The Dangers of Traditional (Non Bioidentical) Hormone Therapy
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A couple of years ago, hormone replacement therapy (HRT) prescribed as premarin and progestin was the wonder treatment that promised to alleviate the serious side effects of menopause: everything from insomnia to hot flashes to lack of sex drive. But in 2002, a study to determine if the therapy could reduce risk for heart disease was discontinued when women began experiencing blood clots, stroke, and heart attacks. The women were also at a higher risk – 26% - of developing breast cancer. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute did a follow-up study on the women who participated in the research. After three years off the drug, which was a combination of premarin and progestin, the women’s risk for heart disease was no longer heightened, but the breast cancer risk was still prevalent. The women who had taken the premarin-progestin drugs had a 27% greater chance of developing breast cancer than the women in the placebo group. One should rightly conclude that premarin, which comes from horse urine, and progestin, which is similar to progesterone but not the same, are not a good idea to take for menopausal symptoms.
This does not mean that Bioidentical hormone therapy is unhealthy! Premarin is NOT the same as human estrogen anymore than anabolic steroids that pro athletes take are the same as human testosterone. There are hundreds of studies proving the safety and benefits of Bioidentical hormones prescribed to women (and men) who are deficient and who are monitored by a physician for optimal levels and to watch for side effects.
Source:
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-hormone5mar05,1,1167180.story...
Hormone replacement
Hello Dr. Clair,
Let me start out with that I really like your website. I read through the articles and I admire your philosophy on life and living: both emotionally and physically.
My comment is more of a question about the safety of hormone replacement and the incident of cancer.
I find in my search for answers that this topic is "hot" with people having strong opinions either for or against.
It seems that in "Health" news for the general public that bioidentical hormones are on the danger list.
I am aware that the "Health" news that the public gets is usually controlled by people who aren't always looking toward our bottom line best interest.
I am a woman in my early 40's and I have no signs of menopause. I have a close friend who is 45 y/o who has recently confided in me that she is on hormone replacement (bioidentical). She said that although she had no signs of *traditional menopause, she had been noticing changes in her skin tone and texture. I have noticed and commented that her skin looked great and she would just attribute it to her make-up...well she finally confessed to me. I can see a visible difference, she looks younger: she looks younger than me!
She gave me some basic information on what she is doing, how that the levels of Estrogen and Progesterone have to be in balance for safety against forming a cancer of any kind.
What is the statistic for acquirring a malignancy after using Hormone replacement?
How difficult is it to balance Estrogen/Progesterone. How often do you suggest getting your blood levels checked?
I feel that I am at the age that I need to educate myself, to protect myself and to assure aging as healthy as possible. I would appreciate your opinion.
Thank you.
E.S.
It is confusing
to most people, doctors included, whether or not hormones are safe and if they are truly beneficial. I understand you're uneasiness about taking hormones because of all the confusion. Thank you for bringing this topic up.
The basis for much of the confusion stems from the tendency of scientists and doctors as well as the media to confuse natural, bioidentical hormones that you're own body makes and the unnatural, synthetic hormones that pharmaceutical companies sell. You see, the vast majority of large scale studies conducted to look into the benefits and dangers of hormone therapy have used synthetic hormones (premarin and progestin) and not bioidentical hormones (estradiol and progesterone). That is fine, what is not ok is the generalization of the findings of the studies to represent the effects of all (synthetic and bioidentical) hormones. Saying that premarin is the same as estradiol is like saying an almond is the same as a peanut-yes, they are both nuts, but they taste quite different and some people are allergic to peanuts.What the large studies have shown is that premarin (not estradiol) and progestin (not progesterone) may help alleviate menopausal symptoms and premarin alone does help protect against heart disease, but the combination does not protect against cancer or heart disease.
Unfortunately, there are not the same large scale studies done with natural hormones. The reason for this stems from the fact that they are natural and unpatentable and as a result, no pharmaceutical company can make a profit from them and therefore, quite understandably, they will not waste shareholders' money conducting a study on natural hormones. Smaller studies done with natural hormones and studies from outside the US do show benefits of natural hormones in terms of overall health as well as the benefits to the skin that you noted.
I do not mean to say that there is not risk to taking bioidentical hormones, there is, but it is less than the risks of taking synthetic hormones. Even more importantly, the risks of not taking hormones is greater than the risks of taking them. Women are much more likely to die of heart disease (which estrogens help protect against) than breast cancer (which unbalanced estrogen can promote) so by taking bioidentical estrogen in the form of estradiol, women decrease their overall premature mortality risk and feel better, have a sharper brain, and healthier looking skin as well. In terms of decreasing cancer risks, it is important to have balanced hormone levels so it is important to take hormones under the care of an experienced MD, to always balance estrogen with progesterone and have levels checked every three months, and to be proactive about your health. This means eating well, maintaining a healthy weight, managing stress, exercising regularly, and getting regular check ups including infrared thermography-an FDA approved screening test for breast cancer that involves no damaging radiation, and can detect abnormalities years earlier than traditional mammography.
I hope I have addressed your concerns, Elizabeth, please feel free to reply with any other comments or questions.