His and Her Health

I just had to register to ask if anyone has tried BHRT (Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy)? I am sad for all you women and men suffering from these horrible side effects. My husband is a pharmacist and he has helped hundreds of women and men literally jump started their lives. I would be glad to share, with anyone who is interested, other womens stories of "recovery". Your lives can be BETTER.
My own personnal story: I am 35 and have 5 children. I work full time. My life is very stressful as you can imagine. I was on birth controll pills for many years on and off. I was not real interested in sex and the with the pill my PMS symptoms were not present. (heavy bleeding, migranes, cramps, moodiness, etc) My husband, after studing the effects of "government approved hormones" he urged me to stop taking the pills and get my tubes tied. (We did not want anymore kids) Anyway, it took me about 2 years to decide to go through with the surgery because I was sure my PMS symptoms would resume. All this time my husband was steadly helping women with their symptoms and assured me he could help me with mine. Honestly I thought this BHRT was to good to be true like those diet pills we think will make us skinny without changing our eating habits. I was wrong. We have sex on a regular basis and I actually wanted to. I haven't had a migrane (knock on wood), my heavy bleeding is controlled, cramps controlled, no breast tenderness, no moodiness (a little, but who isn't sometimes?)BHRT also takes care of my fluid retention, and the best thing I AM LOSING WEIGHT. I just feel better. Better than I can ever remember. The side effects of "government approved drugs" were that they made a different person.
Don't be scared to educate yourself on BHRT if you don't do it for yourself no one else will do it for you. Drug companies cannot make money on these products because they have to be compounded so no one is educating our doctors about BHRT either. I only use progesterone. What you need to use is totally based on you symptom chart.
If you want more information or have any questions please email me.
Help yourself make your life BETTER!

Hmmm, that sounds like an advertisement. )
I'd like to remind anyone who is interested of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists position on bioidentical hormones:


ACOG NEWS RELEASE
For Release: October 31, 2005
Contact: ACOG Office of Communications
(202) 484-3321
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

No Scientific Evidence Supporting Effectiveness or Safety of Compounded Bioidentical Hormone Therapy

Washington, DC -- There is no scientific evidence to support claims of increased efficacy or safety for individualized estrogen or progesterone regimens prepared by compounding pharmacies, according to a new Committee Opinion released today by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Furthermore, hormone therapy does not belong to a class of drugs with an indication for individualized dosing. ACOG's opinion also points out that salivary hormone level testing used by proponents to 'tailor' this therapy isn't meaningful because salivary hormone levels vary within each woman depending on her diet, the time of day, the specific hormone being tested, and other variables.

Compounded "bioidentical hormones" are plant-derived hormones that are prepared, mixed, assembled, packaged, and labeled as a drug by a pharmacist. These preparations can be custom made for patients according to a physician's specifications. "Bioidentical hormones" refer to hormones that are biochemically similar or identical to those produced by the ovaries or body.

According to ACOG, most compounded products, including bioidentical hormones, have not undergone rigorous clinical testing for either safety or efficacy. Also, there are concerns regarding the purity, potency, and quality of compounded products. In 2001, the FDA analyzed a variety of 29 product samples from 12 compounding pharmacies and found that 34% of them failed one or more standard quality tests. Additionally, 9 of the 10 failing products failed assay or potency tests, with all containing less of the active ingredient than expected. In contrast, the testing failure rate for FDA-approved drug therapies is less than 2%.

The FDA requires manufacturers of FDA-approved products that contain estrogen and progestogen to include a black box warning that reflects the findings of the Women's Health Initiative. However, compounded products, including bioidentical hormones, are not approved by the FDA and therefore, compounding pharmacies are exempt from including warnings and contraindications required by the FDA in class labeling for hormone therapy.

Given the lack of well-designed and well-conducted clinical trials of these compounded hormones, ACOG recommends that all of them should be considered to have the same safety issues as those hormone products that are approved by the FDA and may also have additional risks unique to the compounding process.

This is what Dr. Susan Love, a nationally renowned expert on breast cancer and menopause has to say on her website about bioidential hormones:

***Moderator's Note
We need written permission from Dr.Susan Love to reprint any content from her website.

<small>[ 04-21-2006, 07:38 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

Nope, not an advertisement!!!! Make your own choices but most of all educate yourself because everyone has an OPINION. No one knows the name of my pharmacy or where I am located. I only offer my PERSONAL OPINION and my story. I see women and men everyday who thank my husband for introducing them to BHRT.
Evidence, have any of you reading read the evidence of the effects of FDA approved HRT? Heart disease, stroke, coronary artery spasm, breast cancer, osteoporosis, hypothyroidism...
My only mission is to encourage women and men to learn everything you can about you options before you have surgery or take any potentially dangerous medication.

<small>[ 04-21-2006, 07:32 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

We should definitely acknowledge all of our treatment options for our symptoms. Also, we should have the right to access these treatments.

Lots of politics are surrounding the topic of bioidentical hormones right now, as we speak!

While I agree we should all have the right to choose, I can't advocate a treatment that has not been thoroughly scrutinized. More clinical trials are needed in order for me to make decisions about the use of BHRT.

A final caveat--as educated health care consumers, we should take caution when choosing a therapy.

<small>[ 05-04-2006, 03:36 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

Mam, I would like to compare notes on your results with BioIdentical hormone replacement. I am on my 1st month of this therapy. I feel better right now than I have in the last 6 years.

***Moderator's Note
Sorry but poster's email addresses are not allowed in their posts.You may put it in your profile.

<small>[ 06-26-2006, 06:51 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

I found this bit of information on bioidentical hormones from the North American Menopause Society:
http://www.menopause.org/bioidentical.htm

You may be interested in the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists website ( http://iacprx.convio.net/site/PageServe ... =home_page ).

Evidently, many compounding pharmacists are taking legal action against the FDA'S decision to deny the approval of compounding pharmaceuticals.

The ongoing battle between the FDA and compounding pharmacists continues! Just recently, a federal district court judge in Midland, Texas ruled that compounded preparations are "not new, unapproved drugs".

Just curious if you all know about the politics surrounding the battle to approve bioidentical hormones for menopausal symptoms. Does the lack of FDA approval make you second-guess the therapy at all?

My pharmacists in Iowa & Georgia have compounded Bio Identical hormones for years! They have many testimonies from there patients of how great it works! All I know is this - It works! I feel better now than I have!!!!
Iowagirlga

Did anyone catch Katie Couric on the CBS Evening News last night? She talked about bioidenticals and interviewed Dr. Wolf Utian of the North American Menopause Society about them. Just wondering what you thought.

Where can we find information regarding BIHR vs. Synthetic FDA drugs?

mam, I have a question for you. I am 51 and just began missing periods and experiencing peri- menopause symptoms around january/06. My symptoms aren't that bad except for one thing that is driving me nuts. I gained about 10 lbs in 3 months, and had gradually been gaining weight before this. I absolutely did not gain all this weight through overeating, and have been struggling for months to lose this weight with no major results. All the weight is in my gut, the most dangerous place to have excess weight. Heart disease runs in my family and my mom died at 56. My doctors are just telling me this is very common in perimenoipause. That's nice, but it isn't helping me.

So could you tell me how the progesterone helped you with the weight loss. If I'm banging my head against a wall trying to lose weight because my hormones are out of whack I'd like to know. Thanks much!

Bioidenticals were once again in the news today. The Today Show along with Dr. Joann Manson of Brigham and Women's Hospital put Suzanne Sommers (a longtime bioidenticals advocate) on her toes about the "natural hormones".

Dr. Manson made a strong point about how there is no rigorous scientific or medical evidence that the custom-compounded hormones are safer and more effective than conventional hormones.

NBC's chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Snyderman confronted Suzanne Somers and the developer of her particular bioidenticals, T.S. Wiley (a former actress)*. Dr. Snyderman asked Somers if she was "embarassed" when the American Medical Association (AMA)issued a statement criticizing the custom-compounded hormones she is so fond of.

Somers answered that she was "proud" and not embarassed. She openely challenges the AMA and the doctors of America and the Endocrine Society and the pharmaceutical companies to "learn this stuff".

Dr. Snyderman responded "so even in the face of mainstream criticism, Wiley and Somers believe they're right and the medidical establishment is wrong. What happens if you are oh, so wrong?"

Somers responds, "What happens if I'm right?"

Then, NBC urged viewers to sit down and have the conversation with your doctor. They tell people to ask questions and keep in mind that bioidenticals have not been proven to be safe nor effective.

Hats off to NBC who shed light on this very controversial topic. "Natural" is not necessarily always safe and people need to know that these hormones are not regulated by the FDA.

*T.S. Wiley is not a scientist or a doctor. She developed her own brand of custom compounded hormones .

<small>[ 08-31-2007, 10:29 PM: Message edited by: Moderator ]</small>

Dr. Susan Love, perhaps the top breast cancer expert in the US, has warned women about HRT and bioidenticals. She feels neither are safe and not enough research has been done to prove otherwise.

The fact than menopausal women will take the advice of two actresses over a host of highly regarded medical professionals is an example of how frustrated many of us are with the lack of a safe and effective remedy for our symptoms.

I agree, shirlr. I too think that getting advice from two actresses over a medical professional is completely ridiculous! I think people are lured by the word "natural" and automatically think it is good for you. Arsenic and tobacco are "natural" also!

It's ashame Suzanne Sommers(and others)don't use their high profile status to encourage women to 'do the right thing'. But then again, many healthcare professionals are supporters of bioidenticals also! I think women need to be aware of the risks of bioidentical themselves.

But once again, 'doing the right thing' gets lost in the jumble of false information making it even more difficult to find the real answer.