Many online compounding pharmacies have created Web sites with educational resources about bioidentical hormones; in my opinion, these sites are a wealth of incomplete information and misinformation. One such site explains that a common example of BHT is insulin therapy for diabetes mellitus and then goes on to report that “women with a healthy hormone balance tend to enjoy long, healthy, and productive lives. Long-term hormone imbalance, however, can make life pretty miserable for women and their loved ones.... Hormone fluctuations can take a strong body and render it weak, unpredictable, and unreliable.”
11 The site also reports that “a woman who takes
natural oral progesterone feels her symptoms naturally improve.... Synthetic progestins are not only less effective than
natural progesterone but they can cause side effects...[such as] abnormal menstrual flow, cessation of flow, nausea, depression, weight fluctuations, fluid retention, insomnia, allergic reactions, jaundice, and fever.”
11 The only side effects listed for the pharmacy's
natural progesterone were “feelings of euphoria and possible alterations in the timing of the menstrual cycle.”
11 Another pharmacy reminds customers that “it's important to note that some forms of estrogen are safer than others” and that “with the increased amount of estriol you use, the less likely you are to get breast cancer (which is exactly the opposite of the dose relationship for synthetic and conjugated estrogens).”
12 Of progesterone, the pharmacy states it “enhances energy and sexual libido, and heightens feelings of well being,” as well as “effectively treats the loss of bone mass.”
12 The pharmacy's final summary informs that “probabilities do exist for decreased risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and osteoporosis” and that patients should “remain on the program as long as you want to optimize your health,” recommending initial patient evaluation for BHT at age 35 years.
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