We Lose Any Grip on Feeling "Normal" Without Hormones

Without hormones or imbalanced hormones, we lose any grip on feeling "normal." Without hormones, life quality is greatly diminished. Without hormones, a woman is at her weakest physically. Without hormones, disease is allowed to proliferate because the brain perceives that the body is no longer reproductive; therefore, nature wants to "eliminate" you to make way for those who are healthy and reproductive..

. Loss of hormones is not to be taken lightly. Having no hormones is like having bad premenstrual syndrome (PMS) every day of your life. You are not in control of your emotions, nor are you in control of the cruel physical manifestations of the loss of hormones. Couple this with the stress of having and fighting cancer, and (to me) it doesn't make sense to be without hormones..

. You see, we may have changed with the passing of time, but the biology inside us has not. Nature has a job to do, and the brain was hard-wired at the beginning of time and doesn't know anything else. A healthy woman is hormonally balanced. We can't "out think" nature. This never works, no matter how hard we try to come up with something better..

. Women remain confused about hormones and in some cases terrified of hormone replacement; one day, headlines in the newspapers praise hormone replacement therapy (HRT); the next day, the headlines are screaming that HRT will kill us..

. The truth is, despite the widespread use of synthetic hormone brands such as Premarin and Provera, these drugs have always been associated with cancer. The first cancer linked with synthetic hormone replacement was cancer of the uterus lining (endometrium)..

. The most recent resurfacing of the negatives associated with synthetic hormones and cancer came from a government-sponsored study titled the Women's Health Initiative. This study was supposed to last 8.5 years, but it was stopped after only 5.2 years because the risks of using Premarin and Provera outweighed the benefits. Breast cancer was just one of the increased risks discovered. Additionally, the study concluded that synthetic hormone replacement therapy protects neither your bones nor your heart. Ironically, bone and heart protection were two of the primary benefits once used by doctors as selling points to get women to fill their prescriptions for these drugs..

. The Women's Health Initiative Study hoped to show decreases in:.

. breast cancer.

. stroke.

. pulmonary embolism.

. colorectal cancer.

. endometrial cancer.

. hip fracture.

. death due to any cause.

. The actual outcome results were shocking:.

. 29 percent increase in coronary heart disease.

. 41 percent increase in strokes.

. 22 percent increase in cardiovascular disease.

. 2,100 percent (yes, this is correct) increase in pulmonary embolism—lung blood clots.

. 26 percent increase in breast cancer.

. So much for synthetic hormones! These statistics alone should convince you right away of the negative effects of these so-called synthetic hormones..

. Those of us who were on the original birth control pills for any length of time were actually on synthetic hormones- strong synthetic hormones. Any wonder why women of our generation are under siege from an epidemic of breast and ovarian cancers?.

. Read on and see if you relate to my scenario: As I said, for 22 years, I was on synthetic birth control pills, the original ones that were very strong. I even manipulated my periods with them, if I didn't want to have a period on a particular weekend. I just didn't realize what was in those birth control pills, nor did I understand the dangers of messing with nature..

. I did not realize that having only a two-day bleed meant that I was not ovulating fully. At the time, I thought it was great to have such a light period. I did not realize that the importance of ovulation in the human female body is to let the brain know that I was well, healthy, and reproductive. As far as my brain was concerned, I was not reproductive because I was not fully ovulating. An ovulating woman is a reproductive woman..

. To believe that the body is not fully ovulating is a dangerous assumption for the brain to make. If the brain perceives us as unable to reproduce, its job, biologically speaking, is to try to eliminate us to make room for the reproductive ones. This is the nature in us. This is the template that was programmed in us from ancient times. Thus, this hormonal imbalance that I unknowingly put myself in was creating a backdrop for cancer. Why? Because we all have cancer in us, but as long as we are hormonally balanced, the brain perceives us as young, strong, and healthy. If we become imbalanced, this signals to the brain that the reproductive system is no longer in working order, and it is in this scenario that the cancer has a chance to come into being..

. You see, cancer proliferates in an environment of hormonal imbalance. This is why I believe that Western medicine's standard of care, well-meaning as it is, is treating us incorrectly. Western medicine is looking at everything except the obvious. Western medicine is trying to poison the cancer out of us, further wreaking havoc with our hormonal systems..

. Then, to prevent recurrence, we are given hormone ablation drugs such as tamoxifen or Femara, which interfere with the body's ability to read the hormones in some parts of the body. Plus, for many women these drugs cause horrible side effects. To me, it doesn't make sense to take any drug that prevents new hormones from being made in our bodies or to kill off any of the little bit of hormones we might have left. Why has Western medicine been trying to out think nature? We are given fake hormones that don't replicate exactly what our bodies make naturally, and doctors are expecting them to work in the same way or better. It hasn't worked. Look around. Are the women you know doing well from midlife on? Most everyone has complaints, from mild to severe. No wonder women are in such bad shape..

. Once you understand the importance of your brain perceiving the body as reproductive—our "brain template"—it will be easier for you to make decisions for yourself..

. Read more: Excerpt from Ageless The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones by Suzanne Somer

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. Call my office in Lombard (630) 627-3700 to set up an appointment or email me at jones.gretchen@gmail.com

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. hormone replacement therapy, hormone imbalance, women to women, bodylogicmd, hormone replacement after hysterectomy, bioidentical hormones, HRT, women's health, men's health, TS Wiley, The Wiley Protocol

What are Hormones, How do Hormones Communicate?.

Hormones carry messages from glands to cells to maintain chemical levels in the bloodstream that achieve homeostasis. "Hormone" comes from a word that means, "to spur on." This reflects how the presence of hormones acts as a catalyst for other chemical changes at the cellular level necessary for growth, development, and energy..

As members of the endocrine system, glands manufacture hormones. Hormones circulate freely in the bloodstream, waiting to be recognized by a target cell, their intended destination. The target cell has a receptor that can only be activated by a specific type of hormone. Once activated, the cell knows to start a certain function within its walls. Genes might get activated, or energy production resumed. As special categories, autocrine hormones act on the cells of the secreting gland, while paracrine hormones act on nearby, but unrelated, cells. Email me for more info at jones.gretchen@gmail.com..

There are two types of hormones known as steroids and peptides. In general, steroids are sex hormones related to sexual maturation and fertility. Steroids are made from cholesterol either by the placenta when we're in the womb, or by our adrenal gland or gonads (testes or ovaries) after birth. Cortisol, an example of a steroid hormone, breaks down damaged tissue so it can be replaced. Steroids determine physical development from puberty on to old age, as well as fertility cycles. If we are not synthesizing the correct steroidal hormones, we can replenish what is missing with cyclic hormone therapy with estrogen and progesterone..

Peptides regulate other functions such as sleep and sugar concentration. They are made from long strings of amino acids, so sometimes they are referred to as "protein" hormones. Growth hormone, for example, helps us burn fat and build up muscles. Another peptide hormone, insulin, starts the process to convert sugar into cellular energy..

Hormones so perfectly and efficiently manage homeostasis due to negative feedback cycles. Our goal is to keep the concentration of a certain chemical, such as testosterone, at a constant level for a certain period of time, the way that a thermostat works. Using negative feedback, a change in conditions causes a response that returns the conditions to their original state. When a room's temperature drops, the thermostat responds by turning the heat on. The room returns to the ideal temperature, and the heater turns off, keeping the condition constant. Our pituitary hormones FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) and LH (luteinizing hormone) regulate estrogen levels and the release of the egg from the ovaries and then progesterone can be released from the corpus luteum. In males, LH has a different role, producing testosterone from males Leydig cells in the testes..

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Call my office in Lombard (630) 627-3700 to set up an appointment or email me at jones.gretchen@gmail.com hormone replacement therapy, hormone imbalance, women to women, bodylogicmd, hormone replacement after hysterectomy, bioidentical hormones, HRT, women's health, men's health, TS Wiley, The Wiley Protocol

Brain Function and Estrogen

A study conducted at the University of Southern California demonstrated that estrogen promotes the growth of those essential neurons in the brain's hippocampus that are critical to memory function. Scientists there created a hippocampal campus in a petri dish, inducing these cells from the memory center to set up housekeeping in the USC lab. They then squirted conjugated equine estrogens (CEEs or Premarin) on the nerve cell colonies and watched the results under a videomicroscope.

The cells literally bristled with excitement. The addition of estrogen juice significantly increased the number of dendrites or outgrowths of the cell membranes which are known to be cellular markers of memory formation. Dendrites hook-up with other neurons to form new connections, a process that promotes brain 'plasticity' or the ability to learn new material and make new associations. In other words, the same cellular events that occur in the hippocampus of the brain during memory formation happened in these brain cell cultures when estrogen was added.

When I see patients going through the menopausal transition, I not only inquire about hot flashes, night sweats, and the quality of their sleep, I also ask "How's your mood?" and "How's your memory?". The lack of estrogen affects women differently, some struggling far more than others in a brain function sense. I think the problems with verbal memory and executive functioning (starting a multi-step task and completing it successfully) along with the increase in anxiety and depression that can accompany falling estrogen levels are too often not addressed in women of age.

RePost:Hypoestrogen, What is that

Women of all ages can have hypoestrogen. Hypoestrogen is when levels of cycling estrogen falls below the normal range of 150 pg/ml to 550 pg/ml. The symptoms are felt by women in many ways. And every woman knows when “the change” happens. Some women even know when slight changes begin to occur. Even the women who are lucky enough to never experience a hot flash often have probably experienced one of the following other hypoestrogen symptoms: heart palpitations, insomnia, mood swings, joint aches, headaches, fatigue, low libido, vaginal dryness, bloating, skin dryness, brain fog….just to name a few.

When just a few symptoms began to occur with me at age 42, I was NOT thinking it was from hypoestrogen. I knew that to be “menopause” and I was still cycling every 28 days having a 3-4 day period and just had two babies 15 months apart. When my doctor told me I should start on beta blockers to control my anxiety feelings and onset of heart palpitations, I decided to dig really deep and figure out what was causing the changes in my body to occur. I knew these changes came out of no where started to occur shortly after my last pregnancy at age 41. At that time my estrogen level was 48 pg/ml. I didn’t know much about fractionating the estradiol out of the estrogen total at that time. I didn’t know what the significance was about timing the cycling and checking blood. I didn’t know that fluctuations in estrogen can be pretty significant just days apart in a cycle. I also didn’t realize that if estrogen wasn’t peaking and I wasn’t ovulating I was not getting any progesterone and therefore had cycles with unopposed estrogen.

I’ve been treating women who have hypoestrogen levels and have seen the dramatic changes that occur when estrogen and progesterone are replaced in a cyclic dosing schedule and reach their individual therapeutic range in the blood serum. Like I said earlier, estrogen peaks around 350-550 pg/ml and is around 100-150 pg/ml on baseline days. Progesterone peaks around 10-15 ng/ml and is around 2-5 ng/ml on baseline days. Hormones that are too low cause symptoms that women feel and experience. They are real symptoms.

How long would you replace your thyroid if you were hypothyroid? I believe you would say forever. Well, I say that is how long we should replace our estrogen and progesterone if we have hypoestrogen. The results are amazing. It’s easier to replace hormones when receptors are still present and active. But, it is never too late. I have patients who are doing amazingly well that are in their late 70’s. I also have patients as young as 19 whose symptoms are resolved dramatically using bioidentical hormones in cyclic dosing and the results cannot even compare to that of traditional care, which is oral birth control pills (synthetic estrogen and synthetic progestins) given in static doses using low amounts of hormones. I know many women who cannot stand how they feel on the pill. Maybe some women don’t even realize that it is the pill causing some of the symptoms they experience.

Women can change the standard of care. My goal is to educate women and then we have a choice what we want to do with that information. We cycle. Let’s keep on cycling.

Hypoestrogen, What is that Call my office in Lombard (630) 627-3700 to set up an appointment or email me at jones.gretchen@gmail.com hormone replacement therapy, hormone imbalance, women to women, bodylogicmd, hormone replacement after hysterectomy, bioidentical hormones, HRT, women's health, men's health, TS Wiley, The Wiley Protocol

So Many Changes Since Starting Hormones Almost a Decade Ago

I haven’t written in a while any new posts on hormone therapy. I have now been doing cyclic hormone therapy personally since the end of 2007 and I wanted to document all that has change since then.

Before starting therapy, I was not able to sleep unless I took high doses of Ambien or Xanax and even with those medications, I never felt rested in the morning. Instead, I still felt groggy and drugged. I have not used a sleeping medication for three years (after 9 months of weaning off Ambien and Xanax by the way, not easy stuff to get off of) and I sleep so soundly that some days I sleep through my alarm clock. That NEVER happened since I was a kid. In my late 30’s and early 40’s sleep was not my friend. Since starting hormones, I can sleep again.

No more heart palpitations. No more joint aches. My skin looks amazingly clear and fresh. I bring that up, because before hormone therapy I was constantly going to the dermatologist for plumper injections and products to help with my complexion because my skin looked so dead.

My skin is firm and moist. I am able to lose weight when I diet and eat right. Prior, I could eat like a bird and I still had the roll around my hips. That roll doesn’t exist and my abdomen is flat.

Hormones replaced how your body uses these hormones is essential. Don’t let standard of care medicine scare you about your own hormones. Disease state and decline in health start to occur when we begin to lose our hormones. You have options and a choice. Hormones do not CAUSE cancer, Hormones CONTROL cells. Repair of cells can only occur if your body has the right ingredients to repair those cells.

The people I love dearly are on hormone therapy so that we can be healthy together as we age. We all realize we are not going to live forever, however, the quality of your life should matter to you as you age.

I encourage you to get your hormone levels checked and monitor them. I recommend checking a Fractionated Estrogen level (estradiol and estrone ultrasensitive) on a Day 12 of your menstrual cycle, if you are still having periods. I also check FSH on that day. Normal levels should be around 350-500 pg/ml on average of ESTRADIOL, and less for ESTRONE. Normal for FSH on that day is 4-6 miu/ml.

I started hormone therapy when my estradiol was 48 pg/ml and my FSH was 4.8. Today my estradiol is between 500-800 pg/ml on day 12 and my FSH is around 6.

Call my office 847-325-5110 to schedule an appointment or email me at crtconnect@gmail.com hormone replacement therapy, hormone imbalance, women to women, bodylogicmd, hormone replacement after hysterectomy, bioidentical hormones, HRT, women's health, men's health, TS Wiley, The Wiley Protocol