be for relief of symptoms or to address long term risk of disease risk.

In recent years, as more data has become available on the topic of bioidentical HRT, there has been a corresponding increase in public demand for "natural" management of menopause. While the bioidentical route is certainly a better choice for most, it is still important for a patient to know what to expect starting with that initial visit when asking the doctor for Bio-identical HRT

The Practical Clinical Application of the NAMS 2008 Position Statement on Estrogen and Progestogen Use in Postmenopausal Women

Introduction:

The 2008 evidence-based position statement regarding recommendations for menopausal hormone therapy (HT; refers to both estrogen alone and estrogen plus progestogen) for postmenopausal women, published by The North American Menopause Society (NAMS), considers the current best practice of medicine from a clinical perspective. The undue fear and confusion generated in recent years by overrepresentation or misinterpretation of clinical studies mandates a clearer explanation of the therapeutic benefit-risk ratio of HT at various times through menopause and beyond, and how these benefits and risks impact both health providers and the women weighing the use of such therapy.

To read more about the highlights of NAMS statement

Click here!

Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy: The Process