Bioidentical Hormones
By Dr. Hashimoto

A hormone imbalance now can lead to some major complications down the road.  Some of the early signs and symptoms of a hormone imbalance are:

• Insomnia
• Belly fat
• Decreased libido
• Decreased energy
• Chronic pain
• Hot flashes or sweating attacks

Bioidentical hormones have been used for years to treat hormonal imbalances, but have recently gained widespread attention through Oprah Winfrey’s television show and Suzanne Somers’ book and lecture series. Suzanne Somers states that the use of bioidentical hormones has relieved her menopausal symptoms and has given her greater insight on her health.

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, BHRT, should not be confused with hormone replacement therapy, HRT, which involves drugs that have been known to cause cancer and increase the risk of heart attacks.  In fact, medical studies for HRT have been stopped in the past because too many subjects were developing cancer and dying. Bioidentical hormones have the same molecular structure as the hormones made in your body. Synthetic hormones, however, do not.  Bioidentical hormones have not been shown to have any serious side effects and have been used in Europe safely for many years. Prescribed correctly, these hormones can perform amazing and safe changes in the body. It is important to test a patient’s hormone levels to determine their needs and re-test continually to evaluate the progress of the treatment.

Testing can be done with a blood, saliva or urine test.  Blood is the most common way to test the hormone levels, but it is also the least effective and the most expensive.  Both urine and saliva tests have pros and cons. A benefit they offer is that they can show how hormones fluctuate during the day and even during the month. Urine and saliva tests are more cost-effective than blood tests because the majority of the hormones found in the blood are bound to other proteins and require further processing to identify the active parts of the hormones.

Hormone treatments are administered in many different ways, including pills, injections, surgical implantation of pellets, sublingual tablets, solutions or creams. The downside of pills is that 90 percent of the hormones will be filtered out by the liver and won’t be absorbed. This is why many practitioners use a more direct delivery method, such as a pellet, injection, sublingual tablet or cream. Some people are afraid of having pellets surgically implanted in their bodies and cannot afford the cost of repeated injections so they choose a cream or sublingual tablet. For many, these forms or hormone replacement are preferable for their convenience and cost. 

Working with the hormones alone is adequate for controlling some symptoms, but better, more long lasting results can be achieved by correcting the body’s physiology. That’s why it is important to find a practitioner who understands the complex ways that hormones, nutrients, herbs and medications interact. Correcting problems can be as simple as a change in diet, adding nutritional supplements or herbs, getting enough exercise and rest or adding bio-identical hormones to achieve what the others couldn’t.
Different practitioners will have different philosophies, but a holistic practitioner is best for these types of problems because they are trying to address the cause of the imbalance instead of merely treating symptoms.

For a free phone consultation with Dr. Hashimoto, call 760-636-0079, or find him online at www.n2healthnow.com.  He practices with his wife in La Quinta at Dune Palms and Hwy 111.