Unwanted side effects of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. The use of bioidentical hormones got a lot of press after Suzanne Somers Threes Company cast member and promoter of the Thigh. Master began touting them as an alternative to synthetic hormone replacement. I wholeheartedly agree that bioidentical hormones are preferable to synthetic hormone replacement therapy HRT. Recall the large experiment on the female population known as the Womens Health Initiative Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Trials. If you arent familiar with the results of that study, here is a summary provided by the National Institutes of Health Compared with the placebo, estrogen plus progestin resulted in Increased risk of heart attackIncreased risk of strokeIncreased risk of blood clotsIncreased risk of breast cancerReduced risk of colorectal cancerFewer fracturesNo protection against mild cognitive impairment and increased risk of dementia study included only women 6. Compared with the placebo, estrogen alone resulted in No difference in risk for heart attackIncreased risk of strokeIncreased risk of blood clotsUncertain effect for breast cancerNo difference in risk for colorectal cancerReduced risk of fractureFindings about memory and cognitive function are not yet available. Just because synthetic hormones come with proven risk, it seems that people have decided bioidentical hormones are totally fine to take. Find Best Buy Drugs from Consumer Reports Health. I really enjoyed your information It is wonderful to find likeminded practitioners out there. I work for alternative doctors in the Houston TX area and we treat. Learn more about different arthritis medications, including a description of each form, generic names, brand names, and information regarding specific types. Bioidentical hormones are crafted to be the exact molecular structure of the hormones your body produces. Synthetic hormones, on the other hand are not. Synthetic hormones are typically a bit different from the exact structure that your body makes because that way it can be patented by the manufacturer. Angry Birds Pc Game Download With Crackers. The purpose of this article is not necessarily to compare and contrast synthetic from bioidentical HRT but to alert you as to how the body responds when bioidentical and synthetic hormones are taken. Well, really to alert you on the downside consequences of taking ANY hormones. The physiology is simple and logical. It can be more in depth, but Ill focus on the basics. By the way, Im referring to the pathways of the most commonly replaced hormones, steroid e. DHEA, etc. and thyroid hormones. Most hormones work in the body via a negative feedback loop. This means that as the level of a hormone rises, a signal is mediated that ceases that hormones production and release in order to prevent the production of the hormone from getting out of control. VVLL/VVLL_LittleBig_1_PR_XL.jpg' alt='How Long For Vivelle Patch To Work' title='How Long For Vivelle Patch To Work' />REPLY. Lets begin with an example using thyroid hormone. The three main glands involved in thyroid hormone production are the hypothalamus, pituitary and thyroid. The hypothalamus releases thyroid releasing hormone TRH, which stimulates the pituitary gland to release thyroid stimulating hormone TSH, which in turn stimulates the thyroid gland to manufacture and release thyroid hormones thyroxine or T4 and triiodothyronine or T3. How Long For Vivelle Patch To Work' title='How Long For Vivelle Patch To Work' />Consumer ratings reports for CLIMARA. Includes 202 patient rankings on scale of 15, comments, side effects, dosage, sex, age, time taken. Page 1 of 4. Once the thyroid hormone begins to do its job throughout the body, production begins to decline, so as not to produce too many hormones. So, as the level of thyroid hormone increases, the levels of TRH and TSH decrease. Its called a negative feedback loop because the rise in hormone levels results in a decreased production as opposed to a positive feedback loop where a rise in hormone levels would produce an even greater rise in the level of that same hormone. The only example of a hormone that works on a positive feedback loop that I can think of is oxytocin. Because these hormones work this way, you may be able to guess what happens when you are exposed to i. Exogenous as opposed to endogenous refers to those taken in from outside the body, and can be any type of hormone. So, if you take a hormone, you can be sure that those negative feedback loops will still function as usual. The resultyour body stops or significantly slows its own production of these hormones. Whats wrong with that Eventually, youll be dependent on these hormones as your glands have gone to sleep, because someone else is doing their job. Its simply not necessary for the glands to have to do anything. So if you stop taking them, it may be extremely difficult to get your bodys own production back up to par. Now, considering people often take hormones because theyre not producing enough on their own in the first place, you can imagine how difficult it would be to begin the production process after taking exogenous hormones and suppressing your hormone production even further. Therefore, people usually become completely dependent on hormones, bioidentical or not. In general, as long as youre okay with taking a hormone for the rest of your life, there is no need to worry. However, most if not all of my patients shun that idea. The next issue is that of hormone receptor insensitivity. Generally speaking, each hormone docks into a receptor on its target cell. Its as if the receptor is the lock and the hormone is the key. Once the cell door opens, the hormone goes on to carry out its function usually turning on or off genes. The problem with bombarding the cells with large doses of a hormone is that eventually its as if the cell decides to change the lock on the door. The result is that it is harder and harder for the hormone to open the cell door, and therefore more and more of the hormone is needed each successive time you want to make an effect on the cellgenes. Its almost as if you need enough hormone to knock the cell door down, because it doesnt want to open. This is especially prevalent with the use of hormone creams usu. However, if you make no lifestyle changes it typically happens with any hormone. Thats why people on thyroid hormone often have to continue increasing the dose to get the same effect the same goes for those who take insulin. Have you ever known of diabetic or person with hypothyroidism except for autoimmune thyroid diseaseHashimotos that had to decrease their dose, without making lifestyle changes So, taking a hormone for the rest of your life may not even do the trick, especially insulin. You may be familiar with how well diabetics fare without changing their lifestyle, and continually increasing their doses of insulin. By the way, hormone receptor sites often run out of the vitamin and minerals that are necessary to allow them to function properly, due to the constant bombardment of hormones they are subject to in these cases. This is not to say that no one should be on HRT, bioidentical or synthetic. There is a time and place for everything. And when these hormones are necessary, they can be miraculous. The big question is When are they necessaryThats a debatable issue and can certainly vary between individuals. So I am not absolutely against HRT, though I definitely prefer bioidentical over synthetic when possible. The point Im trying to get across is that I wouldnt recommend anyone start with HRT, unless they are in a very unmanageable state. In these instances, one option may be to start with HRT to prime the pump and then eventually wean off them. Unfortunately, with all the books written about HRT and the attention it gets these days, many people and doctors go straight for hormones with or without lab tests. Dont get me wrong, chances are youll feel like a million bucks if you take hormones that you are deficient in, or insensitive to.