WE DON’T DO COOKIE CUTTER MEDICINE!

I got an interesting question the other day that gave me pause for reflection.  A lady called our Happy Hormone Cottage and wanted to know if our nurse practitioner, Angela, was the BEST nurse practitioner in the city for BHRT (bioidentical hormone replacement therapy). I have never been asked this question before. In speaking with her, what we recognized was that here is a woman who has done her research. She is familiar with bhrt and customized bhrt, and she is familiar with her body and her body’s needs. In doing research, she saw a variety of information, often conflicting, and with several paths to choose. And she was confused as to which path to take. So asking for the BEST bhrt practitioner in the city was her way of guaranteeing that her needs would be met. I get it. Isn’t this what we all want in everything we choose? We want the BEST direction, the BEST practitioner, the BEST service repairman, the BEST house we can afford, etc. So IS Angela the BEST bhrt practitioner in the city? My answer is, “I don’t know. I would like to think so, but, I think you are asking the wrong question.” And here’s why:  what I understand is that one’s credentials are not the most important part of the equation in dealing with hormone imbalance issues. Everyone engaged in any medical area has credentials. But the most important aspect in dealing in this arena of women’s health is HOW one applies their knowledge of bhrt that is important. See, here’s the thing. What we do is NOT cookie cutter medicine. We don’t bring women in, glance at them, study their labs and then prescribe a drug. What we have to do is to think outside the box to problem solve hormone imbalance issues, and we do this within the science of functional medicine, which is holistic health. Because we are not conventionally trained specialists with an area of focus on one body system, we CAN think outside the box. Our goal is find the CAUSE of the hormone imbalance in several key areas and fix these. Let me tell you that this is simply not taught in medical school. So we have to research and get the information on our own. Luckily, because we are constantly going to school to take classes on the latest research in functional medicine and anti-aging, we are up to date with the latest information, so we CAN help our women find and treat the cause of their hormone imbalance issues.
What I also know is that women LIKE and appreciate being treated as individuals. We have most of our women come in where nobody has ever measured their hormone levels. This isn’t typically done in current standard of care, and when it is, blood serum is used to measure these levels. What we understand is that using blood serum to measure hormone levels simply is not accurate, nor does it give us enough information. So when our clients come to us, they appreciate the fact that we DO have the latest technology in checking hormone levels, and they WANT to know what their hormone levels are. And they are happy to pay for the latest technology with which to find out. Once we know their existing hormones at the tissue level of cells, we can then use all of our knowledge and training to problem-solve to fix the cause of the issues. In other words, we apply our knowledge to provide the best treatment we can for each individual who comes in. We customize and personalize therapy in several key areas:  sex hormones, adrenal glands and thyroid as the first step to wellness, for each client. There is nothing “cookie cutter” about this approach. It is difficult, time consuming, and requires follow up and monitoring for the long haul. But the results are extremely rewarding because we have women who have finally had their needs met. These are happy women and these happy women make Angela happy. You see, it isn’t about being the BEST in the city. The better question is, “How successful are you?” To me, it is all about being successful. And how do we measure success? By the number of clients we have who are happy, healthy and hormonally balanced.