Ageless: The Naked Truth About Bioidentical Hormones (7 page)

Getting Old Is Not for Sissies!

I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape. So I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and started exercising.… I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.

CHAPTER 2
W
HY
W
E
A
GE

T
he first indication of aging is the loss of hormones. You don’t see it at first. It’s happening inside, lurking about, waiting for the reproductive passage of “who you are” to finish. It’s almost as though the hormones have grown impatient, sitting inside, tapping their fingers, and waiting to complete their job so they can take time off for good. Once that happens, the trouble inside “you” begins.

Hormonal loss is a very difficult passage for everyone. At forty years old or earlier, you will start to notice either a slight weight gain or an alarming amount of weight gain. Many women report going up as much as two dress sizes. Your bleeding cycle becomes irregular. What was once like clockwork now appears seemingly whenever it wants. Sometimes you skip a month or two.

Hot flashes come without warning. Suddenly heat rises up in you that is like nothing else you have ever experienced. Sleeping—which was once a given, something you didn’t even think about—becomes difficult. You now get into bed and pray for a full night of uninterrupted sleep. Mood swings are also part of the equation.

We can visibly see hormonal decline in the mirror. God forbid you have one of those horrible magnifying mirrors, which most of us do, as our eyes betray and no longer work with the clarity they once had. We see the lines and wrinkles, and the skin on the neck and body becomes looser, less firm. As we get older, changes in cellular behavior lead to changes in hormone levels that cause the skin to become thinner. The barrier function of the skin, which attracts and retains moisture, also becomes less effective, making skin drier as well.

Here’s the deal: Sooner or later, you are going to start experiencing these symptoms. All women and men go through hormonal decline. Symptoms are part of nature. Symptoms are your body’s way of talking to you. With each hot flash or night sweat, your body is screaming for you to do something. The good news is that now you can. You will not have to suffer in silence like your mother or grandmother. To enjoy a satisfying life, hormones must be replaced, but only with bioidentical hormones. As you will read in
chapter 5
, there are different ways to take them, but taking bioidentical hormones is not negotiable. There is no other or better way to replace hormones and nothing else that your body will respond to like bioidenticals. Because the body recognizes them, it does not reject them. Quite the opposite—it welcomes them.

WHAT EXACTLY IS A HORMONE?

According to Dr. Gary London, OB/GYN, in his book
Thank You, Suzanne Somers
(can you believe it?), a “hormone is a substance produced by a gland and transported in the bloodstream throughout the body, transferring information and instructions between cells. Hormones are molecules that are synthesized and secreted by several glands throughout the body, collectively known as the endocrine system. Each gland produces its own unique hormones and each of those hormones serves as a molecular messenger to deliver very specific information to specific cells or organs in the body. Almost like a key opening a lock, these hormones have the ability to turn certain cells in the body known as target cells (for example, there are specific target cells in the breast and uterus that will respond to estrogen) and each target cell is genetically programmed to respond to particular hormones in a certain way. All aspects of cellular function, including repair and replication, are influenced by one or more hormones.”

With the exception of prescribing supplemental estrogen (usually in synthetic form), the conventional medical community considers age-related hormonal decline to be normal and, therefore, takes little
action to correct it. Low levels of other hormones such as DHEA, thyroid, testosterone, and growth hormone are not treated unless, or until, a full-blown condition such as adrenal failure, hypothyroidism, or pituitary disease is diagnosed.

Many antiaging doctors take exception to not treating age-related hormonal loss. According to Dr. Philip Lee Miller: “It doesn’t matter to me whether that deficiency is the normal condition of the aging human. When we can improve health and function by restoring hormone levels to optimal levels, it makes sense to do so. This is the essence of functional medicine, the goal of which is to restore function and not necessarily to treat disease.”

If you are thinking of taking hormones to treat aging, it is important to understand that we once all had optimal levels. To combat aging, you must try to restore those optimal levels in order to mimic your healthiest prime, and in doing so you give your body the greatest gift it has ever received. In the following sections you’ll learn about the key hormones you need to balance to start reversing the aging process.

Take the time to read each of the next sections thoroughly. It is important that you understand the functions of each hormone. By doing so, the interviews with the doctors that follow will make complete sense.

E
STROGEN

WHAT IT IS
:
Estrogen is one of the most powerful hormones in the human body; it is what makes a woman a woman. It is estrogen that gives women their softness, curves, and breasts and helps regulate a woman’s passage through menstruation, fertility, and menopause. What many people don’t know is that both men and women make estrogen. To be a woman, you need high levels of estrogen and low levels of testosterone. To be a man, you need high levels of testosterone and low levels of estrogen.

HOW IT WORKS:
Estrogen is not a single hormone. It is a group of three different but related hormones (estrone, estradiol, and estriol) that perform functions we normally attribute to “estrogen.” Approximately three hundred different tissues are equipped with estrogen receptors. This means that estrogen can affect a wide range of tissues and organs, including the brain, liver, bones, and skin. The uterus, urinary tract, breasts, and blood vessels also depend upon estrogen to stay toned and flexible. Many menopausal women have urinary “leakage problems” from losing estrogen, and many menopausal
women have to urinate often; for some, it’s constant throughout the day. This is remedied by bringing estrogen levels back to normal. The family of estrogens work in concert with progesterone to nourish and support the growth and regeneration of the female reproductive tissues as well as impart the characteristic female growth of body hair, breasts, and distribution of body fat.

Symptoms of an estrogen deficiency include

• unexplained weight gain
  
• apple- or pear-shaped body
  
• bloating
  
• itching
  
• sweating and hot flashes
  
• depression
  
• irritability
  
• weepiness
  
• trouble sleeping
  
• foggy thinking
  
• bladder infections
  
• incontinence
  
• watery eyes
  
• allergies
  
• low libido
  
• heart palpitations
  
• fatigue
  
• low bone density
  
• painful intercourse
  

HOW TO TEST:
It is important to establish your estrogen levels with a blood or saliva test. Even if you are too young to experience estrogen loss, it is advised that you start getting a hormone panel done each year so that you can evaluate from year to year to see if there is an estrogen decline.

You also have to be able to evaluate the way you feel to understand when your hormones are declining or out of balance. The more you understand this, the more your doctor will be able to help you.
One of my first symptoms of low estrogen is itchy arms. Normally, you wouldn’t think to call your doctor about an itch on your arms, but when you are balancing hormones, a symptom such as this is information for the doctor. If you are in touch with your body and if you pay attention to the way you are feeling, your doctor will be able to help you balance your hormones and make you feel good again.

I suggest that you keep a journal for the first three months and mark down how you feel on each day of the month. If any of the symptoms listed are part of your day, mark it down and you will have an accurate record for your doctor to evaluate. Symptoms are signs of imbalance. This is not something to “tough out.” Toughing it out only keeps you in an imbalanced state, and that is a dangerous and uncomfortable place to be.

USING BIOIDENTICALS
:
By replacing lost estrogen with bioidentical estrogen, a woman can restore her body to her healthy prime. Along with a good diet and exercise, a woman on BHRT can expect to feel good for the rest of her life.

Bioidentical estrogen has numerous benefits. First and foremost, your menopausal symptoms go away. Your sex drive comes back, and your memory and mood improve. Your fatigue dissipates, and your skin elasticity improves. You have a reduced risk of heart disease and bone loss. Your depression is relieved, and estrogen supports your immune function. No drug can do all this for you. Drugs only exacerbate these problems.

Bioidentical estrogen replacement is by doctor’s prescription only and prepared for you by a compounding pharmacy. These pharmacies use only pure grades of estrogen. The strength and combinations of estrogens can be established by working closely with your doctor, but remember: You know your body better than anyone. Some women require large doses of estrogen to feel good. I am one of them. My body does not “sing” with low doses. Once you are on replacement, it is important to pay acute attention to your symptoms. If you are symptomatic, then you need to have your dosage evaluated. Talk to your doctor about it. A symptom might be as simple as “my leg itches,” but even that can be a sign of low estrogen.

SAFETY AND SIDE EFFECTS:
Many health care professionals, such as the doctors you will meet in this book, believe bioidentical hormones—including bioidentical estrogen—are safe. If you have any side effects such as weight gain, breast tenderness, bloating, or other symptoms, report these to your doctor. This usually means you are not completely balanced and your dosage needs adjusting. Generally, though, bioidenticals are well tolerated.

SYMPTOMS FOR WOMEN WITH EXCESS ESTROGEN (ESTROGEN DOMINANCE)

Often, too much estrogen supplementation can be at the root of your symptoms. Be sure to have your doctor do a blood or saliva test for levels and then have your hormones rebalanced. If you have gone through a period of high stress and now things have calmed down, the estrogen you needed during the stress is now more than you require.