A Plum By Any Other Name

This topic was screaming at me from my newsfeed yesterday-----check out this article from Women's Day Magazine (yes, that's me commenting at the end of the article). A small study was done that shows women who eat 10 prunes a day for a year had a higher bone density than the control group who ate 10 dried apples every day for the same year. I'm getting a little queasy just thinking about eating 10 prunes a day (or as they are now called, dried plums). I would far rather be bioidentically hormonally balanced, take my daily Vitamin D (I take 5000 IUs daily, as always, check with your doctor on this), and do regular weight training exercise. On a side note, all that weight exercise I am doing is starting to pay off, my arms are far from beautiful, but there is a wee bit of muscle definition----I'm very proud!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

Hormone Replacement Therapy Decreases Mortality In Younger Postmenopausal Woman According To Study

From Medical News Today-----findings that HRT (since the article does not indicate whether the HRT involved is synthetic or bioidentical, I will assume it's synthetic) decreases overall mortality in younger postmenopausal women. Add to that the fact that balanced bioidentical hormone replacement therapy has been shown in numerous studies in Europe and elsewhere to be safer than synthetic HRT for the risk of breast cancer ----- those of us on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy have increased their chances of living a long, healthy life!

From North of the Border

Oprah takes bio-identicals, but should you?
Updated Sun. Jun. 21 2009 6:58 AM ET
By Angela Mulholland, CTV.ca News

Oprah takes them. So does Dr. Phil's wife, Robin McGraw. Suzanne Somers rubs them into her skin and injects them into places where the sun don't shine.

They're called bio-identicals and many say they just might be the fountain of youth.

Bio-identicals are being touted as the answer for women who want to relieve their menopause symptoms, reverse aging and even prevent heart disease and cancer. Click here for the rest of the story...

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!

Government Intrusion in Health Care--Bring it On!

Jane Gross of the New York Times wrote a measured, thoughtful piece on some of the implications of what is perceived by many as intrusion by the government into the health care system. Click on this link to read the article, it gives us all much to think about. Like it or not, many of us are going to have to face paying at least some out of pocket expenses for health care in the coming years, particularly if we make choices to pursue bioidentical hormones or other "alternative medicine" modalities. I know that when I moved to NC, three practices that I called trying to get into a primary care physician were fruitless because the practices did not accept Medicare, my primary form of insurance. It's very frightening, but I know how low the reimbursements are for Medicare, and although I know it isn't my fault, I feel ashamed that a physician is being paid so little to care for me under the Medicare system.

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!