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The Basics Of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy


Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a method used to help treat the symptoms of menopause. Although bioidentical hormones are not yet FDA approved, they are being used more and more across the world everyday. The FDA says that since they are considered to be natural, regardless of their source, they cannot be patented.

Bioidentical hormones, sometimes referred to as natural hormones, are those that are molecularly identical to the hormones that we produce in our bodies. Hormones and steroids are taken from plants and animals and altered to a state of identical molecular structure, then put into a form that can be taken by the patient: cream, oral, vaginal or injections.

The plants that are used to extract the hormones are soy and yams, while the animals are pigs or horses. Although these hormones become molecular identical to the ones we produce, they cannot be considered completely natural due to the fact that they are altered in a laboratory. Most women are worried about the source of the hormones more than the actual hormones, due to the fact that synthetic hormones, which have been around for years, have been found to carry health risks. Below is a list of products that are bioidentical, and non-bioidentical:

Bioidentical Estrogen
* Micronized estradiol/Estrace-Synthesized from soy and yam.
* Estradiol/Alora-Synthetic.
* Estradiol/Climara-Synthesized from soybeans.
* Estradiol/Estraderm-Synthesized from Mexican yams.
* Estradiol/Fem Patch-Synthetic.
* Estradiol/Vivelle, Vivelle-Dot-Synthesized from Mexican yams.
* Estradiol/Estring-Synthesized from Mexican yams.
Non-Bioidentical Estrogen
* Conjugated estrogens/Premarin-Pregnant mares' urine.
* Conjugated estrogens/Cenestin-Synthesized from soy and yams.
* Esterified estrogens (estrone, equilin)/Estra Tab-both estrone and equillin are synthesized from soy and yams.
* Esterified estrogens (estrone, equillin)/Menest-Both estrone and equillin are synthesized from soy and yams.
* Micronized estradiol/Estrace-Synthesized from soy and yams.
* Estropipate/Ogen-Synthesized from Mexican yams.
* Estropipate/Ortho-Est-Synthesized from yams.
* Ethinyl estradiol/Estinyl-Synthesized from Mexican yams.
* Estradiol cypionate/Depo-Estradiol-Synthetic.
* Estradiol valerate/Delestrogen-Synthetic.

By: meganm
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hrt Facts, Risks, And Recommendations


HRT has many benefits to menopausal women, although with long term use it can have some serious side effects too.

These side effects have received a lot of publicity recently, and led to a reappraisal by the medical establishment on how HRT is administered, and to whom. In the UK, the recommendation now is to prescribe HRT to women who experience severe side effects during menopause. But when women do not suffer side effects, the feeling is that the risks outweigh any possible benefits. But given that up to 75% of women in the UK have severe menopausal symptoms, this still leads to widespread use.

Doctors in the UK have said that in the short term, the risks of HRT are minimal. But the longer a woman takes hormone replacement therapy, the greater is the risk of developing breast cancer and strokes.

HRT comes in different forms. There is estrogen-only HRT, which tends to be given only to women who don't have their uterus as it can increase the risk of developing endometrial cancer. This is because all of that estrogen causes the endometrial lining of the uterus to build up. The other types of HRT also contain estrogen, as the goal of hormone replacement therapy is to replace the estrogen that the body is producing less of. But they have a type of progesterone called progestogen added to them. Progestogen is an oral form of progesterone that counteracts the build up of uterine tissue. It is stronger than progesterone cream, which does not counteract the effects of estrogen on the uterus.

Hormone replacement therapy can be taken orally, as a patch, a cream, gels, nasal sprays, implants, a pessary, or as a vaginal ring that contains estrogen. The latter will help reduce vaginal symptoms.

It's important to remember that HRT is not a contraceptive. So, if you are still menstruating when you start taking hormone replacement therapy, you'll still need to use some form of birth control. The form of HRT given to women who are still menstruating is a sequential combined HRT. Estrogen is taken every day, but progestogen is also taken for 12 to 14 days of a woman's cycle. Thus, women will still bleed every month. It should only be light however. And as HRT doesn't cause ovulation or restore fertility, these will not be like regular periods. However, if your body is still ovulating naturally, however irregularly, there is a risk of falling pregnant even whilst taking hormone replacement therapy. Whilst the chance of falling pregnant is lower, as many as two thirds of the women between the ages of 40 and 44 are still ovulating regularly. So, it's important to consider some form of contraception if you don't want to fall pregnant.

By: Rebecca Prescott
Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Rebecca presents these articles on menopause symptoms, alternatives to regular hormone replacement therapy such as HRT tibolone, and information on menopause support groups.

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