Oprah’s “Crazy Talk” – Bioidentical Hormones – Helpful or Harmful? (Part 1)

Monday, June 22, 2009 - Byron J. Richards, CCN

Newsweek recently indulged in tabloid journalism, featuring Oprah on the cover with the headline: CRAZY TALK, Oprah, Wacky Cures, & You. The specific emphasis of the article was an attack on Suzanne Somers, Oprah, and bioidentical hormones. The Genie is out of the hormone bottle, consumers are confused, the medical profession is in its typical funk, and somewhere out there is the health-improving truth. Click here for the rest of the article (and to reach the link for part 2 of this article)....

Note from Andrea: Good articles, easy to understand and lots of information----highly recommend this one!

Another "slam" at BHRT

Ran across this article this morning in the Huffington Post----I about flipped when I read that the author knew personally of no doctor who still prescribes Premarin or Provera. Not a full week goes by that I don't get at least one (usually more) emails from women who have been prescribed some sort of Premarin by their doctor, and most refuse to take it. I, of course, responded to the article (I posted my response below), and I encourage all of you to click on the article and respond. Have a great Sunday, everyone!

While I am not a fan of Suzanne Somers (I think her version of BHRT protocol is over the top) I take bioidentical hormone replacement therapy ---- and it has drastically improved the quality of my life. I'm off seven medications, down 80 pounds from my high weight, and have more energy now than I did at 30 (I'm 51). Progesterone cream cured my seasonal allergies, acid reflux, and restless leg syndrome in less than a week. My ADD is controlled to the point of no longer needing Ritalin or other stimulant. If the author thinks few doctors are prescribing Premarin or Provera for menopausal symptoms (and to get the patient quickly out of their office) I'm sorry, but I get emails every single week from women who have been prescribed these drugs---and most are looking for an alternative. Please check out my blog at http://holyhormones.blogspot.com for more information on BHRT and related women's health issues.

Live Your Best Life Ever!

Wish Away Cancer! Get A Lunchtime Face-Lift! Eradicate Autism! Turn Back The Clock! Thin Your Thighs! Cure Menopause! Harness Positive Energy! Erase Wrinkles! Banish Obesity! Live Your Best Life Ever!


By Weston Kosova and Pat Wingert

NEWSWEEK
Published May 30, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jun 8, 2009

In January, Oprah Winfrey invited Suzanne Somers on her show to share her unusual secrets to staying young. Each morning, the 62-year-old actress and self-help author rubs a potent estrogen cream into the skin on her arm. She smears progesterone on her other arm two weeks a month. And once a day, she uses a syringe to inject estrogen directly into her vagina. The idea is to use these unregulated "bio-identical" hormones to restore her levels back to what they were when she was in her 30s, thus fooling her body into thinking she's a younger woman. According to Somers, the hormones, which are synthesized from plants instead of the usual mare's urine (disgusting but true), are all natural and, unlike conventional hormones, virtually risk-free (not even close to true, but we'll get to that in a minute). Click here to read the rest of the story....



This story is getting a HUGE amount of media attention, and as I write this post on Wednesday evening, I am watching Steven Colbert dedicate most of his show's first segment to the story (in a satirical way, of course, and full disclosure, I am a big Colbert fan!), including a clip of Oprah's BHRT show with Suzanne Somers talking about injecting estrogen into her vagina daily. The story is generating a lot of controversy........this is not the way we want publicity for BHRT, but it is what it is. I'd be interested in your comments about the story, I am going to try and get a discussion started over on the Oprah.com website (that should be interesting). Leave me a comment!

Salon Magazine Vs. Oprah Winfrey

Sometimes we all need to be reminded that not every person in the world is a big fan of Oprah Winfrey. She certainly has her detractors at Salon Magazine, an article about how her show treats medical issues is featured on the front page of the magazine's website.....click here to read it!

I wrote a "letter" (that's how Salon Magazine refers to its reader comments) that is now appearing on the website under my Holyhormones name. I've been pretty blunt here on the blog that I think Oprah, Dr. Phil, and "The Doctors" TV shows have all done a substandard job of presenting bioidentical hormone replacement therapy as little more than a chance for some celebrities to shill their books. I think all four shows did little to dispel the myths that BHRT is something that is available to wealthy women and that the only place to obtain treatment for BHRT is fancy women's clinics in CA. I have answered over 80 emails in the last few weeks from women who have had very valid, legitimate concerns and questions about bioidentical hormone therapy ------------ concerns that could very easily have been covered in one or more of these shows had they not been so busy gushing over celebrities. Keep those questions coming, if the shows don't want to cover actual information like finding a compounding pharmacy, a doctor, and recommending books written BY MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS, I am happy to do it to the extent I am able.

Salon covered how Oprah has dealt with thyroid issues on her show, and again, it was way less than complimentary. I don't watch Oprah very often (almost never unless the show is on BHRT) but I have read several web articles that indicate her message to women was not medically sound. In addition to the hormonal imbalance, I am being treated for hypothyroidism, I take Levoxyl and a compounded T3 preparation --------- works great!

Go read the article, then come back and post your opinion in the comments section. Have a great Friday everyone-------it's cloudy and humid here in Charlotte. I am off to the pool for my water aerobics class, and then I have about 10 little projects lined up for this afternoon, including catching up on a few emails for the blog.

I now have a FACEBOOK Group!

I took the plunge and started my own Facebook Group on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy----click here to join! If you are not a member of Facebook, you can easily sign up for an account. I was somewhat surprised that there weren't several active groups already on Facebook, but the few groups that exist are not terribly active. I hope with this group we can share information about doctors, compounding pharmacy, information websites, our personal experiences (good and bad) and have a few laughs too! Have a great week, everyone ---- I suspect it will be busy for me once the Dr. Phil show airs, I know after the two Oprah shows back in January I had a wonderful time connecting with lots of great women and men about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy!

Menopausal Barbie

We all know menopause is not for the faint of heart, and even if your breasts are made of plastic (and I don't mean you are addicted to plastic surgery----I mean if your breasts are really, really plastic), you will face challenges. Our favourite doll, Barbie, turns 50 this year, and The Times online talks about menopausal Barbie ------ check it at out by clicking here. NOTE: I'm having a really lousy day, so I am deliberately putting something silly and lighthearted on the blog today, while I look for some more substantive, informative articles on BHRT, hormones, menopause/andropause, and related issues!

Worldhealth.net Broadcasts Urgent Call to Doctors for Training to Meet the Demand for Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT).

Here's the link to the article, now we need to hope doctors read it, heed the call and take action to become knowledgable on the use of bioidenticals to treat their patients! I have heard of so many women tell me that when they bring up the subject of BHRT to their primary care physicians or gynocologists, they are either scoffed at (I think largely because the practitioner doesn't know anything about BHRT) or are told that they will not prescribe it because they don't know anything about it (at least those practitioners are being honest with their patients).

Estrogen Tied to Restless Legs in Pregnancy

Note from Andrea: Not just pregnancy! I had Restless Leg Syndrome (drives you nuts trying to sleep) before I started taking bioidentical hormones, and within three days of starting the progesterone cream, no more RLS!

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A study indicates that estrogen plays an important role in triggering restless legs syndrome (RLS) during pregnancy, researchers from Germany report in the journal Sleep.

"We, for the first time, have quite direct evidence that RLS in pregnancy ... is obviously directly related to hormonal changes (estrogens)," Dr. Thomas Pollmächer, principal investigator on the study, noted in an email to Reuters Health.

In the study, ten pregnant women with RLS and nine pregnant healthy "controls" provided blood samples and underwent overnight sleep-lab studies during the third trimester of pregnancy and again three months after delivery.

Eight of the ten RLS patients reported experiencing restless-legs symptoms before the present pregnancy, and all ten described worsening symptoms during pregnancy.

According to the investigators, women with RLS showed significantly higher estrogen levels during pregnancy compared to the control group. Other pregnancy-related hormone levels did not differ significantly between the two groups.

Estrogens are so-called neuroactive steroid hormones; they are important not only for conception and pregnancy but also act directly in the brain, noted Pollmächer, at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Munich.

This finding in pregnant women might help us to understand RLS in general, he said, "and ultimately lead to an additional route for the development of treatment."

SOURCE: Sleep, February 1, 2009.

Welcome to Holy Hormones!

Hello! I am still a novice blogger; I started a blog devoted to my personal interests entitled Needle Notes. I was delighted to learn that Oprah Winfrey dedicated an entire show to the subject of bioidential hormones, which is something I am very passionate about. To give you a little of how I came to be such an advocate for BHRT (bioidentical hormone replacement threrapy)............

I live in a suburb of Charlotte, NC. In 2006, my primary care physician, John Carr, MD moved to California to work in a practice that specializes in bioidentical hormones and wellness medicine. Because I trusted Dr. Carr and respect his medical judgement, I made the decision to continue to be his patient despite the proximity of his new practice. I began using progesterone cream and testosterone cream (both prescriptions) in mid September 2006.

Almost immediately, the effects of the progesterone hit me. Within two weeks, I had weaned off from five prescription medications:

• Ritalin


• Klonepin


• Sleep medication


• Acid reflux medication


• Antihistamine

Additionally, I am nearly completely off the Altace I took daily for high blood pressure, which now runs about 100/75.

What other changes have I noted in my body since I started BHRT? Below is a partial list:

• I am down nearly 80 pounds from my high weight.


• I no longer suffer from restless leg syndrome.
  
• No more dry eyes.
  
• I no longer take antidepressants.


• I no longer have hot flashes (and I was having 4-6 most days)
  

Dr. Carr determined my hormone levels by blood work. In addition to the hormonal imbalance, I have low thyroid function, and I am now on two medications to make my thyroid run at optimal level. I also take a host of supplements, including:

• Fish oil


• Vitamins D, E and K


• Flaxseed oil capsules (I don't like the taste and texture of flaxseed oil)


• Resveratrol


• Glucose support capsules


• Low dose aspirin


• Melatonin


• DHEA


• SAM-e

I missed the original airing of Oprah's show on bioidentical hormones, but watched the rebroadcast yesterday. I went on the Oprah.com message boards to see what was the reaction to the show; as of this evening over 2500 messages had been posted to the board. Some of the stories were positive and uplifting, many were painful to read. Reading how frustrated women are ----- knowing something is not right in their bodies but feeling overwhelmed to know that there may be help but they don't know how to get it. I empathized and saw my story in so many of these women. I am profoundly grateful to have a doctor who understands and supports bioidentical hormones, despite the challenges I deal with to be in a wellness practice.

One of the themes running through so many of the messages is not knowing where to turn as far as finding a doctor, I've done a lot of research on the Internet, and information is hard to find. I decided to start a blog dedicated to this issue in the hopes that it will grow into a national movement by women to fight ------ their insurance companies, the government, doctors who blow them off, family and friends who think menopause is nothing more than a punch line in a joke.

Please be patient with me, this is a steep learning curve, but I took it as a good sign that when I tried to register the name Holy Hormones! it was available for the taking. I hope to develop a list of resources in a number of areas relating to hormone therapy, and include links to articles that may be of interest. I welcome your suggestions, comments and ideas.

One other thing, I often have people ask me why the term "holy hormones"----I tell them that everyone here in NC is evangelical about something, with me it's just hormones instead of religion! Have a great weekend, everyone!