Part 2:

So the gal I spoke about in my previous blog, who got her saliva test results and then went to her doctor (one who is NOT on our list of practitioners we work with) for treatment…..well let’s just say it gets better and better! (not!) This 54 year old gal, “Leslie,” came to us with symptoms of: hot flashes, heart palpitations, mood swings, irritability, vaginal dryness, weight gain, night sweats, depression, sleep disturbances, anxiety, and feeling cold all the time. The results of her saliva testing (hormones at the tissue level of cells) came back with the following results:
-low estradial levels (brain fog, weight gain, hot flashes, night sweats, vaginal dryness)
-extremely low progesterone (sleep issues, depression, anxiety, heart palpitations, mood swings, irritability)
-good testosterone range! (ability to make new bone, energy, memory recall, libido)
-cortisol issues which indicate adrenal fatigue (energy and fatigue all day)
    So our team at our Piqua Medicine Shoppe (recommended as THE compounding pharmacy of choice in Ohio in Suzanne Somers last several books) made a recommendation for her practitioner that included adrenal vitamins to help rebuild and repair her exhausted adrenal glands; estrogen therapy to not only help her symptoms BUT ALSO help prevent dementia and heart disease (the #1 killer of women in this age group); progesterone capsules for her severe sleep issues and progesterone cream to help her anxiety during the day;  and vitamin D 5000 units a day. Vitamin D helps prevent breast cancer, depression, aches and pains etc. And in Ohio, the “Land of No Sun Ever!”, most people need at least 5000 units of vitamin D daily. I might also add that even though Leslie’s estrogen levels are on the low end, she is still estrogen dominant because her progesterone levels are SO depleted (because she is 54! It’s called aging!). Estrogen dominance is responsible for her weight gain and other symptoms listed above BUT MOST ESPECIALLY carries the greatest risk for breast cancer. Again, unopposed estrogen carries that risk. Our strategy is to physiologically dose Leslie with just the amount of estradial AND most especially progesterone to regain her hormone balance. Unfortunately, she didn’t have us do a thyroid panel, but because of her ‘feeling cold all the time,” and inablility to lose weight, I suspect she also has a thyroid issue. Her family doctor would probably run tests on her T4 and TSH. Our thyroid panels checks: free T3, free T4, TSH and TPO (checks for autoimmune deficiences like Hashimoto’s disease). We see women every day who have severe thyroid issues (hair loss, weight gain, cold body temperatures, no energy) whose family doctors have told them time and again they are “within the normal range.” My response is:
-normal for whom?
-what testing was run?
   If you have a broken leg, would you xray your arm?? So why NOT run a complete thyroid panel that detects thyroid issues that are relevant to your body’s symptoms? Just because it has always been done that way, isn’t good enough for me. How about you?
   Leslie went to her doctor for treatment for her hormone issues. This doctor “does her own thing.” She doesn’t use saliva test results (even though Leslie paid to have them done and the doctor had them in front of her, along with our strategy for Leslie’s hormone balance). She likes to use blood serum to check hormone levels. So her recommendation for Leslie is:
-prometrium (drug company made BHRT progesterone capsule: comes in 2 doses-100mg and 200 mg, is soaked in peanut oil, lasts for 6 hours)
  (note-our recommendation for her progesterone capsules is 150 mg-based on her body’s needs as indicated by the saliva test results)
-testosterone (our saliva testing indicates her testosterone is 32 (range is 16-55) Do you think she needs testosterone???
    Leslie’s doctor gives her no estrogen, no adrenal therapy, no vitamin D. And guess what? Based on my conversation with Leslie (previous blog) where I urged her to read and get information and education in Natural Hormone Balance so SHE could have a voice and dialogue about what SHE would like to do for her hormone balance WITH her doctor and her response was, “I just want to get a second opinion from you…” (my response to this is why not get educated so you can develop YOUR OWN opinion???) I knew her visit with her doctor wouldn’t go well. Because Leslie isn’t willing to get educated, she doesn’t have an informed opinion so she CAN’T advocate what is best for her body! So she is settling for one-size-fits-most drug company made progesterone that isn’t dosed for HER body AND testosterone because this is the strategy her doctor has created for her with NO interaction or opinion from Leslie. I find this extremely sad. In the words of Dr. Phil, I say to Leslie, “Let me know how this works for you!”