Can those that are informed tell me the good and the bad of taking Bio-identical hormones? I am seriously thinking of searching out a Dr. to try these but worry about the long term effects. Can anyone help me?

First of all, "bio-identical" refers to replicating the biologically identical balance of hormones particular to your body, not to biologically natural hormone sources -- your personal formula will be made from the same synthetic hormones regular HRT (premarin, for example)is made of.

Secondly, there are still serious risks to hormone replacement of any kind and whether or not you are a good candidate for any kind of hormone treatment should be discussed with a doctor who knows you well and is quite familiar with your medical history, including a family history.

Thirdly, there are a TON of charlatans out there in the hormone replacement field. Be very, very careful and do your research meticulously. Get second and third opinions. Let your regular physician know what you're up to -- these hormone treatments can contraindicate many, many medications and treatments, and he or she can tell you what the dangers of combining hormone replacement with for bone loss or cholesterol or high blood pressure or blood thinning (among others).

Hotze has some seriously questionable political ties, is an extreme right-winger (and that's coming from me!), has used his political ties to get around basic requirements in his pharmacy practice, and needs to be researched very carefully. The Texas press has reams of articles questioning this guy's political ties and practices, and his products have been questioned by a slew of serious, respected physicians and by medical governing bodies.

Quackwatch has some dirt on this guy, too, and also addresses the issue of bioidentical hormones and the problems thereof as well. Some of these bioidentical compounding pharmacies have been cited for including known carcinogens in their supposedly "natural" compounds, including forms of estrogen directly linked to increased risk of breast cancer. The Women's Health Initiative does not recommend this type of treatment at all.

Really, start with your regular physician, and then contact your nearest major teaching hospital for a recommendation.

Be very, very careful with this stuff -- no matter what these folks want to call it, hormone treatments come with life-threatening risks.

Well, yes, right-wing fundamentalist ian conservatives who advocate "taking over" an established political party and replacing it with members of it's own ian Fundamentalist party are problematic, especially when they use their political ties to get out of following standard operating procedures in their compounding parties.

Also, it't pretty telling when respected members of the alternative medical community question this guy and the whole "bioidentical" movement altogether.

There are no "slanderous" accusations about his clinics and practices. There are legitimate questions and they have indeed been addressed (not "disproven").

ALL hormones, including the ones our bodies produce naturally, have the potential to feed certain cancers. That's just a fact. Some of us, myself included, are genetically more likely to develop those cancers (I, at the age of 47, am the oldest surviving female in my family. The rest of the women in my family have all died of breast cancer. My mother, the female to live the longest before dying from this disease, lived to 54. What I don't know about breast cancer and hormones ain't worth knowin'), and hormone therapy of any kind, including plant estrogens, are risky for us. Actually, doctors are now asking women to back off their use of soy products in their diets because they're discovering that the plant estrogens mimic the behavior of our own estrogen and can lead to higher cancer risk.

The mainstream medical community isn't pushing HRT at all -- they're the ones asking women to exercise caution. It's these "bioidentical" guys who are pushing the snake oil here. In this case, it's a very, very dangerous sort of snake oil, however, and all I'm saying is go see a REAL doctor who is affiliated with a respected, established hospital. Loose cannons with checkered pasts are not the guys to go to for this stuff.

Well, she's worried about the effects, as well she should be, so it doesn't hurt to point out that there are issues here, too. Also, that this post coincides with Suzanne Sommers' visit indicates this may be why she is interested in this stuff.

Anything to do with hormones, menopause, fertility, etc., needs to be addressed by a physician who knows you and your family medical history and who is not some loon who is out to turn this country into a theocracy and who funds his crazy political ideas by preying on vulnerable women and selling them questionable compounds.

Oooohh...I'm shakin'...

Tell ya what, sweetie, I'll call him and email him myself, 'k? And a few reporters. And HSN corporate.

Let's see what happens, eh?

Premarin is not a bioidentical hormone.

You don't have a clue what you're writing about. Bioidenticals are derived from plant sources. Premarin is derived from pregnant mare's urine and contains 7 types of estrogen that are foreign to the human body and they are not synthysised out. If you take Premarin you get it all. Bi Est only contains two bioidentical forms of estrogens found in a woman and excludes the carcinogenic variety. A woman has three types of estrogen in her body.

What amazes me most about all this is that Suzanne Sommers is promoting a guy who is an active, outspoken member of a ian political party which seeks to turn this country into a ian theocracy in which people will be forced to live by Biblical laws (think: the ian Taliban) and who is rabidly anti-gay to the point where he brags about driving over them if they don't get out of Texas. I wonder if she even knows about his political activism and his homophobic/anti-gay stance? Probably not.

He's also claimed to be board-certified when he isn't and believes women shouldn't work outside the home.

The guy is an activist for the ian Reconstructionist movement which actually seeks to turn this country into a theocracy in which we'd all be forced to live under Old Testament law, including returning to stoning for moral transgressions (homoity, sex outside marriage, etc.)

Given his bizarre political leanings and his take on women, why would any woman go to him and trust him with her body?

I've gotten a couple of heads up from a friend in Texas. The background on this guy is actually pretty sickening. Just do a Google search on Dr. Stephen Hotze and ian Reconstructionism.

This is what happens when celebrities latch on to a fad, "write" a book (Suzanne Sommers probably doesn't have the first clue who this guy is and the hateful platform he promotes because someone else did the research and put the book together for her), and equally clueless wannabes follow along.

The deceptions about the hormone stuff are bad enough, but supporting someone who spits on democracy and who is so full of hate for others is just plain wrong. This guy is evil personified, IMO, and he's using all these poor silly women in order to fund something evil.

Babyblue I hope you can find some relief somehow. I'm 54 & post-menopausal & have said a permanent goodbye to my former willowy self. I managed to avoid HRT for hot flashes & mood swings by *winging it* with an herbal supplement with black cohosh & chastetree berry. I also used a progesterone cream from the health food store. Who knows if I did myself any harm? Guess time will tell. My mother is in her 80s & never took anything besides aspirin, & eventually calcium. Now all I take are vitamins & calcium. And I shop at Chico's for pants, they have different styles to accomodate the menopausal waistline
But good luck with whatever you decide to do