Today there is an alternative to synthetic treatments. It's Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy (Natural HRT) and it's available at Harvest Drug & Gift right now.
Osteoporosis
Weight Gain
Heart Disease
Low Libido
Endometriosis
Fibrocystic Breasts
PMS
Premenstrual Syndrome
Most women will experience these or other hormone related problems. Today, millions of women concerned about aging must decide whether or not to undergo synthetic hormone replacement therapy and suffer its side effects and increased risk of cancer. In order to help women better understand Natural Hormone Replacement Therapy, Harvest Drug & Gift now offers a number of options.
One of the fastest growing areas in the treatment of menopause is the use of NATURAL HORMONES in place of synthetics that are on the market. NATURAL PROGESTERONES and ESTROGENS are becoming very popular. Many women taking synthetic progestins experience unwanted side effects such as headaches, malaise, nausea, irritability and break-through bleeding. NATURAL PROGESTERONES have very few side effects and are well-tolerated. Natural Progesterones are also used by physicians to help with frequent miscarriages and in vitro fertilization.
Most pharmacies do not carry these prescription drugs and do not have the time and knowledge about how to formulate them into oral doses. Harvest Drug & Gift can formulate prescriptions for your patients in many dosage forms, including capsules, sublingual tablets, creams, gels and vaginal suppositories.
Back To Top
A synthetic hormone, on the other hand, may have a structure similar to, but not exactly the same as a hormone produced by your body. These chemical differences can mean that the synthetic hormone acts differently in your body and produce substantially different effects.
If you are currently on or considering the use of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) and you think individualized HRT makes more sense than a one-size fits all approach, then please come in our pharmacy to receive free information or call (800-460-5282) to schedule a private consultation.
With an individualized approach to hormone therapy, you can know exactly what your hormone levels are and choose the ideal replacement protocol to bring your hormones back to their proper balance.
Symptoms:
Mood swings
Weight Gain
Reduced libido
Vaginal thinning/dryness
Hot flashes
Night sweats
Depression
Painful intercourse
Irregular menstrual periods
Back To Top
Menopause for men, you might ask? Unfortunately, yes! Andropause, the male menopause, is more gradual than that experienced by women, but it is just as real. It often starts as early as age 35. Because it is so gradual, men often reach their mid-forties before they are even noticing some of the signs and symptoms.
Andropause, like menopause, is caused by a decline in hormones. (Primarily testosterone and the secondarily growth hormone, along with DHEA) On the average, a man's testosterone level begins to decline at a rate of 1% per year after age 40. It is estimated that 20% of men aged 60 to 80 years have levels below the lower limit of normal. The diagnosis of low testosterone levels is based on the presence of signs or symptoms and must be confirmed by laboratory testing. The extent to which declining hormone levels cause men to age is dependent on lifestyle issues of diet, exercise and stress.
Testosterone Replacement Therapy is only recommended for men whose testosterone levels are low. Your physician prior to the initiation of treatment should perform screening for parameters related to potential risks of androgen therapy. Once your physician has approved testosterone therapy and a written prescription for testosterone has been received, Harvest Drug & Gift's compounding pharmacists can use Testosterone USP to compound numerous dosage forms. These dosage forms include transdermal (topical), sublingual, or intramuscularly.
Symptoms:
Loss of morning erection
Reduced libido
Fatigue
Loss of lean body mass
Insomnia
Depression
Back To Top
Private Consultations
Hormone Replacement Therapy needs to be carefully initiated after a woman's personal history, family history, and current medical situation are reviewed. Every woman is unique and will respond to therapy in her own way; therefore, the selection of hormone(s), dose and dosage form differs from patient to patient. Close monitoring is important to ensure proper dosage adjustments and avoid unnecessary side effects.Call today to schedule your private consultation with Janet Beard, RPh. Please call (800) 460-5282
Back To Top
Saliva Testing
Why test saliva? Because steroid hormones play such a vital role in maintenance of health, knowledge of an imbalance in any one or more hormones can help illuminate the cause of health problems and provide a rational basis for correcting the imbalance through diet, exercise, or hormone supplementation.Are the levels of steroid hormones in blood and saliva the same?
When the various glands manufacture the steroids they are released into the bloodstream bound to carrier proteins. Only a small fraction (1-5%) of a given amount of steroid hormone breaks loose from the carrier protein in the bloodstream and is free to enter target tissues. This free or unbound hormone is what we want to measure, since it is active or bioavailable to the target tissues such as the breast, uterus, brain, and skin.
Many studies in the scientific literature have shown that there is a strong correlation between the levels of steroid hormones in saliva and the bioavailable (free) levels of steroids in the bloodstream. The amount of steroid hormone that enters the salivary ducts and then saliva, is representative of the fraction of steroids in the bloodstream that are bioavailable to other tissues in the body.
Advantages of saliva vs. blood testing of steroid hormones.
Saliva collection is easy, can be done anywhere, any time and at a much lower cost. Serum hormone testing is stressful, and the stress of a blood draw can sometimes alter the result. Blood has to be drawn at a doctor�s office or drawing station, and it is more difficult to obtain samples at the desired times (e.g. early am), multiple times through the day or late evening There is also an extra cost involved in drawing blood, independent of the cost for the test itself.
Hormones in saliva are exceptionally stable, allowing wide latitude in collection and shipment. Samples can be stored at room temperature for at least a week without loss of activity, so samples can be shipped to the testing facility by regular mail. Blood, on the other hand, must be kept cool on ice packs, increasing costs for shipping as well as the likelihood of error due to improper handling.
How Can Saliva Hormone Tests Help You?
There are several ways salivary hormone tests can help you to take responsibility for, and optimize your health. The first way is to help identify possible causes of health problems. Depending on the specific hormones involved, certain symptoms or groups of symptoms are usually present when hormonal imbalance exists. For example, contrary to popular belief, depression is not caused by a prescription drug deficiency, but it can be caused by an imbalance between estrogens and progesterone, low androgens like DHEA and testosterone, or high cortisol. Genetics, dietary factors or other environmental factors may cause this imbalance, in turn.
Back To Top
The HRT Library
Article Excerpts:"In women with episodic, or hormonally related depressive symptoms, Estrogen Replacement Therapy may improve a patient's sense of well-being by reducing the incidence and severity of hot flashes and by improving sleep and mood."
Vliet, E.L.; Insights on Hormones and Mood; Menopause Management; June/July 1993.
"The most common reason offered for postmenopausal women to take estrogen is protection against osteoporosis...The most important factor in osteoporosis is the lack of progesterone which causes a decrease in osteoblast-ediated new bone formation."
November 27, 2001
Confusing Research on Hormone Replacement Therapy
The findings of numerous studies on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) conflict and, as a result, have raised serious questions regarding the appropriateness of HRT. Does HRT improve women's health by decreasing the risk of heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer's disease? Reputable sources provide conflicting answers.
Here's what we know. With one exception, the major studies either fail to distinguish among types and dosages of HRT used in the study, or examine only synthetic HRT preparations. This occurs primarily because studies are usually funded by pharmaceutical manufacturers, who profit by selling patented synthetic hormones. Bio-identical hormones, which are chemically identical to hormones produced naturally in the human body, are not patentable. Most bio-identical preparations are customized for the individual patient by a compounding pharmacy.
Studies have demonstrated that in monkeys who have had their ovaries removed, treatment with bio-identical estrogen reduced arterial plaque formation by 50%. Primate studies have also illustrated that the synthetic hormone medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) negates the benefits of estrogen therapy. MPA has been shown in primate studies to constrict coronary arteries, causing vasospasm and heart attack, while natural progesterone beneficially dilates coronary arteries.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has proposed that HRT should not be prescribed to women for the sole purpose of preventing recurring heart attacks or strokes. The recommendation was based in part on results of the Heart and Estrogen Replacement Study (HERS), because the estrogen/progestin combination used in that trial failed to prevent further heart attacks in women who already had heart disease. Unfortunately, HERS relied solely on the use of one synthetic estrogen and progestin combination. Numerous studies are in progress which are investigating the role of bio-identical hormones in preventing cardiovascular disease.
We agree that a decision about HRT is best made taking a broad, long term view of a woman's health goals, symptoms, and lifestyle. Prevention of a first heart attack or stroke should begin with reducing risk factors such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, while considering issues of smoking cessation, weight management, and exercise. However, we believe that antihypertensives or cholesterol-lowering medications should not be used as an interchangeable alternative to HRT, particularly for women seeking long-term heart and bone protection, increased energy, restored libido, and renewed mental clarity.
It is regrettable that various guidelines address hormone replacement in general terms, with all forms of "HRT" lumped together as if they were a single medication. In reality, women's experiences and clinical outcomes of HRT differ vastly depending on the dose, dosage form, and route of administration, and most importantly, whether the hormones are synthetic or bio-identical.
Copyright 2001, Storey Marketing - Monthly Website Updates. Reproduction prohibited without subscription from Storey Marketing (814-337-3441). Questions regarding this article should be directed to the compounding professionals at Harvest Drug & Gift.
