I wrote a blog that was posted on December 15, 2010, entitled “Happy Holidays from The Cottage,” where I blogged about a 56 year old client, Cheri, who had come through our facility to “get tested, get treated and get better,” and really only got to the “get tested” piece because her doctor did not sign off on our recommendation for her natural hormone balance. Not only did he NOT sign off, he called us at our Piqua Medicine Shoppe to let us know AND told us she would be going “another route.” He prescribed for Cheri a synthetic drug called Estratest, that is conjugated estrogens and synthetic testosterone. Estratest comes with its own set of health issues….all of which I advised Cheri of when I called her to let her know my concerns over the drug he was prescribing. Over the past several months since then, I found myself thinking about Cheri and wondering how she was doing. At the cottage, we are all about relationships, so we get very attached to our clients. We take each client’s story personally, celebrate their succcesses, and worry about those whose journey takes them away from us. So, a couple of weeks ago, I emailed Cheri the following email and got a response back from her:
Hi Cheri,
This is Lyn from the Happy Hormone Cottage just checking in with you. I’ve been thinking about you lately and wondering how you are doing. I know you did saliva testing with us back in October, and then went to your doctor, who wasn’t on board, so you opted to go with another strategy. Your doctor’s office called us to let us know…..so I’m assuming you went with his prescription for estratest. I am just wondering how this is working for you. Being a 55 year old woman myself, I am always interested in hearing about other women my age’s stories and journeys. I’m wondering how your symptoms of: brain fog, aches and pains, sugar cravings, weight gain, decreased libido, nervousness and anxiety are doing. Since most of these issues are controlled and prevented with natural progesterone, and your doctor isn’t giving you any…..well, I’m hoping you are doing better anyway.
I DO have a great article from the Wall Street Journal (written by 3 ob gyns) called “The Truth About BHRT” that is on my website (www.invigom98.sg-host.com) under my “recommended readings” section, that you may find interesting and helpful. It discusses why some of our doctors aren’t on board. In a word, it is because natural hormone balance isn’t taught in medical school. Medical school is about drug therapy that treats symptoms, so doctors are comfortable prescribing drugs for issues (i.e.estratest). I like BHRT (especially customized for each individual woman based on HER hormone levels) because it not only relieves symptoms but also prevents disease (breast cancer, heart disease, dementia and osteoporosis, among others). Think of it as an anti-aging strategy.
Anyway, just thinking about you and checking in. Have a wonderful summer and keep in touch. Our passion is women helping women and learning from each other. I know that what we do at our cottage isn’t for everyone. But our clients who are with us are better. We’ve just opened our 6th office in 23 months….so we must be doing something right!
Warm Regards,
Lyn
Happy Hormone Cottage
I received Cheri’s response a day or so later:
“Thanks, Lyn. Nice to hear from you. I didn’t take the meds very long due to side effects. Then my doctor (ob gyn) attempted to help and put me on hormone cream which may have helped a little?? Anyway, still about the same as I was when I came to see you. I guess I should try it your way. Cheri”
Wow! It was great to hear back from Cheri. I knew she wouldn’t be feeling better because no one has been fixing the cause of her issues. I was just surprised to hear that not only was she no better, but that she “guesses” she should try it my way. I mean, yes-I’d like it if she came to us and began using our strategy for natural hormone balance, but really I just want her to have the energy and take the time to actually GET better. Go somewhere and do something! But to just live with not feeling well boggles the mind. I guess I’m just too selfish to do that. I know my time here is limited, so I want to live every day feeling my best so I can, quite frankly, try to make a difference. I would never in a million years, just settle for not feeling okay. But, I realize this isn’t all about me, so I have to just keep on keeping on, educating women, praying for them, and hoping they will find their way. I also hope Cheri’s story will help others. Her story emphasizes one thing really well—it is CRITICAL that we become educated in this area of natural hormone balance BEFORE we go to our doctors! Then we can have a voice, be empowered for our own bodies, and help educate our own health care professionals!
