PUBLIC MARKS from longhorn2000 with tags estrogen & "hormone replacement"

"While sleeping pills may help for a while, since they do not address the real reasons we cannot sleep, they will only work for a while. Sleeping pills simply treat the symptom and not the underlying cause of the problem which is hormonal imbalance and/or hormonal decline. "

"There has been a tremendous push for “The Cure for Breast Cancer” in this country. However, this slogan completely misses a fundamental truth about what women want. No woman wants to develop breast cancer, then submit to disfiguring, painful, or toxic therapies with the hope of being cured. Women want and deserve safe, effective measures to prevent breast cancer and the other maladies that occur during midlife. "

"Any complete program to deal with perimenopause and menopause will also include weight-bearing exercise, sufficient sleep, stress reduction approaches, a healthy diet, and other useful lifestyle changes. A knowledgeable practitioner can help guide you in developing an overall approach to help you feel your best. "

"In summary, make the connection between the symptoms you experience and hormone problems. Once your doctor has evaluated you and found you healthy by conventional standards, give up on conventional ping pong techniques of sending you from specialist to specialist and from test to test. These methods do not make anyone better. They only scare you and offer you a life of fear. Find a good doctor who will listen and care and who knows how to treat you with bioidentical hormones."

"Not all women, even those who are menopausal or who have had a hysterectomy, need estrogen. As I hope I’ve made clear, many of the symptoms attributed to estrogen deficiency are actually caused by a relative excess of estrogen and are best treated with natural progesterone to restore the proper balance. In addition, even after menopause or a hysterectomy, a woman’s body continues to make estrogen in her fat cells."

Painful periods and heavy bleeding are classic symptoms of a relative excess of estrogen. Estrogen is a stimulative hormone, and too much of this hormone causes overgrowth of endometrial tissue. Estrogen also makes the blood clot more easily. When large clots of blood are passed during menstruation, the result is severe cramping.

What exactly is Prempro, and why is it so harmful to a woman’s health? Prempro refers to the most popular form of HRT, a counterfeit estrogen called Premarin combined with a counterfeit progesterone called Provera. Premarin is a combination of horse estrogens derived from pregnant mares’ urine (hence the name Pre + mar + in). While this may be a fine preparation for mares in menopause, it is of dubious benefit for human beings.

Perhaps one of the most important outwardly visible signs of health is our hair. With fast growing cells, hair can very quickly reflects stress or crisis in the body. Everything from nutritional deficiencies, to a surgery, to starting a new medication can all become visible quite quickly in your hair. And one of the most frightening things that can happen is hair loss. There is nothing worse than standing in a shower, washing your hair, and seeing multiple strands of hair circling around–and eventually clogging–the drain.

In the past I have commented on a curious relationship I had observed between the onset of allergies and changes in a woman’s menstrual cycle. This relationship is no mere coincidence. Once again, estrogen dominance plays a role. Maggie, whose story opened this book, developed allergies after giving birth to her first child. Gail’s allergies emerged in her mid-thirties, around the time that she began experiencing painful periods and other symptoms of estrogen dominance.

Why didn’t anyone tell me about natural, bioidentical progesterone when I was young and in the throes of hormonal imbalances caused by PMS? Unfortunately, even today millions of women within the teen through menopause age groups suffering with mild to severe symptoms of PMS are offered antidepressants, birth control pills or are just being told to grin and bear it. Conventional medicine has failed to address this incapacitating and all pervasive problem. A woman cannot lead a happy life if she suffers with PMS every month.

Due to its metabolic effects, high levels of cortisol can be extremely damaging. People with chronically elevated levels of cortisol may have high blood sugar and insulin levels and high blood pressure; they may gain weight, especially around the abdomen; and they have a greater risk of heart disease.

Symptoms of estrogen dominance range from mildly annoying to severe. When a woman consults a physician for help with these symptoms, she is generally given two options: surgery, usually a hysterectomy, or prescription drugs, most often counterfeit hormones that actually worsen the problem. Rarely is she told that her problem is likely the result of estrogen dominance and that natural, bioidentical progesterone could alleviate her symptoms. Bioidentical progesterone has been used effectively in treating a range of symptoms related to estrogen dominance including weight loss