I'm Too Young for This!: The Natural Hormone Solution to Enjoy Perimenopause (18 page)

This incorrect, inaccurate, and misinformed quote written by an Associated Press medical writer was broadcast all over the news media. The article it came from tried to discredit bioidentical hormones as non-FDA approved, and not proven safe or effective. Yet doctors write millions of prescriptions yearly for non-FDA-approved medications as part of routine medical practice.

These pharmaceutical bioidenticals are a step in the right direction but have one big drawback in my estimation: they are not
individualized for exactly what
you
might need. As I said, these formulas can get close. And maybe you’ll get lucky and find one whose amount just happens to be exactly right for you. But that is rare.

I prefer to get my hormones made by reputable compounding pharmacies—ones that are independently certified as following good manufacturing practices.

I get my hormones compounded so that I get my hormones individualized,
just for me
. This allows me to achieve a perfect balance, just like Goldilocks again: not too much, not too little,
just right
.

All patients may not need replacement of every hormone, every patient has different needs, and every patient is unique. How do you find out what you need? Keep reading, as the next chapter covers bioidenticals in depth.

Many of us don’t realize until we are well into perimenopause that the problem is hormonal decline. The bad moods are written off to stress, dissatisfaction with life, or our jobs … or close relationships. In many cases your children are starting to reach puberty at the same time that your hormones are declining. The collision of puberty and perimenopause within a household can feel like World War III.

I hear it all the time, “I’m too young for this!” Women see perimenopause as some sort of failure. Instead of being invincible, they are feeling out of control: the moods, the tears, the
overwhelmed feelings. The reality is just nature at work … sadly accelerated by a major “push” from the environment.

Today’s younger women have so much pressure. They feel like they have to do everything and do it perfectly. I call it, as have others, the “Superwoman syndrome.” They do it all. They have perfect homes, perfect kids, perfect husbands, perfect hair, and perfect bodies. They excel at their careers, are on every important committee, and bring cupcakes (gluten free, of course) to school bake sales and parties. They juggle all their responsibilities and still find time to give perfect parties while wearing the perfect outfit.

Modern culture tells us this is what we are supposed to do and what we are supposed to be. It’s written about in every magazine, every self-help book. When it doesn’t work, we think we’re somehow broken. What we should understand instead is that it’s our hormones, not our failings. Until that reality hits we will continue to bark up the wrong tree, trying to excuse or explain why we feel like such a mess.

If this is you, your dedication and hard work is admirable. Your children have benefited, your marriage has benefited, your company or work has benefited, but … it is also very stressful. That stress isn’t helping you now. Today’s women enter perimenopause younger than ever before due to stress and toxicity, and both are difficult to avoid. Now it’s time to take care of
you
!

There is no simple answer to perimenopause. Your body is changing, and it’s a ten-year decline. To do nothing about your symptoms is to allow the discomfort you are already experiencing to accelerate, and never rectify the conditions associated with this transition. Your job at this point is to pay attention to your
symptoms and find a doctor who can help you find balance. That is the point of this chapter: to provide you with all the information you need to have a well-informed conversation with a qualified doctor as you travel through this transition. There are many reasons and opposing forces working against you that add to the complexity of your declining hormones. All factors have to be considered if you are to expect optimal success in your personal regimen. Your best bet, in making this a smooth and enjoyable passage, is to replace the hormones you are steadily losing … but do so naturally.

I speak from experience. I was where you are today. From where I sit now—calm, sane, happy, healthy, blissfully enjoying life minute by minute, enjoying the loving relationship with my husband—I am here to tell you that I found my answer with bioidentical hormones and I’ve never looked back! Finding REAL natural bioidentical hormones to replace my almost nonexistent ones changed the course and quality of my life, as well as my work and life’s mission. I was never in denial; I just didn’t know what was happening to my body. I, too, thought I was too young. All I really knew then was that I just didn’t feel right. And that was the understatement of the year.

Research has shown that after a woman’s hormones start dropping, the earlier she begins supplementing her missing hormones, the healthier she will remain both short term and long term.

Ready to find out more, and maybe give BHRT a try?

The goal of natural hormone treatment is to bring the body back to balance, to replace what is missing, and bring the body back to your optimal healthy prime. Replacement alleviates the symptoms caused by the decline in the body’s hormone production by using
physiologic doses individualized for each woman. What I need is different from what you need. My stress levels are very high with my particular career so my needs are for larger amounts of estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Being “on” for a living can be quite stressful. Joyous stress, but stress just the same.

The goal of replacing missing hormones is to bring you to perfect balance, thereby giving you back your quality of life and in many cases (like mine) making you feel better than you’ve ever felt in your entire life.

Let’s recap some of what you learned earlier about estrogen and progesterone in context with BHRT treatment. Here’s the science.

Minor or sporadic fluctuations in levels of estrogen and progesterone have profound effects on your essential biological functions. Progesterone receptors are found throughout your body in most of the same areas as estrogen receptors, confirming the close, reciprocal relationship between the two.

Estrogen tells our cells to grow during the first part of the menstrual cycle, allowing for continual replenishment of old cells with new. Then progesterone steps in to redirect them, stopping cell growth. When the balance is off between the two hormones, you become symptomatic: your periods change, you can’t sleep, you gain weight, you become forgetful and depressed. Your body tries to right things, but the fluctuations in perimenopause are erratic. Your body tries to stimulate ovulation, but you are alternating between high and low estrogen levels. These imbalances cause problems that are compounded when some months ovulation doesn’t occur, and progesterone isn’t produced.

Since estrogen is critical to your feeling of well-being, you might think the more you produce, the better you’ll feel, but actually the opposite is true. In reality, drastic swings in estrogen levels make you feel worse and they also disrupt progesterone production.
It’s the balance between estrogen and progesterone that is the key to feeling good during hormone transition
.

If your estrogen levels decrease gradually and maintain the same ratio to progesterone, you’ll have a much easier time transitioning and fewer symptoms. When the shift is way out of balance, it generally causes unpleasant symptoms like irregular cycles, excessive bleeding, and bad moods!

We are each unique individuals. That’s the beauty of each one of us. But every person has different hormonal requirements. That’s why there is no “one pill fits all” in BHRT. Your hormonal requirements must be individualized, just for you. A qualified doctor understands this and works with you as an individual to tweak your dose until you hit the “sweet spot.” When you hit that place of bliss, you suddenly remember what it used to be like all the time. This is what you will be striving for, and do know that you will achieve nirvana as long as you stay with it. I feel great … all the time. I have
NO
symptoms. I am sixty-six. If I can do it, so can you!

You will feel better almost immediately when you start replacement. It may take up to a full year, though, to get to the exact perfect place just for you. That is why I say over and over, patience is the key to achieving success.

The first step is to find a qualified doctor. Replacing hormones naturally is a scientific art. You MUST find a qualified doctor
who understands. If your doctor isn’t prescribing bioidentical hormones, he or she likely needs to go back to school to learn about this form of treatment that wasn’t taught in medical school. Currently, our medical schools give students approximately four hours of instruction on prescribing hormones. You will spend more time studying the art of replacing your hormones from having read this book than a premed student. Trust your newfound knowledge.

I highly recommend
ForeverHealth.com
as the site to find a vetted, qualified doctor nearest you. The service is free.

Before your appointment, write down your symptoms. What is your body saying to you? Remember these symptoms are not to be “toughed out.” The longer you wait to do something about this body “language,” the longer you will suffer. And I cannot stress enough, it is healthy to be hormonally
balanced. Imbalance
is
not
healthy and it’s uncomfortable. Finding the source of these symptoms and correcting for them early on in perimenopause will allow you to sail through menopause.

You have a great advantage to be starting replacement this early on. With a good diet and exercise, a woman on BHRT can expect to feel good for the rest of her life. List everything you are experiencing. It won’t seem stupid to a hormone doctor to tell him or her that your leg itches or that your vagina is dry. They “get” what your body is saying. Just discussing your symptoms with a
qualified
doctor will begin to assure you that it’s all going to be okay. Once you have started replacement and are experiencing some alleviation of your symptoms, then the art part of replacement will begin.

If you are still reading, you probably want to initiate an individualized bioidentical hormone program fast! The most efficient way of accomplishing this is to have a comprehensive blood test done even
before
your first doctor’s visit.

The people at Life Extension offer a unique service where you can call them twenty-four hours a day at 1-888-718-5433 and order a Female Hormone Blood Test Panel. They immediately send out a requisition and location of blood drawing stations in your area. In most cases you’ll get your results back within a week. (You can review the test in the resource section at the end of this book under “Getting Tested.”)

Armed with your blood hormone readings, your doctor can immediately prescribe “starter hormones” to address your hormonal deficiencies. You will likely experience rapid relief of perimenopausal symptoms. If not, your doctor can order additional tests to fine-tune your bioidentical program so you can achieve a perfect, youthful balance. The art of BHRT is in its individualization. If you are young, you might just need progesterone replacement at first. If you are my age (sixty-six), you likely need the whole deal: estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, pregnenolone, DHEA, thyroid, adrenal output, and cortisol levels.