Dr. Conner
You say that taking hormones using a cream is the best. I tried hormone cream and it didn’t work for me so I’m not too anxious to try them again. I know I need hormones but I don’t want to use the prescription chemicals. Do you have any suggestions?
Vera
Yes Vera, I would suggest hormone cream dosed properly by a competent prescriber. I’ve been doing this for years and I have yet to see a woman who does not respond to the proper dosing of her hormone cream. I would estimate that 9 times out of 10, no make that 99 times out of 100, the physician is grossly overdosing his patient on hormones.
Women rarely need extra estrogen yet they are given huge doses. The prescriber means well by trying to relieve her symptoms but generally has no idea of proper dosing and monitoring. Her chief complaint was usually hot flashes and this excessive amount of estrogen will relieve those flashes. Unfortunately, it also has her getting irritable, feeling bloated with weight gain, tender breasts, headaches, and difficulty sleeping.
The typical progesterone dosing is even more ridiculous. Most prescribers rely erroneously on blood testing for hormone levels. Progesterone will not show up in the blood in any measurable levels. When the prescriber sees that the progesterone level isn’t raised, he increases the dose. This continues until the maximum dosing available is reached and the blood levels still won’t move. What is happening is her receptor sites are becoming desensitized to all this hormone and basically “shutting down.” She becomes resistant.
And the testosterone dosing, again way too high in most cases. These prescribers feel that giving women extra testosterone will help their libido so they can enjoy some romance with their partner. Yes it does but it also causes oily skin, acne, unwanted hair growth, and irreversible genital changes. A woman typically produces about 0.3 milligrams of testosterone a day. I’ve seen hormone cream with doses of 40 milligrams of testosterone a day for women, and the doctors insist they need this dose.
Here is my suggestion to you. Test your hormones with a saliva test only, do not use blood. Be evaluated by a competent professional who can prescribe the proper dosing for you and monitor you. Monitoring is very important since everyone is unique and different. Using a compounded bio-identical hormone cream is the most effective and best way to supplement your body to get the proper hormone levels.
When proper levels are achieved, the results are dramatic. The biggest problem is that patients go to their family doctor for hormones. The typical physician is just not properly trained to do this specialized medicine.
If I can help you, please let me know.
