Women’s Health Services

Estrogen, Progesterone and Testosterone are the 3 most common hormones known by many people but do we really know what they do?

Women undergo midlife changes which maybe subtle in some and more difficult in others. That time is called perimenopause which may start as early as mid 30s, may last from 2 to 10 years and leads to menopause which by definition is 12 continuous months without a menstrual cycle. During this time, Estrogen and Progesterone secretion decrease. The first symptoms are CNS related such as mood swings, sleep disturbance and cognitive changes. During perimenopause, vaginal and skin dryness and wrinkles are common.

Finally, when a woman experiences vasomotor symptoms such as night sweats and hot flashes, usually the estrogen production has been cut down in half. During this period, women may also experience water-weight gain. This can be relieved by Progesterone, a natural diuretic due to its aldosterone receptor antagonist properties.

Estrogen and Progesterone balance is very important to relieve these symptoms. Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BHRT) has been shown to restore balance and improve menopausal symptoms. Each person undergoing menopause has individual needs and our pharmacists work with physicians to create dosages tailored to each individual’s needs and lifestyle.

Bioidentical hormones are chemically identical to those naturally made by the body and have the same physiological activity. Bioidentical hormones used by compounding pharmacies are obtained from sterol analogues found in plants such as soy and yam which are then transformed in the laboratory to the human bioidentical hormone.