How & Why Your Hormones Can Be Responsible For Your Symptoms
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Many of my clients have complained of fatigue, low energy, problems with intimacy, weight and sleep problems. Although this seems like a broad based laundry list, in reality they can all be related to a specific root problem.
The list of problems manifesting with these symptoms is large but I wanted to focus on how and why your hormonal status can be responsible for some, if not all of these symptoms.
Also, what are bioidentical hormones, how can bioidentical hormones play a role in achieving optimal health, and why even consider bio-identical hormones over other types of hormonal therapy.
Our hormones are produced in the endocrine system. This system is a series of glands secreting chemicals which act as a messenger system. When these chemicals attach to specific receptors in your body, they regulate distant target organs like your thyroid, testes, ovaries, and adrenal glands.
As you get older these hormones deplete and the organs they affect stop working optimally, this results in what people see and often complain about: decreased muscle mass, strength, energy, vitality and poor recovery from physical activity and injuries.
Any conversation about achieving optimal health due to hormonal issues should start by focusing on the toxic exposures in your environment that are contributing to this altered and non-ideal state. Endocrine disruptors as the term suggests are things like:
Chemicals - Fluorides in the water supply and toothpaste, bromides in food, cleaning products, pentices, herbicides.
Electromagnetic Forces - sometimes also called “dirty electricity” (eg. 5G, powerlines, Wi-Fi, microwave ovens and security screening at airports, etc.)
Certain foods like soy are powerful phytoestrogens and definitely have a negative impact in men, and the unopposed estrogenic effect can increase the risk of cancer in women with familial proclivities
non-organic foods treated with pesticides, herbicides or contaminated soil they are grown in.
Air pollutants
Radiation
These environmental factors all play roles in disrupting the normal function of our organs.
Testosterone levels drop in men and yes, estrogen and progesterone levels drop in women but just as importantly, testosterone levels dropping in women can negatively impact womens’ sense of well being.
Men begin losing testosterone in their late 20s and early 30s. Women begin losing progesterone in their 30s and estrogen in their 40s.
There is a difference in how people feel when their hormone levels are deemed at the acceptable level by local lab reference ranges or by federal standards and how they feel when their hormones are at an optimal level.
It's at the optimal levels that people feel at their best and revitalized.
On top of the lower standards already set for acceptable levels of hormones, there is also a continuing downtrend in hormone levels societally. What is important here is that:
On average, Sex Hormones diminish 1-2% per year starting at age 30 and people lose 1-2% muscle mass/year. Often this is where unwanted weight gain occurs.
The normal range being established by a statistical means has nothing to do with achieving optimal health and improving your sense of well-being.
Menopause and Andropause affect and mood. Hormone optimization often stabilizes mood and affect and can often obviate the need for any discussion for anti-anxiety or antidepressant medication.
Testosterone increases lean muscle mass and decreases fat and this is not just in males. In men and in women, appropriately optimized testosterone increases libido, energy, mental clarity and quality of sleep.
Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder is a syndrome associated with poor mental health, social functioning, vitality and emotional fulfillment
Even if you are struggling emotionally, if the physical drive is there through hormone optimization it can often help you overcome the emotional and mental challenges.
Testosterone- Decreased testosterone leads to weight gain and replacing it optimally will help lose weight and increase muscle mass but weight can go up. With diet and exercise, for which you will have more energy to pursue, even if there is weight gain there is still a more favorable body composition.
Estrogen is the hormone of sensuality. It usually declines starting in the 40s and into menopause. Symptoms from declining levels can cause symptoms like vaginal dryness, hot flashes, night sweats.
Estrogens need to be balanced with progesterone to help prevent uterine wall thickening, shedding but also because women notice improved sleep, decreased anxiety, decreased inflammation, joint movement, and it’s a natural diuretic (decreased bloating). It's often called the “Happy Hormone”.
Unopposed or unbalanced estrogen supplementation should be rare but optimization of hormones is based on results from purpose driven testing.
What does Bio-Identical mean?
It's made from plants and is molecularly converted to be identical to your own natural hormones.
When you hear the words Synthetic hormones, this is referring to non-Bio-Identical/Pharmaceutical grade hormones. These have been tied to increased side effects likely due to lack of homology (only 6-9% homology) with your native hormones making the body treat it as a foreign substance. The Women’s Initiative showed PREMPRO, Premarin had a higher than expected incidence for cancer, blood clots, strokes, heart attacks.
This has rightly created some hesitation for use of Bio-Identical hormones but a 10 year study of 976 women did not show an increased risk for the problems seen in the synthetic hormone group and other micro studies continue to suggest no increased risk.
Bio-Identical hormones come in pellets implanted under the skin and replaced every 3-4 months. The hormones are slowly absorbed through the skin. This is the most popular form due to convenience. There are also oral forms, pills, creams and injections.
Bio-identical hormones are not regulated by the FDA but are regulated by the Pharmaceutical Compounding Boards which are state based.
Although optimized hormone levels with bio identical hormones make you feel like you are in your prime.
It is important to say that the root cause of all people’s symptoms should be sought understanding that hormone imbalance can be the only problem but more often is one of a few reasons why people are not feeling that energy and vitality that they deserve.
This is why it is important that people develop a personalized health plan that is guided by purpose driven testing to help lens out the root causes of how you feel before you commit to Bio-Identical Hormone therapy.
The real goal at WPR medical is to restore optimal health, reduce medications, and prevent surgery. If you would like to learn more… Please join our Facebook Group, Instagram, or subscribe to our Youtube channel.
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