Anti-aging Medicine: Bioidentical hormone replacement for women and men

Bioidentical hormones (BIH) mean the hormones have exactly the same structure as the hormones naturally found in our bodies. Most of us have abundant hormones to keep our bodies functioning at their peak performance when we are young. However, hormone levels decline as time goes by and results in many of the signs of aging. The most well-known period of our hormones' sharp decline is called menopause for women and andropause for men. Symptoms may include mood swings, anxiety, depression, sleep problems, fatigue, hot flashes, GI discomfort, migraines, weight gain, memory decline, etc.

When we want our hormones replaced, we want to make sure they are bioidentical, manufactured by a reliable source and the routes of hormone delivery are also very critical. Hormones are naturally secreted from our endocrine systems and circulate through the blood and other body fluids; they never go through our digestive system. Taking hormones through our mouth is not just ineffective, but put burdens on our liver. Hormones should be delivered transdermally, sublingually or transmucosal (with the exception of human growth hormones).

The schedule on which we take BIH is also very important. We want to take BIH the same way our bodies naturally secrete them: in a rhythmic dosing. Women have their estrogen peak during the first part of their cycle and progesterone peak during the second part of their cycle. Static dosing of hormones is not physiological and may not serve our bodies best.

I also draw patients' blood hormone levels before and after treatment to scientifically document their hormonal levels and adjust the dosage accordingly. I make sure I check all hormones, not just the sex hormones, because every hormone interacts with every other. Many patients did not feel good after their sex hormone replacement because their adrenal and thyroid hormones were not balanced first. Every hormone plays a tune in our health. Only when every hormone is humming its happy tune will our life become a song of harmony and joy.

As baby boomers mature, we don't want to age like our parents or grandparents did. With all current knowledge of how our bodies age and technologies to slow them down, we don't have to. With proper support, many of us can healthily live to our natural life span of 120 years or more. The basic rule is to eat good food, live a healthy lifestyle, have a positive mindset, take the right supplements and detoxify our bodies periodically. The advanced steps would be to replace our hormones when our bodies stop to produce enough and use specific nutraceuticals to enhance the weakest organs like our brain, heart or bones so they can go hand in hand with our younger bodies. Nutraceuticals were food nutritions extracted by pharmaceutical safety methods and standardization. This industry advanced a long way and produced many safe and effective products to prevent aging.

I noticed many people were forced out of job markets not because their bodies were sick, but their mind became less creative, their memories falter, their response time slow and they are not as sharp as before. There are many steps we can take to regain some of the sharpness, prevent us walking down the road that leads to senile cognitive dysfunction.

Low Thyroid Function Issues

Many women have symptoms of low thyroid function, but all tests are normal when they go to their doctor.  This has many causes:

1. Some physicians do not order Free T3 and FreeT4.  TSH does not show the true function of the thyroid and Free T3 is the active form of thyroid hormones.

2. Normal lab value reflects 95% lab results of the general population.  For patients with symptoms of low thyroid function, optimize their thyroid function to upper 1/3 of the normal range may be what they need to feel normal.

3.  Many patients have other health conditions like adrenal fatigue, leaky gut or autoimmune conditions. Those conditions need to be addressed before patients can feel better.