I'm part way through a huge book by Jonathan Wright and Lane Lenoard on bio identical hormones and it's a real eye opener. Whilst the big drug companies have the huge budgets to push the sale of horse hormones, they have very little interest in bio-identicals because they can't patent them. That said, despite the lack of the multi million pound spends, this hasn't stopped the research, a lot of which has been carried out in Europe where the use of bios is much more widespread. There are a wealth of studies that also investigate the role of progesterone on our bodies, and the benefits this has on insomnia, depression, oestrogen related blood clots and bone density to name just a few. (Check out the PEPI study of 875 women, which used saw gains in bone density against a placebo group when progesterone or even progestin was used).
The term "bioidentical hormones" is really a term that shouldn't be used because it has different meanings in different countries. In countries like USA, Canada, and Australia it means compounded hormones, which most menopause experts don't advocate. Bioidentical is actually a non-scientific term, and most regular doctors don't use it. It is a term that has been adopted by the alternate medical community to try to convince women that it is the only way of getting “natural†hormones, and this is totally untrue.
The people who advocate compounded hormones (and it sounds like that is what the authors of the book you mentioned are doing) always seem to push this lie that drug companies don't use "bioidenticals" because they can't be patented, and this is not correct. They are just playing into the insecurities and confusion of women who are suffering the effects of menopause.
Drug companies already manufacture "bioidentical" hormones in the form of patches, gels, pills and capsules and they are prescribed as estradiol and progesterone by a regular doctor and dispensed by a regular pharmacist. This is something that these compounded hormone advocates always neglect to say, despite the evidence. They always just refer to the equine estrogen and progestin HRTs, without acknowledging that there are other natural types of HRT readily available.
In some cases, companies will even prescribe these compounded hormones over the phone/internet without you ever sitting face to face with a doctor. The treatment will be based on a saliva test which is even more unreliable than a blood test. Most doctors don't even bother with a blood test because of its unreliability. In my early stages of menopause I investigated one of these companies, and it was going to cost me in excess of $100 per month to get some creams posted to me, but I never actually got to talk to the doctor prescribing them. This was also about 4 years ago, so I'm sure it would be more expensive now. They seem to be able to get around the non-doctor thing because they aren't specifically regarded as “medicationâ€.
Some other ladies have mentioned the book by Dr Elizabeth Vliet called "Screaming to be Heard", and IMO that would be a far better book for you to read than the one you are reading. It can be a bit heavy going in places, I will admit that I haven't read it cover to cover, by it is a very good reference book if you need to know something.
Of course women should be free to use whatever treatments they want in menopause, but they should always make their choice after they know ALL the information, and not just go by the purposely skewed information given by these advocates of compounded hormone treatments. These are just a few of the downsides.
• Compounded hormones are expensive to buy
• It has been found that some doctors prescribe compounded hormones either because they get kickbacks from the compounding pharmacy, or they themselves own the compounding pharmacy
• No studies have confirmed that using progesterone topically (ie as a cream rubbed on the skin) will sufficiently oppose the estradiol/estrogen to protect the uterine lining
• These hormone creams are made in a private compounding pharmacy so there is no overall quality control, and it has been found that incorrect ingredients and quantities have been used
These are just also a few links to recognised medical experts/sites that don't support compounded hormones.
http://www.studd.co.uk/bioidentical_hormones.phphttp://www.menopause.org/publications/clinical-practice-materials/bioidentical-hormone-therapy/compounded-bioidentical-hormones-what%27s-the-harm-http://www.menopause.org.au/for-women/information-sheets/34-bioidentical-hormones-for-menopausal-symptomshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XfpAATJkC8
Author
Topic: Can anyone give me a chemistry lesson? (Read 44571 times)