Posts Tagged ‘bioidentical hormones’

Hormonal Treatment for Low Desire

Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

We do a lot of hormonal treatment for low desire. And the truth is, if a low hormone level is the culprit, this treatment can be very effective. But  I do want to put out a word of caution to women who are trying a hormonal treatment:

1.       You need to be tested by someone who knows what they are doing. Many times women say to us that they were tested by their primary care providers who told them that their hormonal levels were perfectly normal. “Normal,” unfortunately,  is still a relative thing in this field and you need to be tested by someone who can read the results with a skeptical eye.

2.       You need to use the right product. Compounded products can be extremely tricky, and may not work as well. Biodentical products are probably the way to go but need to be adjusted accordingly. Work with someone who has significant experience with using specific products.

3.       Too weak a dosage or too short a time of usage are unlikely to yield any reasonable results or any results at all. This may be more frustrating than doing nothing, so be ask the right questions and be compliant when you are prescribed.

4.       Be conservative. Make sure all the relevant blood levels are monitored regularly and that you are being followed by a professional in a way that feels thorough and responsible.

Having warned you about the issues – it’s definitely worth a try!

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Low hormone levels: always the problem?

Thursday, September 16th, 2010 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

Having low hormone levels do not necessarily mean that your desire for sex will shrivel up like styrofoam in a campfire. Sex, and our desire for sex, is dependent on many, many elements and hormones are just one of them.

For most women having a healthy relationship with her partner,  being attracted to her partner, having time and energy available, getting enough sleep or having a generally healthy physical profile can all impact desire, and these may be just as important as hormone levels.

Take sleep for instance: if you are so sleep deprived that you cannot stay awake for 10 minutes without your eyes shutting, in all likelihood you will not be interested in or even capable of having sex. However, if you are just tired, most people can still locate their libido with a little encouragement.

The same is true with hormones. Your levels might be a little low. But if everything else is in line, you can probably maintain some interest in sex, even with low hormone levels. If, however, your hormones are way out of whack, or if other things are off kilter in addition to your hormone levels,  then you will most likely feel a dramatic decline or absence of interest in sexual activity.  At some point, if you are walking around with the hormone profile of a 10 year old, nothing else will make up for it except for the addition of hormones.  This can help you achieve and maintain better balance for your body which will effect everything, including sex.

Here’s the bottom line, many factors have the power to put the kibosh on your sex life. So think hard about the ones that appear to be obvious; then check out the others that may lie under the surface.

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Bioidentical Hormones

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009 by Bat Sheva Marcus LMSW MPH PhD

There is so much confusion and misinformation when it comes to “bioidentical hormones.” Let me see if I can set the record straight.

• “Bioidentical hormones” does not mean that the hormones are “organic.”
• “Bioidentical hormones” does not mean that the hormones are “natural.”
• “Bioidentical hormones” does not mean that the hormones are “not really hormones.”

“Bioidentical hormones” means that the chemical makeup of the hormones exactly matches the chemical makeup in the same hormones in your body. It can be man-made but the molecular components are exactly the same as that same hormone in your body. For example, if you look at bioidentical estrogen under a microscope it would look exactly the same as the estrogen your body makes. It could have been created all chemically, in a laboratory, but the components of the compound match your body.

“Hmmmm…” you ask, why would anyone make non-bioidentical hormones to replace those in your body. Well, for one thing bioidentical hormones can’t be patented. The same way you can’t patent water, unless you add some flavorings to it, you can’t patent estrogen unless there is something different about your estrogen. So drug companies are incented to change the chemical compound. Sometimes makers of specific hormones suggest that the difference they have made is a “good” difference and thus justify the changes. We haven’t found that to be the case. In general we find that women seem to respond better to bioidentical hormones.

But don’t worry about the drug companies. Now that many realize that women prefer the bioidentical compounds they have found ways to patent their product by developing better or unique delivery systems: a specific cream to hold the compound, a patch, a pellet.

So, if a practitioner wants to prescribe a hormone, you can ask if it’s bioidentical…and now you’ll even know what that means.

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