The Risks And Benefits Of Thyroid Supplementation
Your thyroid is a small gland located in your neck that receives signals from your brain to produce small amounts of thyroid hormone. The signal from your brain is called thyroid stimulating hormone and hormones your thyroid produces are called triiodothyronine and thyroxine . The bio-identical hormone versions of T3 is liothyronine . The bio-identical T4 available is levothyroxine . T4 converts to T3 to become active. Some people are unable to convert the T4 to T3 effectively. Most doctors prescribe only T4 and monitor only by checking TSH levels.
TSH levels used to monitor substitution, mostly regulated by intracellular T3 in the pituitary, may not be such a good indicator of adequate thyroid hormone action in all tissues. The co-administration of T3 may prove more effective in this respect, provided novel suitable preparations are developed. Until this is accomplished, substitution in hypothyroidism should aim at low normal TSH, to ensure normal T3 levels.32
It is important to monitor TSH levels but also important to monitor symptoms and T3 and T4 levels. Low thyroid function is often missed by doctors or improperly treated due to reliance on TSH levels. Our goal is to work with you to resolve your symptoms and improve your quality of life by using your symptoms AND thyroid hormone levels to monitor your treatment.
Hormone Replacement Therapy Can Increase The Chances Of A Successful Conception
The reproductive process is closely regulated by hormones, so even a slight imbalance can cause infertility. With hormone replacement therapy at our San Antonio, TX, practice, we will replenish necessary hormones to increase your chances of conceiving successfully. By choosing Fertility Center of San Antonio for treatment, you will experience compassionate and personalized care from a cohesive team of professionals. Contact our practice today to schedule a personal consultation.
When Is The Best Time To Stop Taking Hrt
Theres no set time for when a woman should come off HRT it all depends on individual factors based on the various pros and cons. As a rule of thumb, for healthy women that is, those who do not have a weakened immune system or any underlying health issues HRT is safe to use in small doses for short-term relief of menopausal symptoms. However, because the accompanying risks appear to increase with age and the duration you take HRT, women aged 59 or above who have taken the treatment for 5 or more years should think about stopping.
In females whose menopause is induced by a hysterectomy , who are prescribed estrogen-only treatment after surgery, their likelihood of developing any type of cancer is not increased, so they may decide to stay on the treatment for a longer period.
If youre feeling confused, apprehensive, or unsure about the best time to quit HRT, a conversation with your doctor will help to demystify the topic and make it less of a daunting prospect.
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How To Use The Topical Hormone Creams
Topical gels or bioidentical hormone cream are applied with a pre-measured syringe to the stomach, inner thighs or inner arms and are absorbed through the skin, directly into the blood stream. Some gels or creams are designed for vaginal use. Patches, like bioidentical hormone cream and gels, allow direct skin absorption throughout the day.
Topical estrogen, Biest, is applied typically to the inner labia because it is mucosal membrane. The dose used is very small. If you are finding a mess in your pants from the topical cream you are likely using too much. Please contact us if you have any question about how to measure these hormones.
Femme Cliniques Hormone Balancing Approach
Our guiding principles:
- Treat the cause you dont have a Prozac® deficiency, but maybe you have a hormone imbalance or nutritional deficiency
- Treat the whole person helping you balance nutrition and lifestyle to support your bodys needs
- Honor the healing powers of nature help the body heal itself by balancing your hormones and supporting your bodys functions
- Prevention weigh risks and benefits of deficiencies of key health problems in the future
- Doctor as teacher we spend time with our patients to help guide them through the process of hormone balance and aging
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What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy And How Is Hrt Used To Treat Women Going Through Menopause
Most women experience symptoms of menopause as they age – but here are the ways to alleviate the common ailments
- Sophie Roberts
- 12:14, 30 Aug 2019
MOST women will experience some or all of the symptoms of menopause when they reach a certain age.
The experience can range person to person with some turning to hormone replacement therapy to help relieve unpleasant symptoms.
Hormone Therapy For Fertility
Hormone therapy can help relieve the symptoms of menopause. It can replace female hormones no longer made by the ovaries. In some cases, you may begin hormone therapy before menopause. If you are taking birth control pills, they will be stopped when you begin treatment.
For women with a uterus, estrogen usually is given along with progestin. This helps reduce the risk of cancer of the lining of the uterus that occurs when estrogen is used alone. The progestin may be taken every day with estrogen, or estrogen may be taken on some days and the progestin added on others.
Hormone treatment is most often prescribed in the form of pills, vaginal rings or patches placed on the skin. Estrogen creams and tablets, used in the vagina, can treat dryness, but do not work as well for other symptoms.
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How Is Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Diagnosed
If your doctor believes you have POI they will consider your:
- symptoms, such as changes in your periods or symptoms of oestrogen deficiency
- family history of early menopause
- medical history such as other autoimmune conditions.
You should be offered a blood test to measure your hormone levels . You may also be offered a blood test to check for diabetes and thyroid problems.
It is very rare, but POI can be caused by a problem with the chromosomes, which are contained in the cells in the body that hold genetic information. If you are under 35 you may be offered a blood test to check your chromosomes.
What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy
Because the symptoms of menopause are directly related to hormone levels like estrogen being depleted, it stands to reason that hormone replacement therapy may be the right solution for you. During this treatment, estrogen and sometimes progestin are administered in order to reduce the duration and intensity of menopause symptoms. Along with relief from hot flashes, night sweats, and mood swings you may also benefit from an increased elasticity of your blood vessels, lowered risk of osteoporosis, improvement of glucose levels, decreased incidence of Alzheimers disease, and decreased incidence of colon cancer.
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How Is Premature Menopause And Primary Ovarian Insufficiency Treated
Management of the condition can vary depending on why menopause started earlier than normal. Given the health risks associated with early menopause, hormone replacement therapy is routinely recommended to all women with premature menopause or primary ovarian insufficiency, unless there is a compelling reason it cant be used. There is a lot of confusion about the safety of hormone therapies. Many of the risks of hormone therapy used after natural menopause are not thought to apply to women who have premature menopause. It is important to discuss the pros and cons of hormone therapy with your doctor. Some healthcare providers have additional certification in the management of menopause, and these providers will be a valuable resource when receiving conflicting information about the safety of hormone therapy.
Who Can Take Hrt
Most women can have HRT if they’re having symptoms associated with the menopause.
But HRT may not be suitable if you:
- are pregnant it’s still possible to get pregnant while taking HRT, so you should use contraception until 2 years after your last period if you’re under 50, or for 1 year after the age of 50
In these circumstances, alternatives to HRT may be recommended instead.
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What Is The Difference Between Premature Menopause And Early Menopause
The difference between premature menopause and early menopause is when it happens. Premature menopause occurs before a woman is 40. Early menopause is when a woman undergoes menopause before age 45.
Many of the causes of premature menopause can also be causes of early menopause. The two types of menopause also share many of the same symptoms.
Why Are Hormones Important
Hormones are substances produced naturally by various glands, such as your pituitary or thyroid gland. Simply put, hormones direct nearly every function in your body. For instance, the pituitary gland in your brain secretes hormones that tell your ovaries its time to ovulate and your uterine lining to prepare for pregnancy.
Before declining during perimenopause and menopause, the hormone estrogen supports many reproductive functions, including keeping your vaginal walls moist and elastic. This helps with childbirth but also plays a vital role in sexual pleasure. It also protects your bone and blood vessel health.
Hormones keep your brain functioning correctly, which helps you concentrate and preserves your memory. Certain hormones control your appetite, help your body absorb nutrients, and tell your cells when to release the fat theyve accumulated. These natural substances also keep your muscles healthy and strong.
When hormone levels decline or become imbalanced, your body signals its inability to cope with symptoms such as vaginal dryness, mental fatigue, loss of energy, and poor sleep.
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Conventional Hormone Replacement Therapy For Women
While some women choose not to treat hormone imbalances such as menopause, there are other women who prefer the more short term approach to reducing hot flashes during menopause. This treatment is typically recommended to be short term due to the well known risks such as blood clots and cancer.
If you open a textbook on physiology, how the body works, you will see that estrogen and progesterone effect almost every cell in your body and much more than just your hot flashes. The hot flashes are merely a symptom of a hormone deficiency, estrogen. Conventional hormone replacement therapy typically uses synthetic estrogen that is taken by mouth. The estrogen is altered so it can survive breakdown by your liver. This alien estrogen is different from any estrogen your body has ever made. Horse estrogens are also commonly used and these are also alien to your body. Thus, it makes sense that this approach to hormone replacement therapy has risks that may be greater than the benefits.
Examples Of Menopause Hormonal Therapy
Menopause hormonal therapy is available as oestrogen alone or as oestrogen with progestogen. It is also available in different formulations such as creams, pessaries, tablets and skin patches. Some of these are used every day, while others may be used only for a few days or once or twice a week. The following are examples of menopause hormonal therapy products available in New Zealand. The choice of product depends on your individual circumstances and preferences. When using MRT, use the lowest dose that eases your symptoms for the shortest time and get your treatment reviewed at least once every year to assess whether to continue it or not.
| MRT |
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When To See A Doctor For Hormone Replacement Therapy
Menopause is a normal part of aging and most symptoms will pass on their own. Some people find them mildly uncomfortable and others find they interfere with normal living. When you begin to experience menopausal symptoms or find them unbearable, you can see a doctor to discuss how to proceed.
If you have symptoms related to other conditions, like early menopause before age 45, or chronic period problems, abnormal periods or bleeding, or infertility, you should see your doctor to determine the cause.
How To Avoid Transfer Of The Topical Hormone Creams To Others
Make sure to wash your hands well after applying your hormone creams. It is important to avoid transfer of the creams to your spouse, children, pets and others you may touch. In general, washing your hands well with hot water and soap will be sufficient. Scrubbing around the fingernails is almost important.
Avoid using estrogen and other hormone creams during sexual intercourse. Breast enlargement can occur in men regularly exposed to estrogen. Taking a shower and washing off hormone creams from the skin before sex is important to avoid transfer.
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Why Arent Compounded Bioidentical Hormones Fda Approved
The FDA doesnt approve any compounded products, for any condition, because those products arent standardized.
That doesnt mean that compounding is bad. Compounding can be useful for patients who are allergic to an additive in an FDA-approved product, says Kathleen Uhl, MD, the FDAs assistant commissioner for womens health.
But the purpose of compounding is to do it on a patient-by-patient basis, so theres nothing thats submitted to FDA to evaluate, so theyre not FDA approved, Uhl explains.
And because compounded products dont go through the FDA approval process, they dont bear the same warnings as other hormone therapy.
A woman who gets a prescription for an FDA-approved hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms is going to get a lot of warning information, but if she gets a compounded product instead, you dont get any of those warnings, Uhl says. Theres no requirement for them to provide that because those products are not FDA approved.
L.D. King, executive director of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, suggests that patients look for accredited compounding pharmacies listed on the web site of the Pharmaceutical Compounding Accreditation Board .
Manson points out that with FDA-approved bioidentical drugs available, most women interested in bioidentical formulations do not need to take custom-compounded products .
The 8 Keys To Vitality After Menopause
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Hrt Does Not Cause Weight Gain
Weight gain at the menopause is related to age and lifestyle factors. An increase in body fat, especially around the abdomen, can occur during menopause because of hormonal changes, although exactly why this happens is not clear. Normal age-related decrease in muscle tissue, and a decrease in exercise levels, can also contribute to weight gain.
Most studies do not show a link between weight gain and HRT use. If a woman is prone to weight gain during her middle years, she will put on weight whether or not she uses HRT.
Some women may experience symptoms at the start of treatment, including bloating, fluid retention and breast fullness, which may be misinterpreted as weight gain. These symptoms usually disappear once the therapy doses are changed to suit the individual.
The Risks And Benefits Of Progesterone Replacement
Bio-identical progesterone can be taken by mouth in a capsule, under the tongue as a sublingual troche,as suppositories, and in the form of a topical cream or gel. Progesterone taken as a pill can make you sleepy. Progesterone capsules should be taken before bed to help improve sleep.
Progesterone is present in a wide spectrum of biological activity within a variety of tissues. This hormone is also known to affect reproduction, sleep quality, respiration, mood, appetite, learning, memory and sexual activity. Progesterone exerts a sleep induction or hypnotic effect and is a potent respiratory stimulant that has been associated to a decrease in the number of central and obstructive sleep apnea episodes in men. The literature also contains a substantial amount of data on the effect of apnea in women with obesity/hypoventilation during menopause.2
One of the main actions of progesterone is to balance the effects of estrogen in your cells. During your menstrual cycle progesterone helps maintain your uterine lining to prevent bleeding. Estrogen causes growth of the uterine lining and progesterone prevents uncontrolled growth of these tissues. This is why if you have a uterus most doctors agree that progesterone is needed when you take estrogen during hormone replacement.
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Consider Your Family Medical History
In large studies, some hormone replacement therapy regimens led to an increased risk of certain problems, like heart disease, stroke, blood clots, and breast cancer. If you have a family history of these issues, you may not want to do anything that could further increase your risk.
On the other hand, if you have a family history of osteoporosis, bone loss, or fractures, hormone replacement therapy may help you. Estrogen, one of the hormones that declines as you approach menopause, provides some protection for your bones.
Understanding The Role Of Hormones In Fertility
Hormones play an integral role in regulating numerous essential biological processes, such as temperature regulation, digestion, and growth. For women, the reproductive cycle is regulated by:
- Estrogen: This hormone plays a vital role in the menstrual cycle and ovulation.
- Progesterone: This hormone is also crucial to helping the body regulate the menstrual cycle, and it is essential for a healthy conception and pregnancy.
- Luteinizing Hormone : This hormone is responsible for trigging ovulation.
- Follicle Stimulating Hormone : This hormone regulates several reproductive processes in conjunction with LH.
- Cortisol: This hormone aids metabolism and suppresses the immune system in response to stress.
- Testosterone: This hormone supports a healthy sex drive.
If even one of these hormones is out of sync, it can compromise the entire reproductive system of both men and women. For women in particular, premature ovarian failure is a common type of early-onset infertility caused by an imbalance of estrogen and progesterone. A wide variety of factors can affect hormone levels, such as stress, poor nutrition, exposure to human-made chemicals, smoking or drug use, a sedentary lifestyle, low or high body fat, and the use of certain medications. Radiation therapy for cancer, lupus, or multiple sclerosis is an especially common contributor, as well.
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