Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy in Ohio

I was reading the newspaper and saw an article about the Happy Hormone Cottage. It sure got my attention and I LOVE THE NAME!!!!!!!!. I am a two year Breast Cancer survivor. My Cancer was caused by too much estrogen. At the age of 35 I had ahysterectomy, then was put on a hormone patch (I am now 53). After two surgeries and 35 radiation treatments, I went into full blown menopause. I thought the world had ended. I was a different woman and not in a good way.My husband thought I had lost my mind and so did I. My actions were not very lady like, but I didn’t care. One of my friends told me about Dr. Cathy Nelson at Life Stages for Women, so I went there (I think my husband evenmade the appt.). She tested my blood and then sent my results to the Piqua Medicine Shoppe where I was to meet themost wonderful lady of all – Sandy. My first and only question to her was, “Can you fix me?” She said, “YES”! That was one year ago, and I am doing so much better (my husband thinks so too!). Ladies, there is HELP and HOPE. Husbands, stand by your spouse. I thank God for my husband all the time (when we took our wedding vows I don’t think menopause was in there, ha). God Bless your work.

Very professional and kind staff and there are not enough smiley faces on here to rate Kathy.????? Thanks so much.

Hi Lyn, I hope things are going well for you.

I am feeling better. Usually this is a rough time of year for me since I work in a school system. Usually I feel panicked and overwhelmed with the amount of work I have in August and early September. Usually I get so run down I end up physically ill from stress and have to take serveral days off work. I am amazed at how well I have done so far this year. It’s the end of August and I have not felt stressed !!! I have not felt this emotionally balanced at the start of a school year in a long time !!! Last year this time I was sleeping 12+ hours each day and still having major problems getting up in the morning. I was always late to work. I was always exhausted. Big improvement — when the alarm rings now I can get up after tapping the snooze button only once. Some mornings I even wake up 5-10 minutes before the alarm rings. I feel rested after a night’s sleep. About once a week I seem to need a catch up day where I need to take a two or three hour nap, but again, that’s a huge improvement from last August. I feel confident that with continued hormone/vitamin therapy my symptoms will continue to improve. Thank you for all you and the Medicine Shoppe team do to improve others’ quality of life. The services and support you provide have truely been a blessing and have changed my days from “making it through the day” to looking forward to the days activities with a smile on my face. Enjoy the sunshine this weekend! (I’m going to a pool party/picnic this afternoon!)

I originally met Lyn by chance in a small retail store that I owned when she came in and recognized me as someone who could benefit from natural hormone replacement. She caught me fluttering around in a hot flash and smiled at me and said, “I have a cream for that!”. That began our journey together and I am proud to say that I have watched her go from her first Happy Hormone Hour to opening a thriving business that I fondly call “The Love Shack”. The nickname is two fold, as I see the love that Lyn shows to every woman that she happens upon no matter where she may be. Lyn is in it with her entire heart. She has dedicated her time to listening to women’s stories and gently helping them make the decisions that are right for them on their individual journey. The Happy Hormone Cottage is a special place that is full of warmth, graciousness and most of all knowledge. Lyn’s dedication to learning the latest on natural hormone balance and the options that women are now afforded is what makes her little “Love Shack” irreplaceable. The Happy Hormone Cottage offers the right direction for YOU, not a one size fits all option. Lyn has been given a gift and she has chosen to share it with us women who are looking for answers to find the road back to who we used to be…stop in and give her a hug. She might just have a cream for you too!!

Good morning, Lyn!

After reading your latest e-mail, I knew I had to reply to you! You are so right on – women have to do the research and start standing up for themselves in their doctors’ offices! How do we encourage these women to let them know they are right, the research is right, and their doctors are just wrong? I did my research before I found out about the Cottage. I remember reading Feeling Fat, Fuzzy, or Frazzled? by Dr. Shames and wondering how I could ever find a place around Xenia that did that type of diagnosis. Close to a year after reading that book, I came across the article in the DDN about the opening of the Cottage, and I felt so relieved! I made my appointment, then took the saliva test. Fortunately for me, I was searching for a new gynecologist at about the same time.I went to one of the doctors that was recommended to me by one of the women from the cottage. I made two appointments: one for my regularcheck-up and tests and one for bio-identical conference. He sent my prescription for progesterone to The Medicine Shoppe, I picked up my first prescription at the Cottage where you and (I think) Sandra went over everything! I have lost 60 pounds since November of 2009. Mind you, it didn’t drop off. I have worked very hard to get it off (and keep it from coming back!), but I have the energy to exercise. Lyn, I’ve told you my story time and again, how I had no energy, couldn’t sleep, had so many pains in my joints that I was convinced I was looking at using a cane to walk around for the rest of my life. No more! I feel so strong and so healthy! I still have lots of weight to lose, but I have energy, motivation, and the clearness of mind to look forward and enjoy life. Even better, I look forward to challenging myself and being a participant, not someone who sits on the sidelines! I did not get a “halt!” message from my doctor. But as a daughter of a woman who died of an initially undetected cancer, I am not afraid to question a doctor’s prescription and diagnosis. I know my body, I do my research. If a doctor ever tried to prescribe a “one size fits all” synthetic hormone for me, he would get such an earful. And, depending on the outcome of that discussion, he would probably lose me as a patient. How do we empower these women, Lyn? This Life we get, it’s only one to a customer… no do-overs. And, it ain’t over until that last breath is drawn. I shudder when I see these women backing down to their mis-informed doctors (and I sincerely hope they are only mis-informed; the alternative angers me so much). I know this works! Within days of taking the progesterone, I was sleeping through the night, staying focused during the day. I never hit that wall that you and Sandra warned me about; perhaps my levels were so low that even the wall felt better than pre-bioidentical hormone days. (I won’t even start about the idea of a doctor blatantly prescribing an anti-depressant… quite frankly, that pisses me off!) My 52nd birthday was yesterday. I feel the strongest I’ve felt since my early twenties. Lyn, I won’t eat synthetic food (have started to be very picky about what I put in my mouth – fresh, out of the box food), why would I use synthetic hormones, especially since the bio-identical hormones are safer, better, and compounded just for me. Yes, I am important! Yes, I deserve this! Every woman is important! Every woman deserves this! And bio-identicals are not expensive, so there is no excuse there. Women need to realize that. Women need to understand they are not second class citizens. Women need to become partners in their health care! I know I’m “preaching to the choir”, Lyn. But I had to answer you today… I just did! On a side note: I apologize for not keeping in touch. I had a bad winter: the health of my 96-year-old grandfather started declining in January, and I lost him in March. Yes, I said 96! And until the very end, he was in really good health and of a very sharp and sound mind. I aspire to live like he did. But, it was a very emotionally draining time for me and the family. I did get through it. Before my new regime, I don’t know if I would have. But I did. Also, I still have not sold my novel. But I started a second one. Even if I don’t sell any novels, I am fulfilling a goal of being a writer. I am doing. I am being. Thank you for helping me rediscover my life!

Take care

Dr. Nelson is so helpful and informative. This is the right journey for me.

It all applies! I felt like I was well taken care of!

Hello Lyn,
I just want to let you know that I am so ready to Get Tested! Get Treated! and Get Better! I met with Angela last Thursday (she is so great, by the way) and bought the testing kit. I’m just letting you know that I mailed the samples yesterday and can hardly wait to find out the results!”

Have a blessed day

Hello All! I have been on your hormone therapy for a year and a half and I have seen so many changes that make me happy! I just want to say thanks for all you do! I can’t tell you enough how much the hormone therapy has changed my life. I am so thankful for your help traveling down these somewhat uncharted roads of hormone therapy. I look forward to hearing from you.

“Im excited to get going – so I feel better!! Angie was warm and kind and I felt very comfortable !!! Thank you!”