Hormonal Replacement Therapy

Menopause And Andropause

It is so important to realize that hormone responses are unique to each person. We often refer to this as “there own fingerprints”. Hormone replacement should not be considered without a thorough understanding of how all of the body’s hormones interact with each other.

The normal age to go through menopause ranges from 35 to 55, therefore, a woman may live half of her life without a menstrual cycle.

Andropause in men settles in more progressively, and is due to the decline of Testosterone levels in the blood.

Why Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Very simply for the relief of symptoms associated with low hormone levels. Slowing down the ageing process, particularly in the brain, the arteries, the skin, bones…

What Are The Symptoms Of Menopause And Andropause?

Hot flushes, vaginal dryness, anxiety, mood swings, irritability, insomnia, depression, loss of sexual interest, urinary tract infections, bloating, indigestion, osteoporosis, hair loss, palpitations, migraine headaches and memory lapses.

In men, most of these symptoms are present but less obvious.

What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy?

Replenishing the body with Oestrogen, progesterone, Testosterone and DHEA The selection and dosage of these hormones will have to be determined by assessing the symptoms and the laboratory results.

Estrogen: has 400 functions in the body including the following: stimulating the production of choline acetyltransferase, an enzyme which prevents Alzheimer’s disease (in men as well as women), improves insulin sensitivity, improves sleep, helps maintain the amount of collagen in the skin, increases the water content of skin and is responsible for its thickness and softness, reduces the overall risk of heart disease by 40 to 50%, enhances mood, maintains bone density, increases sexual interest, decreases wrinkles, decreases the risk of colon cancer, aids in the formation of serotonin which decreases depression, irritability, anxiety.

Rather supplement with a natural menopause treatment such as bioidentical hormones: oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. They are much safer than synthetic and non-identical hormones.

Testosterone deficiency will present with the following symptoms: fatigue, loss of energy, mood swings, depression, irritability, anxiety, low sex drive, low self-esteem, poor memory and sluggish concentration, declining fitness, bone loss, elevated cholesterol, muscle wasting, weight gain, hair loss…

Progesterone: First of all, natural progesterone is much safer than synthetic progestin (often labelled as progesterone), it does not have side effects.

Some of the deficiency symptoms are Insomnia, anxiety, depression mood swings, pain and inflammation, and osteoporosis.

Bio-Identical Hormones

It is becoming increasingly accepted that we age prematurely because our hormone levels decline, and that if we restore hormone levels to the optimal range we avoid many of the aging diseases. Hormone deficiency has been linked to diseases like cancer, heart disease, diabetes mellitus, dementia, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.

Additionally, hormone deficiency can cause cancer, such as the low testosterone levels associated with prostate cancer, or the low levels of progesterone involved in breast cancer.

Why Synthetic, Non Bio-Identical Hormones Have So Many Side Effects

Synthetic and pharmaceutical hormones are artificial chemicals that attempt to replicate human hormones. They are structurally foreign to the body. While bio-identical hormones have the identical molecular structure to human hormones, enabling easy metabolism, synthetic hormones are altered to have a different chemical make-up than natural hormones. It is this structural difference that has caused so many side effects over the years in HRT.

This first-pass metabolism (having to pass through the liver before the rest of the body) does not occur with the transdermal route, blood clotting and thrombosis risks are there for reduced.

Why Bio-Identical Hormones Are Recommended

Bio-identical hormones are clearly the safest option and are entirely the same as human hormones. The chemical structure is the same as that produced in the human body. Bio-identical hormone replenishment is used to restore hormone levels to normal physiological levels.

These hormones are mostly administered transdermally to avoid first-pass metabolism in the liver. Bio-identical hormones are an integral part of maintaining health and a tremendous anti-ageing tool. The same applies to hormone replacement therapy for men: where Testosterone, and DHEA are the main building blocks.

Dr. Alain Sanua

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