Hormone Questions

Commonly Asked Questions Regarding Hormone Replacement Therapy

Q:  What are the symptoms of Menopause & Perimenopause?

A:  Perhaps up to 50% have no symptoms.  For many women, menopause means the onset of hot flashes, mood swings, difficulty sleeping, night sweats, vaginal dryness, irritability, increased anxiety and depression.  Achy muscles and joints and decreased libido while not common are also characteristic.

Q:  What are the pros and cons of HRT?

A:  The advantages of natural hormone replacement are the complete relief of menopausal symptoms and emotionally a return to normalcy.  Anxiety and depression are decreased and a feeling of well-being is experienced.  Natural hormone replacement is thought to be protective of the heart and cardiovascular system before heart disease starts, to prevent and reverse osteoporosis and decrease the incidence of Alzheimer's and colon cancer.

Currently most physicians do not advocate initiating hormone replacement if cardiovascular disease is established.  There will be some breast tenderness for the first month or two.  There may be some break through bleeding which can be eliminated by adjusting the hormone levels.

Q:  What makes Natural Hormones different from other treatments available? 

A:  Dr. Davenport prescribes natural hormones, which are the same chemical structure as our bodies naturally produce.  The hormones are estriol, estradiol, estrone, progestrone and testosterone among others.

The source of the precursor molecule is the wild yam (Diascorea composita) and this is converted by biochemist to the exact molecules found in the human body.  Certainly it seems unreasonable to indict all hormones based on studies specially using premarin and provera.  There are several scientific observations suggesting provera is far from the ideal progestin. 

Suggested Reading: Natural Hormone Replacement for Women Over 45 by Jonathan V. Wright, M.D. and John Morgenthaler ISBN 0-9627418-0-9

Alex Davenport, M.D.

2418 East Plaza Drive - Tallahassee, FL 32308

Phone: (850) 656-1977 - Fax:(850) 656-1936

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