My Menopause Blog

Slowly but surely I’m putting together a picture of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement. Go here for all my previous posts if you haven’t been following along.

So far in this picture making journey, no alarm bells are sounding for me on BHR. And information that I dig up from multiple sources seems to be consistent. At least from this layperson’s perspective.

I like that I have been able to figure this out to the degree that I have. (Sue takes a quiet moment to pat herself on the back). That’s not bragging by the way. It’s more relief that I can use my own common sense and ability to understand the reasoning behind BHR. Given that menopause is not a disease, but more in line with say the natural process of pregnancy, I would think the choices for optimal health should be easy to understand for the average woman.

At the Menopause Symposium, I learned about the four dosage forms for Bioidentical Hormone Replacement plus their pros and cons.

• Oral: come in the form of compounded capsules. These are made in compounding pharmacies in doses specified to your needs. One of the key down sides of oral forms of BHR is the fact that they are first metabolized by our liver. Our liver is designed to break down and change whatever passes through it. Another issue raised is inconsistent absorption rates. So expect peaks and valley’s.
• Transdermal: comes in the form of patches, gels and creams. Patches offer continual slow release but the dosage is fixed at one-size-fits-all. Gels and creams are compounded (customized) but apparently absorption changes depending on the day. On the pro side, your liver is not involved since nothing is being swallowed.
• Vaginal Forms: These are designed to offer ‘local relief’…the locale being your vagina. Think dryness, atrophy (the wasting away of a body part…without mentioning any names) and urinary stress incontinence…involuntary peeing. Ah yes, I know it well.
• Buccal Forms: This seemed to be the Oscar winner. Buccal form is a lozenges. You leave it in your cheek and don’t move, suck or chew on it as the dose is absorbed through your mucus membrane. Apparently overall absorption is excellent, the liver has nothing to do with the process and the dose is compounded to suit you. Training yourself not to absentmindedly bite your lozenge may prove challenging. But perhaps that’s just me.

Sue Richards

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