After A Hysterectomy: Five Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy Women Can Use

By the time a woman reaches the age of 60, it's possible she will have become one of the 33% who have had a hysterectomy. What is a hysterectomy? It's the surgical removal of a woman's uterus. And even though that's a lot of women, a hysterectomy is not the number-one procedure that women undergo. Topping the list, even above the hysterectomy, is the cesarean section.

Nor is a hysterectomy just forcused on removing a woman's uterus. Actually¸ it includes all her reproductive organs including her ovaries. When the ovaries are removed, it means the estrogen found in the body will decrease, leading to early menopause symptoms.

The chemicals estradiol, estrione and estrone of the estrogen family handle the development and releasing of the eggs. Estrogen is vital, not just to the woman's reproductive organs, but to her skin, brain and breasts. When a woman lacks enough estrogen in her body, it can lead to several problems in the body.

What ailments are possible from the lack of estrogen? Here are the six possible medical problems:

• Acceleration of dementia
• Excessive bone loss
• Hot flashes
• Rapid skin aging
• Urinary tract problems
• Vaginal dryness

One way to deal with the lack of estrogen in a woman's body is to start a hormone replacement therapy (HRT). HRT is a treatment in which a woman will be given hormones to replace the hormones that are now missing from her body due to the hysterectomy.

When a woman is experiencing menopause symptoms, she'll have the following hormones replaced:

• Estrogen
• Progesterone
• Progestins
• Testosterone

A Synthetic Hormone For HRT

Pharmaceutical companies have mixed together estrogens with progestins that come from horses, which is then made into a synthetic estrogen. However, it is not identical to the female estrogens.

Hormones that are identical are the same chemically to the hormones that are produced and found in the body. A majority of professionals believe that the problems with synthetic hormones come from the problems with the different chemical makeup that's found in a woman.

The combination of the chemicals can lead to blood clot development along with an increased risk of breast cancer and aggravate gall bladder and liver problems. A 2004 published study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that the conjugated horse-derived estrogen was a culprit in clotting. However, the bioindentical estrogen did not have such a problem.

Identifying What Hormones Need Replacement

After a woman has had a hysterectomy, a doctor will determine what chemicals are needed in the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT). The physician will determine this by testing the hormone levels in her body.

The tests will have levels for the following hormones:

• Estradiol
• Follicle stimulating hormone level
• Thyroid stimulating hormone level
• Total testosterone and free testosterone

After the levels are determined, the BHRT can be tailored to meet the woman's needs. This will include the certain hormones needed, the dosage needed, the age of the woman, her body size and how bad her symptoms are.

Types of BHRT Available

How will the woman be delivered her formulated BHRT? They'll be delivered in five different ways. These include:

• Creams
• Injections
• Pellets injected underneath the skin
• Pills
• Skin patches

When a woman's hormones are out of whack, any one of the five BHRT methods will work. However, some methods are actually better than other methods. Don't forget that a woman's body and hormones change over time and her methods and prescription should be changed to meet this change.

Bioidentical Hormone Pellet Therapy

What type of hormone replacement therapy tends to work better to tackle a woman's menopausal symptoms? The best one that will progressively relieve the woman's symptoms is the bioidentical hormone pellet therapy. Let's consider why it works so well.

First, it releases hormones when it senses that the body needs it. If the woman is working out, it will release the hormones she needs to get the full benefit of the workout. If she is sleeping, then the pellet therapy will release fewer hormones into her body.

When a woman takes a look at pellet therapy and compares it to the other methods, she'll likely note that the therapy comes close to replicating the hormones that were released by the body originally. So how does pellet therapy work?

A surgeon will place the hormone pellet, which are about the size of small grains of rice, under the skin in three areas:

• Bikini
• Buttocks
• Hip

There won't be a need for stitches after the surgery, because the incision is so small that a Band-aid will do just fine. This type of therapy will last up to six months. There are several benefits to Hormone Pellet Therapy we should consider:

Advantages To Hormone Pellet Therapy

There are three major reasons a woman may choose to go with the hormone pellet therapy. First, you never have to worry with applying the cream or patches and taking the pill.

A second reason to use the pellet therapy is that it will adequately deliver the needed hormones to the woman's body.

A third reason that pellet therapy is so popular is that there is no chance of losing the medication. Losing medication can cause a woman's hormone levels to fluctuate.

Pills

The majority of women will opt for the traditional hormone replacement therapy in the form of pills. When a woman chooses to use pills, she'll have to take the medicine two times a day. Pills will also have a high dosage of hormones.

Creams

Creams can be applied, but they need to be done twice a day as well. Like taking pills, the creams need high dosage levels to have an effect. An important consideration with the creams is where to apply them on the body.

Skin Patches

One reason skin patches are used is to relieve the symptoms of hot flashes. However, patches can come off the skin too early and cannot be reapplied to the skin. When this occurs, a woman won't get the dosage that she needs with the patch.

There is actually another problem with the patches, especially for women with sensitive skin. Specifically, it's possible that the patch will give the woman skin irritations.

Women did not have to live with the symptoms that come from having a hysterectomy and menopause. There are many treatment options she can utilize to improve her health. All it takes is finding a physician who knows about the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.