BHRT – The Prescription

With the results of the hormone testing in hand your doctor is ready to order your BHRT prescription fine tuned to the needs of your body. It can contain one or all of the 3 forms of estrogen, E1, E2, E3 and progesterone and testosterone. Typically estrogen and progesterone can be mixed together in a formulation or can be applied separately. Testosterone usually works best when applied all by itself.

Yes, women may need supplemental testosterone, usually in one-tenth the dose prescribed for men. Testosterone aids sexual desire, helps keep the bones, ligaments and tendons strong and may help depression and increase energy.

To read more about the individual hormones, read these reviews:

http://www.collegepharmacy.com/index.php?/site/detail/biologically_identical_hormones

http://www.womensinternational.com/imbalances.html#testosterone

Hormones taken in pill form pass through the liver where they may be changed into other hormonal forms. Therefore most doctors prefer to introduce these supplemental hormones via another route as in drops taken under the tongue (sublingual drops) or gels or creams applied to the skin or in the vagina.

Where do I fill my prescription?

Your prescription will need to be filled by pharmacy versed in mixing the exact amount of hormone your doctor orders for your specific and special needs. It’s like making a recipe just for you. That’s another beauty of BHRT. It’s not “one size fits all” like most standard prescription hormones.

Taking the standard prescription hormones like Premarin and/or Provera is like a shot in the dark. It may be too much or too little for your specific needs. Persistent high levels of hormones can induce the scary side effects of HRT like cancer, blood clots and stroke.

That’s why we love compounding pharmacists who also partner with you and your doctor to optimize your health. Some towns may have a compounding pharmacist, but often these specially compounded prescriptions come from mail order pharmacies that fill a bigger volume of these types of prescriptions and therefore can provide them at lower costs to you.

Your doctor will have one or two favorite compounding pharmacies that they work with. Over the years I found College Pharmacy and Women’s International Pharmacy to be very reliable and helpful.

http://www.womensinternational.com/

http://www.collegepharmacy.com/

Review the web sites of these two pharmacies for more good information on BHRT.

Should I take BHRT forever?

How long you use BHRT will be a decision between you and your doctor. Some doctors recommend only taking BHRT long enough to get you back in balance and then taper off.

On the other hand doctors who emphasize anti-aging tend to feel when hormones are properly monitored and administered they can delay the aging process by keeping good skin tone, strong bones, mental sharpness, a good outlook and good energy.

Is HRT safe? Weigh the evidence for yourself in the next article on BHRT.

You must adopt or maintain good lifestyle habits too.

Of course slapping hormones onto your body and expecting great results without adopting healthy lifestyle habits just does not make sense. These holistically oriented doctors will coach you in healthy eating and exercise and other habits that all work together synergistically to optimize your health. Pay attention to their advice and read the rest of this web site about all the various ways you can take responsibility for your health.

I love you, you’re the greatest. Just do it!

Dr. Jo