Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

By admin | September 13, 2011 - 1:41 pm | Articles

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a rather general term that can mean interconnected concepts of the use of bioidentical or natural hormones in a therapy. It could also mean the compounding and manufacturing of drugs, or testing hormonal levels in blood and other body fluids, or the activities that aim to correct levels of hormone in the body including the side effects of a certain hormone being administered. To suffice it up, BHRT is the entire process of diagnosing the hormonal imbalance, prescribing of the right hormone to address deficit, administering the hormone correctly and the supervision of the side and adverse effects of the therapy.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy or BHRT is often used but not limited for female clients who are already in the menopause stage. The purpose is to prevent hormonal imbalance as a result of the depletion or total lost of hormones from inadequacy or complete halt of the functions of the ovaries. Hormones affected by menopause are estrogens and progesterone. Because progesterone is also a precursor of estrogen, progesterone is often replaced in the therapy to prevent a cascade of hormonal imbalance that could mean the rise of many other conditions.
Many conditions are being addressed by bioidentical hormone replacement therapy while bringing comforts in the following way: maintenance of the secretory endometrium, protection against fibrocystic breasts, facilitates utilization of fat for energy, acting as natural diuretic, mood enhancer, promotes thyroid hormone action, normalize blood clotting, blood sugar levels, and zinc and copper levels. Other effects are preventing breast cancer by regulating and counteracting the effects of estrogen, prevention of osteoporosis by simulating osteoblastic activities for bone building, modulation of other hormones to recreate balance, restores sex drive, and promotion of sleep. Hormone therapy with estrogen is also found out to have protective effect on the brain tissue thus, preventing neuro damage when administer shortly after a traumatic brain injury.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is not only for a woman whoâ??s menopause but to individuals as well who have acute or chronic conditions that requires hormone replacement. It usually happens on cases when one endocrine or exocrine organ is removed resulting to permanent loss of organ function including the production or storage of hormones. Before engaging into this therapy you must first submit yourself into a physicianâ??s check up to run through some laboratory checks if you are fit enough or identify if thereâ??d be any conditions you have contraindicated for the therapy.

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European Menopause and Andropause Society - Wikipedia the free ...
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Benefits of Natural Progesterone

By admin | September 12, 2011 - 7:39 pm | Articles

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Our body in order to sustain life and healthy being is carried by a number of organ and system functions. These functions must also be performed and sustained moderately to maintain balance and optimum behavior. This job of regulating body processes is controlled by chemicals called hormone. Hormones are released by cells or glands in one part of the body that carry out messages to affect cells in other parts of the organism. Hormones are so powerful that only a small amount of it is required to alter cell functioning. Our body produces a number of active hormones and one of which is natural progesterone. What is it and what are the benefits of natural progesterone?
Like other major body hormones, there are a number of significant tasks carried out by progesterone. Progesterone is present both in male and female and performs different activities in the body, but its primal role in maintaining pregnancy made it known as the hormone of pregnancy although it is also present in ovulating but non-conceiving women. Generally this hormone has well established functions in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy and embryonic development of humans and other species. The benefits of natural progesterone being produced in the body especially in women makes this hormone essential in keeping a good health, and when it secretion halts, there may be some need for hormonal replacement therapy.
Although progesterone is not directly involved in the development of secondary sex characteristics, it is a precursor of androstenedione which can be converted to testosterone, estrone and estradiol, the ones straightly causing the sex characteristics. Therefore, progesterone being a precursor to more hormones has an enormous role to play. The following are benefits of progesterone: protects against fibrocystic breasts diseases, helps utilize fat for energy, a natural diuretic, natural anti-depressant, facilitates thyroid hormone action, normalizes blood clotting, blood sugar levels, blood zinc and copper levels, restores sex drive and proper cell oxygen levels, prevents uterine cancer, signals osteoblast for bone building, restores normal vascular tone, needed for embryo survival, modulates other hormones helping to restore balance, and promotes sleep.
Certainly the long list of benefits of progesterone in the body defines its importance and also suggests of what can possibly happen if it depletes and halts in production in time. The major producer of progesterone in women is the ovaries and the placenta when a woman is pregnant, but it stops when a woman begins to menopause. This is the time when women would need hormone replacement therapy to continue supplying the body with progesterone and keep a healthy functioning despite age and menopausal.

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Introduction to Menopause
Category:Menopause - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia
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Top Natural Treatments For PMS Relief

By admin | February 6, 2011 - 10:09 pm | Articles

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For many women, PMS or premenstrual syndrome can be a painful time. They may suffer from a variety of symptoms including weight gain, irritability, anger, fatigue, difficulty concentrating as well as hunger cravings. Many women also suffer migraines, breast soreness and backaches.

Women looking for PMS relief should look at moderate exercise and massage. Moderate exercise can keep the muscles stretched and limber, whilst also ensuring that you can keep any weight gain down. If you are suffering lower back soreness, you may also want to consider massage to ease your pain. Massage can also help with stress reduction.

Regulating your diet is also important to ensure that you can relieve any symptoms of PMS that you may be suffering. You should eat regular, smaller meals, throughout the day and cut out any unhealthy food options from your diet such as high sugar foods, caffeine and alcohol. Make sure you eat plenty of whole grains and plenty of calcium.

Many of the symptoms of PMS relief can also be alleviated with the use of herbal remedies. Any imbalances in the body may be counteracted with these treatments.

Premenstrual Syndrome can also lead to an imbalance of the hormone estrogen in the body, and this imbalance can escalate PMS symptoms. As such, the use of phytoestrogen can be a popular treatment option.

A more and more popular relief option is progesterone cream. Progesterone is a regulating hormone in the body and helps regulate other hormones such as estrogen. Because it also helps regulate blood sugar levels, progesterone can also be useful in ensuring that you avoid cravings.

Most women suffer from some level of PMS, with some women feeling their symptoms worse than other women. The purpose of this article was to give you a variety of natural PMS relief options.

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The Effects of Balancing Estrogen and Progesterone

By admin | February 6, 2011 - 1:53 am | Articles

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In a woman’s body, the hormones estrogen and progesterone work together in what could be called a sort of “ying” and “yang” relationship. There is a delicate balance that exists between these two in the body of a healthy woman.

In the months making up a woman’s reproductive years, estrogen is produced in higher levels during the first 14 days of her 28-day menstrual cycle (Note: Not every woman’s cycle is exactly 28 days). Its job is to cause the thickening of the lining of the uterus and a change in the cervical mucus in preparation for a pregnancy.

In the second 14 days of the menstrual cycle, progesterone is secreted from within the womb itself, causing the endometrium (surface of the lining of the uterus) to be thick with mucous. If pregnancy does not occur, progesterone further causes the unfertilized egg and thickened lining to be sloughed off in the menstrual period.

If either estrogen or progesterone becomes imbalanced within their relationship to one another, the timing of the entire menstrual cycle can be thrown off or completely disrupted. In addition to that, a number of other problems or symptoms occur including weight gain, water retention, anxiety and depression, mood swings, unclear thinking, low blood sugar levels, fatigue, sleeplessness, night sweats, headaches and more.

The amount of estrogen and progesterone produced in the body fluctuates from month to month and is affected by various factors including overall health, differing stress levels, environmental factors which can cause “estrogen dominance”, diet and physical activity. The goal for enjoying optimum health is to maintain the bodies hormonal balance through attention to diet and exercise, diminishing sources of stress and anxiety, and protection from harmful environmental circumstance so that the body’s systems, including the production of hormones estrogen and progesterone operate harmoniously.

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BBC - Health: Menopause
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The Menopausal Patient And Hormone Replacement Therapy

Can Natural Progesterone Relieve the Symptoms of the Menopause?

By admin | February 5, 2011 - 9:38 pm | Articles

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Natural progesterone is highly recommended as a menopause symptoms reliever. It will even out the hormones in the body if a female becomes estrogen dominant, which often happens around the time of menopause. It can also benefit women who have had a hysterectomy or who are suffering from symptoms of PMS.

Natural progesterone cream such as NatPro matches the progesterone that is found in the body without any unnatural substances being used. This means there are no side effects as you are simply replacing the body’s natural hormones with progesterone cream. You must be aware when purchasing progesterone cream that you only purchase the natural varieties such as NatPro, which is known to be a top of the line natural progesterone product. Synthetically produced progesterone will bring upon side effects to the menopausal woman such as migraines, asthma, fluid retention and cardiac problems.

These creams like NatPro are simply used on the skin. The skin then absorbs the progesterone. It is a painless method and even easier than taking pills. Natural progesterone will relieve the symptoms of menopause. Not only that, it also provides middle aged women with a host of additional benefits including:

Increases libido

Helps prevent against various cysts and cancer

Relieves depression

Normalizes blood sugar levels

Menopause generally occurs from age 50-55 in women. Symptoms associated with menopause commonly include:

Hot flashes – flushing of the face and overall increase in body temperature

Depression – Hormonal changes often cause depression

Irritability – Mood swings and irritability are common

Vaginal itchiness – Dryness and itchiness in the vagina is a common menopause symptom. See your doctor to rule out serious problems here.

Fatigue – Many women note that they feel extra tired during menopause.

There are also other symptoms experienced by menopausal women.

NatPro, the natural progesterone cream, provides fantastic menopause symptom relief. There are no toxic substances in NatPro and it is not tested on animals.

Progesterone has a regulatory effect on the body so if it exists in lowered amounts, the body can begin to react inefficiently. Many pre-menopausal women can tend to be estrogen dominant; therefore progesterone needs to be supplemented to even out the hormonal balance.

Estrogen dominance can lead to such things as uterine fibroids, weight gain, infertility and cancer. This is where natural progesterone comes in. It will help maintain optimal levels of progesterone whilst helping to avoid an over abundance of estrogen. With that said, menopausal women will eventually experience a drop in estrogen levels. This can lead to the usual array of menopause symptoms.

Supplementing with natural progesterone cream can help this situation dramatically. Natural progesterone cream like NatPro aims to resolve problems such as vaginal dryness and hot flushes amongst other menopausal symptoms.

Every woman will require a different amount of natural progesterone cream. It will depend on whether you are menopausal, pre-menopausal (where estrogen dominance can occur) and any other health issues you may have. It is best if you see a doctor before taking on any progesterone supplementation plan.

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Menopause - University of Maryland Medical Center
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Natural Progesterone and Libido

By admin | January 26, 2008 - 12:13 pm | Uncategorized

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You used to feel sassy, sexy and full of life. You enjoyed the aspects of physical closeness; the natural desire that coincides with a natural, healthy libido. But, that interest in sex, the desire for sex is long gone. You may assume that it’s a natural part of the aging process. But, what if it’s not? Healthy women enjoy a natural interest in and desire for sex. That includes healthy women who are past their childbearing years. Just because a woman has reached or passed her menopausal life stage, by no means indicates that she is no longer interested in sexual activity.

There are many women of all ages who suffer from a lack of libido or low sex drive. And a decreased sex drive can be caused by a number of factors including a low-active pituitary gland, alcoholism, prescription drugs including tranquilizers, diseases such as diabetes, hormonal changes associated with childbirth, and a number of others. However, menopause is not, as popularly believed, a cause of diminished libido. In fact, often times women who have gone through menopause relate increased interest in sexual activity. With the relief of concerns, especially that of unwanted pregnancy, related to sexual activity, some women at later life stages feel a greater sense of freedom and liberation in exploring their sexual desires.

Decreased libido may also be associated with psychological factors in addition to or in place of the physical conditions mentioned above. These may include fatigue, increased stress, depression, anxiety, overwork, living environment, and relationship problems. Ensuring your physical and mental health provides the optimum environment for healthy libido.

One of the circumstances that may manifest itself in low libido is hormonal imbalance. Progesterone is one of the body’s essential hormones, especially for women. It is essential for many of the body’s functions including embryo survival during pregnancy, it is a precursor for the production of cortisone, helps in the use of fat for energy, helps to stabilize blood sugar levels, promotes optimal operation of the thyroid, acts as a natural diuretic, and a natural antidepressant. But one of progesterone’s most important functions is that it works in counterbalance to the varying levels of estrogen in a woman’s body during differing pre and post menopausal stages.

When the cause of diminished libido is found to be due to hormonal imbalance, the restoration of normal levels of progesterone through the use of natural progesterone can help to restore a normal hormonal balance, and thus a normal libido.

Other sites that may interest you

Menopause | What to expect during menopause | womenshealth.gov
Perimenopause: Rocky road to menopause - Harvard Health ...
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