Women and Doctors: Menopause Therapy

Everything was s great for doctors and drug companies when the$3 billion in annual hormone prescription dough was rolling in. But that time came to an abrupt end when the estrogen secret finally got out – that after three decades it was always simply useless and deadly. But not about to give up the estrogen money, the medical industry has come up with new approaches.

First, they hired a celebrity to hawk the “new” estrogen and synthetic progesterone drugs – which are nothing more than birth control pills. It appears that this new approach is gaining acceptance. Women with peri-menopause/menopause problems are being told to take birth control pills for life. No mention is made of the serious side effects that include blood clots, or these hormone pill do nothing to actually cure problems with the normal physiological transition through menopause.

In fact, taking these pills for life simply delays menopause indefinitely. That means you could be having periods when you are 85 years old. If you survive the side effects but tire of having monthly periods in your 80s, you could stop the pills. At that point you would be right back where you were when you were 50 – ready to start menopause with the same problems you had originally.

If this new medical approach to sell old drugs doesn’t get you, there is yet another. The medical industry has come up with new “scientific data” that antidepressants can cure menopausal problems. That’s right – just take antidepressants for life to resolve hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Again, there is no mention of the serious side effects, or that this drug regime really does not work.

If You Want Real Therapy

The better way is to understand that menopause is normal. And that most menopausal problems are amenable to diet, exercise, and nutritional supplements therapy. Actually, hard, exhilarating exercise may be one of the best therapies. It can even help with depression at the same time, since exercise provides a sense of accomplishment.

Ron L. Hubbard of Scientology fame used to say the “productivity is the key to morale”. That statement is so true, so telling, and so apparent, not that we see what the “entitlement mentality” has done to people in this country. Without productivity, morale drops and depression sets in. A depressed person can easily become angry and hostile. When entitlements take the place of productivity, no drug can resolve the slow, insidious depression that surely sets in.

Do not fall for the medical drug approach to menopause. It was proven useless and dangerous. The new drug therapies are just the same old wine in a brand new bottle. Instead, start with regular exercise. This alone has resolved thousand of menopausal problems. Eat a diet of whole foods with plenty of them raw. And use supplements to rebuild and strengthen female glands and organs.

The primary glands and organs involve in a healthy through the normal menopausal months are the thyroid and adrenal glands, and the ovaries and liver. There are several phytonutrients that support these tissues. We use with great success Symplex f (6-9/day), Drenamin (3-6/day), Cataplex B (6- 9/day), Calcium Lactate (6-12/day), Cataplex F (6-9/day) or Prolamine Iodine (1-4/day). All products are from Standard Process. Additionally a source of omega-3 fatty acids is often very helpful during menopause or for breast problems. We recommend a tablespoon daily of flax or cod liver oil. There is mounting evidence that higher-than-normal does of iodine are needed in some cases of menopausal problems and fibrocystic breast disease. In some cases iodine fulfillment therapy may be needed. This is a slow buildup of Prolamine Iodine (starting does of one to two tablets per week until you reach the full dose of 12 tablets daily). This dose is maintained for three months to reach iodine fulfillment.

Dangerous Then, Still Dangerous Now

Thousands of women have died due to cancer caused by estrogen and progesterone drugs. Now the pharmaceutical industry wants you to start it all over again. No matter what the movie stars and ads tell you, this is still dangerous. In the very worst cases when everything else fails, and when you need hormones just to be able to live a normal life, you can now get bio-identical hormones.

Alternative physicians tell you that these alternative menopausal symptoms just as well as estrogen without the side effects. My thoughts and testing to date on this are that the jury is still out. Bio-identical by definitions means identical to your own hormones. Given the complicated biochemistry of human hormones, I doubt they can be duplicated identically. Will it b enough to relieve symptoms. We’ll see. I am still convinced that hormone therapy – bio-identical or not – carries risk of serious side effects.

Perhaps bio-identical hormones are safer. We probably will not now for many years. For now, I suggest you go back to natural alternatives. Use the therapies in this article. And if everything fails, you can always find a holistic physician to prescribe bio-identical hormones through a compounding pharmacist.

Health Alert Vol. 22, Issue 12