Found: A Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Physician
With the encouragement of my husband, we started looking outside of Ottawa for a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy physician. With some work we found a doctor who specialized in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy in Toronto.
It has meant a four hour train trip to Toronto, but it working with him has made all the difference in the world and the long train rides have been well worthwhile.
Can Hrt Help Prevent Or Treat Osteoporosis
HRT causes your oestrogen levels to increase. This can help to prevent bone loss and reduce your risk of developing osteoporosis and of breaking bones.
If you already have osteoporosis or a high risk of breaking bones, HRT can help to strengthen your bones and make fractures less likely.
Is it as effective as other osteoporosis drugs?
There havent been many studies comparing HRT with other osteoporosis drug treatments. But its thought that HRT probably reduces the risk of breaking a bone by a similar amount to other osteoporosis medications, including bisphosphonates.
Age Risk And Timing Of Initiation
Women who initiate hormone therapy after the age of 60, or greater than 10 years from menopause onset, have less favourable benefit risk ratio because of greater risks of:
- Coronary heart disease.
- Venous thromboembolism.
There appears to be a window of opportunity to initiate menopausal hormone therapy. In general, initiation by women older than 65 years, requires careful consideration.
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Osteoporosis And Mental Health
Itâs important to recognize that osteoporosis can take an emotional toll and to get treatment for that too. Depression is common in people with this disease.
Osteoporosis can damage your self-image. You may see yourself as fragile, and be too scared of breaking a bone to do activities youâve always enjoyed. If spinal compression fractures have caused a serious rounding of your upper back, you might not like the way you look.
Consider therapy or a support group. The National Osteoporosis Foundation sponsors local support groups called Building Strength Together. You can find one, join one, or start one on their website. And the same exercise that keeps your bones strong can also boost your mood.
Show Sources
National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases:”The NIH Osteoporosis and Related Bone Diseases — National Resource Center,” “Osteoporosis: Peak Bone Mass in Women.”
National Osteoporosis Association: “Osteoporosis: The Bone Thief.”
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: “Osteoporosis.”
Exercise Recommendations For Osteoporosis
Hormone Replacement Therapy might be a viable treatment option for you depending on your medical history. However, exercise is an essential ingredient to bone health. If you have osteoporosis, therapeutic exercise needs to be part of your osteoporosis treatment program.
But what exercises should you do and which ones should you avoid? What exercises build bone and which ones reduce your chance of a fracture? Is Yoga good for your bones? Who should you trust when it comes to exercises for osteoporosis?
A great resource on exercise and osteoporosis is my free, seven day email course called Exercise Recommendations for Osteoporosis. After you provide your email address, you will receive seven consecutive online educational videos on bone health one lesson each day. You can look at the videos at anytime and as often as you like.I cover important topics related to osteoporosis exercise including:
- Can exercise reverse osteoporosis?
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Benefit #: Better Sex
Sex was the third motivation. We have been married for over 30 years. Sex is a really important part of that marriage.
I wanted sex to continue to be an important part of our relationship. However, having sex without hormones was like having sex with a big blanket between us. I couldnt feel a whole lot of anything . That needed to change!
Since starting the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, I feel much more engaged and feel the sensations during sex.
Slightly New Recommendations For Diet Exercise And Supplements
The recommendations for exercise, diet, and calcium and vitamin D supplementation have been refined in the latest statement, says Lake. Although there are now pharmacological options that may be appropriate for some patients, its still important to continue nonpharmacological preventive measures, including getting the recommended amount of calcium and vitamin D, performing weight-bearing exercises, and working on core strength and balance, she says.
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Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Physicians
Before locating a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy doctor, I read books and did research on bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.
Once I had an understanding of HRT, my first thought was to consult with my general physician . I approached him with my concerns. To no surprise, he did not have a lot of knowledge in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for osteoporosis.
He was, however, sympathetic to my concerns. He was willing to do a hormone blood test on me and look at my testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone levels.The tests found that the hormone levels were very low in some areas. However, when the test results came in, he was not too sure about the next steps.
Hormone Replacement Therapy In Osteoporosis
May 02, 2017 · This will help enhance acceptability and continuation, ensuring bone protection and menopausal symptom control. Hormone replacement therapy is effective in preventing osteoporotic fractures in women without an established disease. Treatment of osteoporosis will reduce the risk of fracture, and it is essential to maintain bone structure as early.
You should take the lowest dose of estrogen needed to relieve menopause symptoms and/or to prevent osteoporosis. Estrogen Progesterone/Progestin Hormone Therapy (EPT.
Collins P, Herrington DM, et al. Hormone Replacement Therapy and Cardiovascular Disease. A Statement for Healthcare Professionals from the American Heart Association.
Context: Hormone replacement therapy is widely used to prevent osteoporosis and fractures. Objective: To systematically review and evaluate studies of the use of estrogen and selective estrogen receptor modulators to prevent bone loss and fractures in healthy postmenopausal women. Data Sources: Studies with English language.
Among postmenopausal women, hormone replacement therapy not just treats Osteoporosis but also provides relief from the symptoms of menopause. After menopause, there is significantly low production of estrogen and progesterone hormones in the body. This results in lowering the bone density. Hormone replacement therapy helps increase bones.
Estrogen plays an important role in maintaining bone structure. Having low estrogen levels can lead to porous,
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Treatment Advances For Osteoporosis Continue
Much research has gone into understanding how the cells within your bones function. This has led to the development of many additional non-hormonal treatments for osteoporosis, including:
-
Bisphosphonates: This is the most common type of medication used to treat osteoporosis. They slow down the rate at which your bones are broken down, giving bone-forming cells more time to rebuild. Some come in pill form, such as alendronate and risedronate , which may be taken once a week or once a month. Ibandronate is given as a monthly pill or as an injection every three months. Zoledronic acid is given as an intravenous treatment once a year.
-
Selective estrogen receptor modulators : These medications have similar effects to estrogen in terms of maintaining bone density but dont carry the same risks. Raloxifene is an example.
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Biologics: Compared to most drugs, which are made from chemicals, biologics are created from components of living things. Denosumab is the first biologic approved to treat osteoporosis. It blocks cells in your body that break down bone. Its given as an injection every six months. Other biologics are being studied for future use in osteoporosis treatment.
If you have osteoporosis or are at high risk of developing it, talk to your doctor about what treatments are appropriate for you. With the right treatment, you can protect your bones, allowing you to live an active and healthy life.
Hormone Replacement And Osteoporosis Conclusion
In October 2004, the United States Surgeon General issued the first-ever report on bone health. The report warned that by 2020, half of all American citizens older than 50 years will be at risk for fractures from osteoporosis and low bone mass if no immediate action is taken by individuals at risk, doctors, health systems, and policy makers. HRT and ERT are one option women should consider in their plan for preventing osteoporosis.
The estrogen in both HRT and ERT is the ingredient that helps strengthen the bones. The body gradually stops producing estrogen during menopause, which leads to bone loss and possibly osteoporosis and broken bones . By taking estrogen, a woman can slow bone loss and even regain bone density because estrogen works with the body’s bone-building cells to stimulate bone formation and slow the process of bone loss.
The risks of HRT sound scary, but keep in mind that a woman’s annual individual risk is still relatively small. Also, these studies focus on the long-term risks and benefits and not the short-term risks and benefits of taking hormones, such as osteoporosis prevention. If a woman has been taking HRT or ERT, she should talk to the doctor about her relative risks and treatment goals.
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Puberty Hormones And Osteoporosis
As we mentioned above, puberty is an important time in bone formation. Young women need to pay attention to when they start their menstrual cycle.
Activities such as ballet, gymnastics or may keep their percent body fat very low and delaying the onset of menarche. This is not good for bone health since it restricts the critical time during puberty when bone formation is rapid.
Unless these young people are considering a lifetime career in athletics or ballet, you may want to help them understand the importance of having sufficient amount of body fat in order to allow the body to feel that its surviving well enough that it can actually start having a regular menstrual cycle.
Finally, the regular occurrence of a menstrual cycle indicates that hormones are likely supporting bones development.
Hormones And Osteoporosis: Puberty And Bone Health
Over a quarter of the bone that a person will build in their entire life happens during the two years surrounding the start of puberty. By the end of adolescence an individuals skeletal mass has almost doubled.
In addition, sex steroids play an important role in the optimal development of muscle and bone. Unfavourable body composition during sexual maturation results in sub-optimal bone mass and strength in both early adulthood and later life. As a result, it is important that young people attend to their bone health.
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Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Doctors
Once I decided that I wanted to start hormone therapy, my biggest challenge was locating bioidentical hormone replacement therapy doctors close to where I live and then choosing one. I had to find a doctor comfortable with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy who could determine the type of hormones and quantity that I should take.
It is critical that you locate a physician who knows and thoroughly understands hormone replacement therapy through all of the stages of diagnosis, research and the administration of HRT. The approach should be individualized.
How Does Hormone Therapy Work
Following menopause, the body produces much less of the sex hormones estrogen and progesterone, resulting in a loss of bone density. Estrogen/progesterone treatment is not intended to replace the loss of these hormones, but to supplement these hormones to the lowest level required to prevent bone loss. Treatment can consist of estrogen alone or estrogen and progesterone in combination.
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Safety Aspects Of Menopausal Hormone Therapy
According to clinical studies , the individual benefit/risk balance of MHT is very dependent on the type, doses, and duration of MHT as well as the individual risk profile of each woman. These aspects are considered in the guidelines .
The risk of breast cancer was found to be influenced by the type of MHT used . A prospective, longitudinal cohort study of BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers indicated that after 10 years of follow-up, the cumulative incidence of breast cancer among women who used estrogen-alone MHT was 12% compared with 22% among women who used estrogen plus progesterone MHT . A meta-analysis of 14 studies of women using estradiol with or without progestogen showed no association between estradiol only and risk of breast cancer however, the risk was significantly elevated when estradiol was combined with MPA, norethisterone acetate, or levonorgestrel but not when it was combined with progesterone or dydrogesterone . Compared with a conventional dose of CEE, transdermal estrogen was associated with a nonsignificant lower risk of invasive breast cancer .
Ischemic stroke is affected differentially by the route of estrogen administration due to the hepatic first-pass effect of estrogens when administered orally. Oral but not transdermal estrogen activates the coagulation cascade and increases fibrinolytic activity and may also induce resistance to activated protein C, which has been associated with an increased VTE risk .
Compounded Bioidentical Hormone Therapy
A question many women confront is whether to use compounded bioidentical hormone therapy or FDA approved hormone therapy?
Bioidentical hormones were once only available through compounding pharmacies. However, large pharmaceutical companies, whose products have been FDA approved, have been in the business of bioidentical hormones for a number of years. This includes products such as micronized progesterone pills and the estradiol skin patch, Estradot.
In a study published in October of 2017 by Thompson, Ritenbaugh and Nichter, Why women choose compounded bioidentical hormone therapy: lessons from a qualitative study of menopausal decision-making, the authors note that compounded bioidentical hormone therapy has emerged as a popular alternative to manufactured, FDA approved hormone therapy despite concerns within the medical community and the availability of new FDA approved bioidentical products.
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Antifracture Efficacy Of Menopausal Hormone Therapy
According to a meta-analysis of several randomized clinical studies published between 1973 and 2000, as a result of MHT, there was a significant 33% reduction in vertebral fracture and a significant 27% reduction in nonvertebral fractures . The pooled relative risk of nonvertebral fractures, hip and wrist fractures was significantly reduced in women younger than 60 years . Subsequent double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled studies have confirmed a significant increase in bone mineral density in women on MHT compared with individuals in the placebo group .
A prospective postmenopausal estrogen/progestin intervention study evaluated the effects of MHT on BMD in 875 healthy postmenopausal women . After 3 years, women assigned to conjugated equine estrogens , 0.625 mg/day plus a progestin or CEE alone gained significantly more BMD in the lumbar spine and proximal femur than those who received placebo .
The results of the National Osteoporosis Risk Assessment indicated that current but not past hormone use at baseline was associated with a significantly lower risk of osteoporotic fracture in 1 year compared with nonusers, independent of age, ethnicity, body mass index, lifestyle, years postmenopausal, and site of BMD measurement .
How Is Osteoporosis Diagnosed
If your doctor thinks you might have osteoporosis, they may start by measuring your height to see if youâve gotten shorter. The bones of the spine are often the first ones affected by the condition, which can change how tall you are.
Your doctor may also recommend a test to measure your bone density. One test called a DEXA scan is the most common tool used to measure bone density and diagnose bone loss and osteoporosis at an early stage. Quantitative computed tomography is another method, but it uses higher levels of radiation than other bone density tests. Ultrasound, which typically tests the heel of your foot, can also detect early signs of osteoporosis.
In addition to these bone density tests, your doctor might take blood or urine samples and test them to see if you have another disease thatâs causing bone loss.
Although osteoporosis is sometimes diagnosed by accident after youâve had an X-ray for a fracture or an illness, itâs not a very useful tool for early screening.
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Prevention Osteoporosis Hormone Replacement Therapy
Osteoporosis is a major clinical problem in older women and men. Almost any bone can fracture as a result of the increased bone fragility of osteoporosis. These fractures are associated with higher health care costs, physical disability, impaired quality of life, and increased mortality.
Dr. Spurlock is one of the most experienced physicians in Integrative Medicine, virology and Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy for men and women. Dr. Spurlock specializes in treating Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Age and Weight Loss Management, Sleep Therapy and Chronic Viral Syndromes.
Isaac Schiff, MD, goes over the pros and cons of quitting of hormone therapy with his patients every year. He says he puts the cons, like breast cancer risk, in perspective.
introduced vitamin D and hormone replacement therapy to my daily regime, and as well started me on the first.
Menopause + Premature Menopause + Menopause Symptoms + Bleeding Problems + Vaginal Problems + Bladder Matters Menopause and HRT after Hysterectomy Treatments + Diet, Lifestyle & Exercise + Menopause at Work Hormone Replacement Therapy + HRT Preparations + Prescribable non-HRT Testosterone Alternative Therapies + Remedies Phytoestrogens Other.
One of the justifications for practice was data showing that menopause hormone therapy could reverse bone loss and prevent hip fracture.
the 2017 updated guidelines from American College of Physicians that recommend against using either menopause hormone.
Hormone Replacement Therapy For Osteoporosis Treatment
Hormone replacement therapy or hormone therapy is one of the most common osteoporosis treatments in women. This therapy can help balance the extent of estrogen and progesterone in women who are undergoing menopause. We have already discussed that menopause can increase the risk of osteoporosis due to the fluctuations in hormone levels corresponding to it.
Even though hormone replacement therapy can reduce the risk of osteoporosis in older women, doctors usually recommend it as the first line of defense. This is because this treatment can decrease the risk of blood clots, heart attack, stroke, and breast cancer in women.
Hormone replacement therapy can include estrogen combined with progesterone, or estrogen alone. Patients often take it as an oral tablet. If you are not a fan of oral tablets, other options like skin patches, injections, and ice cream are also available. Patches should be used once or twice a week and include Minivelle, Vivelle-Dot, and Climara. Oral tablets include Estrace, Menset, and Premarin.
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