“My hormones are out of whack and it’s screwing my body up.””I must be going through menopause, I can’t keep the weight off.””I don’t even eat that much anymore yet all I do is get fatter and fatter.”

“I’m waking up at 2:11AM and can’t go back to sleep”

“I’m exhausted and get mad at the drop of the hat.”

‘Must be my hormones”

Are these excuses or are they reality? What if you’re in your early to mid-forties and truly pre-menopausal (peri-menopausal)? What if you’re in your early twenties and thirties suffering symptoms that mimic menopause- could it be that you really do need natural hormone replacement therapy – bioidentical hormones?

Finally, where can you learn the truth about natural hormone replacement therapy – bioidentical hormones, when or how to begin and at what age?

There are many reasons women might be suffering from menopause symptoms and need to have their hormones balanced. Unfortunately, we live in a time in the US where our air, water and food are full of toxins and the burden of this to our bodies is often more than it can easily handle. Our beef and poultry are fed high levels of hormones for rapid growth and chickens are routinely fed arsenic to kill parasites. Rises in air and water purifiers’ sales and organic food consumption are a testimony to these events.

Eating meats full of hormones is believed to be one of the main factors in the premature development of young girls and why others seem to start suffering some menopause symptoms earlier than expected or symptoms seem more severe than what their mother experienced.

The picture gets further complicated when age cannot be used as a simple determinant.  I recently helped a woman that started early menopause at the age of 22. Age alone cannot always help with a diagnosis. Symptoms alone don’t always help, either, since the symptoms of thyroid and adrenal difficulties include fatigue, anxiety, hair thinning, dry skin, moodiness, and irritability. Those very same symptoms are related to stress as well.

Things can get even more confusing when the patient is a fitness enthusiast or competitor. Some women who over train stop having periods which may result in hormonal imbalances that affects the adrenals, the ovaries, thyroid and even bone loss can be deleterious. The old school of thought was that women only had a need for additional hormones after hysterectomy or menopause but today’s woman faces so many complex issues across the lifespan that there is often a need for professional health guidance for hormonal balance.   Just as a woman personalizes her diet and exercise regime, to achieve the results she’s looking for, she also needs to be professionally guided to develop her own hormonal balance.

More and more women are experiencing these symptoms at a younger age and many are looking for information and solutions that are natural and not synthetic hormone drugs.

If you have been considering natural hormone replacement therapy - bio-identical hormones or other natural solutions to handle your symptoms…



WHAT YOU CAN DO

Here’s some information about the different tests that are available to check your hormone levels and some tips to get started on the road to a healthier self.

The first step is to find a knowledgeable practitioner who can work with you consistently. There are many reasons that an imbalance in your hormone levels could be causing you to suffer and each woman is unique.

Some of the things that could be affecting your hormone levels are stressed adrenals, a toxic liver, your thyroid and more. The toxins in our food, water and air as well as food allergies can put a lot of physical stress on our bodies. Your practitioner will carefully evaluate you and design a personalized program specifically for you.

The second step is to have initial body system evaluation testing to determine your hormone levels. The hormones you want to make sure any test covers are: Estrogen, Testosterone, Progesterone, DHEA, and Cortisol. Others may be considered depending on your personalized program.

Measuring the balance of the different estrogens in the body is also a consideration to be evaluated. These three estrogens that the body makes are called Estradiol, Estrone, and Estriol.

Currently, there are three types of tests used to test your hormone levels: blood, saliva, and urine.

1) The blood or serum test is a “snapshot” of what hormones are available in what quantities to the tissues at the moment in time the blood is drawn. The test looks at the “reservoir” of what is there to be used. Many hormones are in the packed cells of the blood and are not easily measured.

The hormones in the body are very responsive to the bodies needs and fluctuate many times throughout the day and night. If you experience stress during the day your hormone levels change. A “snapshot” type of test may not reflect this.

2) The saliva test is easy to collect, just spit! The saliva collection may be done one “snapshot” time in the morning, or it may be ordered 3 times a month every 10 days at the same time or the order may call for collecting it 4-6 times one day which will give the practitioner cortisol levels as well.

The saliva test reflects directly the amount of hormones that are found free in the body and those that are available to help with symptoms.

There are some drawbacks to this test: hot beverages, certain foods, medications, taken before the test can interfere with results as well as chewing gum, sugar in gums, or blood in the saliva from periodontal disease. Taking sublingual hormones can give false high saliva hormone levels. Your practitioner should provide you with the necessary instructions for this test.

3) The urine test is usually a 24-hour urine collection. This has been the gold standard of some very astute scientists for many years. It measures the output in the urine of all of the above hormones and more over a period of 24 hours. Twenty-four hour collection is reflective of what hormones the body produced and utilized throughout the day and night.

This test measures the by-products of hormone metabolism, which can give a more accurate picture of how the body is using and converting the hormones that are being produced or given. This test is a little more work but gives more detailed information.

You and your practitioner should talk about these tests and decide which test is right for you.

Other tests that may be recommended as part of the body systems evaluation include a basic blood panel and a different type of urine test to measure bone loss.

The basic blood panel will reflect your complete blood count, thyroid, cholesterol, liver function and metabolic profile. All systems in the body need to work together to function correctly. This test helps tell the body story and is an integral part of your hormone picture.

During this first visit your practitioner will start to design your personalized program and will be able to make recommendations of things you can start doing immediately to help your symptoms. This, of course, depends on the individual patient as results do vary.

Something you can do on an immediate basis no matter what age you are is to try eating more organic foods and take an amino acid nutritional supplement called BioBuilde from BodyHealth found at www.biobuilde.com. It contains all the essential amino acids for optimum protein synthesis and greatly helps with hormone balance.   It is 100% absorbed and 99% utilized to build body proteins and provides 400% more protein than eggs or meat with less than 1 calorie per serving, which really helps with weight loss.

These are the first steps to take in getting the hormone levels balanced and feeling better about your self again. We hope this helps you to get started on that road.

Susan Gregoire, M.N.,A.R.N.P and Certified Functional Medicine Menopause Counselor specializes in these and other questions in her practice at the LifeWorks Wellness Center in Clearwater, FL. For more information about these tests, your hormone levels and what can adversely affect them visit www.lifeworkswellnesscenter.com or call 727-466-6789