(HRT) and its Dangerous Side-Effects:

HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (HRT) AND ITS DANGEROUS SIDE EFFECTS:

THE SAFE ALTERNATIVE: BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONES. [pg 199]

For many years, women around the world were turning to Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) believing that symptoms of menopause were being controlled and nothing more.

This type of treatment became so common that HRT was soon the standard treatment option.

Unfortunately, women began getting sick, developing cancer and other illnesses. Realising that these women all had one thing in common, Hormone Replacement Therapy, doctors and researchers started putting the pieces of the puzzle together. The bottom line – HRT is not just dangerous to women’s health, but far more dangerous than ever believed.

Every year, doctors prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to millions of women suffering from menopausal symptoms.

One of the most widely prescribed drugs for HRT is made from animal waste. The drug is Premarin, an oestrogen-therapy drug manufactured by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, which also produces Prempro, a dangerous combination of oestrogen and progestin.

Both drugs contain horse urine, specifically pregnant mares’ urine (PMU). This form of HRT even though it has been proved to be dangerous to humans. The horses raised for their urine are kept confined and pregnant. Their foals often end up in the slaughterhouse.

Tom Hughes (Canadian Farm Animal Care Trust) has publicly stated, “Most of the foals from the average PMU (Pregnant Mares Urine farms) will be sold purely for meat.”

WHERE DOES PREMARIN COME FROM? 

You may have heard of Premarin. A very common and much prescribed HRT. What you may not know that this stands for Pregnant Mares’ Urine. It makes my blood boil, they are so confident, that they dare to brag they are prescribing horse urine!!

More than 400 ranches in remote areas of North Dakota and Canada house thousands of pregnant mares who produce urine for Premarin and similar HRT drugs.

Animal Cruelty: 

For six months of their pregnancies, mares are confined to PMU (Pregnant Mare Urine) stalls so small that they cannot turn around or take more than one step in any direction. The animals must wear rubber urine-collection bags at all times, which cause chafing and lesions, and their drinking water is limited so that their urine will yield more concentrated oestrogen. Some farmers admit to exercising their horses as little as once every three or four weeks. When questioned about horses’ need for exercise, a Wyeth-Ayerst Pharmaceuticals spokesperson flippantly replied, “Some horses are active, some are couch potatoes.”

PREMARIN BANNED IN USA 

The USA has banned Premarin and it is discontinued there. Unfortunately, it is still available in South Africa. South African Pharmacy is selling 42.5g Premarin Cream online for R 644.12. Premarin is also sold in tablet form with a doctor’s script. I had a new Pilates client only last week who wrote Premarin on her Pilates medical form; she had no idea about the dangers or the alternative natural hormones.

SAY NEIGH! TO PREMARIN AND OTHER HRT PRESCRIPTION DRUGS 

Cruelty For What? The Risks Outweigh Any Benefits 

In 2002, the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), a study of more than 16,000 women using Prempro, was abruptly halted by the federal government after it concluded that HRT raises a woman’s risk of:

Stroke by 41%
Heart attack by 29%
Breast cancer by 26%

Dr Claude L’Enfant, director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which sponsored the study, said the cardiovascular and cancer risks were “too high a price to pay” and urged women who want to ward off heart disease to “focus on well-proven treatments” instead, such as exercise and keeping their weight down.

Prempro has no meaningful effects on women’s physical or emotional health, pain levels, memory, sleeping patterns, or energy levels. Researchers concluded that Prempro is effective for ‘short-term relief from hot flashes but nothing else’.  [pg 202] 

Dr Jennifer Hays from the Baylor College of Medicine commented, “The average woman will not experience an improvement in her quality of life by taking this pill. In fact, she is at risk.” 

The following chart will give you some indication of just how much you are at risk:

Serious risk 

  • Stroke
  • Heart attack
  • Breast cancer
  • Endometrial cancer
  • Uterine cancer
  • Acute liver disease
  • Gall bladder disease
  • Pancreatic disease
  • Blood clots or hypertension
  • Undiagnosed vaginal bleeding

Relative risk 

  • Hypertension
  • Benign breast disease
  • Benign uterine disease
  • Endometriosis
  • Pancreatitis
  • Epilepsy
  • Migraine headaches

Subjective Complaints 

  • Nausea
  • Headaches
  • Breakthrough bleeding
  • Depression
  • Fluid retention
  • Possible increased risk of breast cancer
  • Gallstones
  • Frequent medical monitoring involving increased costs and potential for surgery

The Women’s Health Initiative, sponsored by the National Institute of Health, examined the relationship between traditional synthetic hormone replacement therapy and breast cancer, coronary heart disease, bone fractures, endometrial cancer, strokes and blood clots.

This study was to last eight years but was stopped prematurely in July 2002 after only five years. Why? Because the women in the study on HRT had health risks that exceeded the benefits! And after just five years!

The study found that women on hormone replacement therapy of combined oestrogen plus progestin (PREMPRO) had:

  • A 41% INCREASE in strokes
  • A 29% INCREASE in heart attacks
  • A 100% INCREASE in the rate of blood clots
  • A 22% INCREASE in total cardiovascular disease
  • A 24% INCREASE in breast cancer A 100% INCREASE in the rate of Alzheimer’s Disease (in women over 65) 

The Women’s Health Initiative also concluded in 2003 that there were: NO CLEAR BENEFITS on ‘Quality of Life’ measures for those taking the combined oestrogen plus progestin HRT! A woman’s body has trouble assimilating synthetic hormones effectively and the side effects that result are often much worse than the original problems being treated. 

Study participants answered questions about their general health, bodily pain, energy, social functioning, depression,  sleep, sexual satisfaction and menopause symptoms after treatment with synthetic hormone replacement therapy. [pg 204]

In August 2003 Oxford University released a study of one million women which showed higher death rates from breast cancer among women who took combination oestrogen plus progestin hormone replacement therapy than those who took oestrogen alone.

Begun in 1996, women had a 66% higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who did not get HRT. And women had a 22% higher risk of dying from breast cancer than those women who did NOT receive HRT. These results were as of 2002 when the study was stopped. For those taking only oestrogen, the risk of breast cancer was 30% over those NOT taking oestrogen HRT. The risk for breast cancer declined after women stopped hormone therapy.

Dr Marcia L Stefanick of Stanford University is quoted in the New York Times as saying,

“It looks like the longer you use HRT, the worse off you are.” 

BIO-IDENTICAL HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY (BRHT) 

Why subject yourself to these health risks that come with synthetic HRT (horse urine)? To balance your hormones, please consider using bio-identical hormones which are hormones that ARE IDENTICAL to what your body makes.

When you hear that there are dangers of taking hormones for menopause, what exactly does that entail? Simply put, this means if you take HRT, you are putting yourself at greater risk for things such as heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and even blood clots, any of which could be fatal.

Because the risks are much greater than originally thought, new statements are being announced all the time and not just in the United States but in Europe, Canada, and other countries around the world. Interestingly, most of these statements advise women that any type of therapy involving oestrogen and progestin combined should be avoided at all costs

BIO IDENTICAL HORMONES – NATURAL HRT 

Balance your hormones yourself. Natural HRT can deliver better results than synthetic HRT, and without the risks and side effects

 

NATURAL PROGESTERONE 

Pre-menopausal women 

Use natural progesterone CREAM. Just apply it directly to your skin from where it is absorbed into the underlying fat layer.

Then, the natural progesterone can be absorbed into the bloodstream as the body needs it. Use natural progesterone cream for 21 days or as needed. Stop using it for 7 days when you are having your period and repeat every month. In addition to the hormone-balancing benefits, you’ll enjoy the way natural progesterone cream softens and moisturises your skin. More and more women are discovering using bio-identical hormones.

A woman’s ovaries produce natural progesterone in the normal monthly menstrual cycle. Natural progesterone cream is a ‘bio-identical’ product, which means it’s the exact same hormone as the body makes, not a synthetic version. Natural hormones are safer, more effective and have greater protective benefits.

Post-menopausal women 

The reason for signs and symptoms after you stop ovulating is more likely progesterone deficiency, not oestrogen deficiency.

And the easiest and most effective form of progesterone supplementation is with natural progesterone cream.

Post menopause syndrome can occur between the ages of 44 and 55 and the standard definition is when menstrual periods have completely stopped for more than 12 months.

Postmenopausal syndrome can also be surgically induced by hysterectomy at any age and afterward you can no longer have children or menstrual periods.

After menopause, every woman will be affected differently and they will be at higher risk for breast cancer, hair loss, post-menopausal weight gain, wrinkly skin, urinary incontinence, low sex drive, cardiovascular disease, fibroids and osteoporosis. Natural progesterone’s presence in the body is important for many reasons: –

  • It balances and controls oestrogen and its actions.
  • Oestrogen promotes cell growth, and natural progesterone keeps that growth from going farther than is either necessary or healthy.
  • If you don’t have a suitable amount of natural progesterone in your body, your oestrogen is unbalanced and uncontrolled.
  • Progesterone has a number of cosmetic advantages by way of producing softer, younger looking skin.
  • As your hormones increase you look and feel younger.

Most men and women begin to produce less progesterone when they reach their early 30s and this accelerates in their 40s. This progesterone deficiency causes several health issues for men and women.

I have been using Bio Identical hormones for over thirty years. I started in my late 40s. I am now 76 and still use it today. My husband also uses Testosterone and Progesterone.

I never experienced a hot flash or any of the symptoms of the change of life; I was almost 60 when my periods stopped completely.

I know libido is a very important aspect of Youthing and relationships. Bio Identical hormones help you stay younger and enjoy every aspect of life. This is why I have spent so much time and detail in teaching this subject. 

 

BIO IDENTICAL HORMONES WILL HELP BOTH MEN AND WOMEN 

In women 

  • irregular menstrual flow
  • cramping
  • bloating
  • irritability
  • migraine headaches
  • insomnia
  • hot flashes
  • night sweats
  • vaginal dryness
  • infertility
  • incontinence
  • endometriosis

In addition, it: 

  • restores sex drive and increases libido
  • normalises blood sugar levels
  • normalises blood clotting
  • uses fat for energy
  • protects against breast fibro cysts
  • prevents migraines
  • is a natural diuretic
  • relieves depression
  • corrects thyroid imbalance

In Pregnancy – Postpartum depression 

Progesterone is important for the survival and development of the embryo. In the third trimester of pregnancy, the female’s placenta produces 300 – 400mg of natural progesterone PER DAY! Since progesterone is a natural anti-depressant, it comes as no surprise that new mothers suffer ‘post-partum depression’ when their major source of natural progesterone, the placenta, is lost when the baby is born!

In men 

Progesterone is the primary precursor for adrenal corticosteroids, oestrogens and testosterone produced by testes in males. Men 40 years and older should use natural testosterone and progesterone cream as it balances testosterone and oestrogen, and alleviates symptoms and consequences associated with an enlarged prostate.
 

INTERGRATIVE DOCTORS 

Again, I stress to be guided by your doctor, preferably an integrative doctor. I am simply stating facts you may be unaware of.

Natural progesterone supplementation or natural progesterone cream is a key element in our health and well-being. 

TESTOSTERONE 

Natural testosterone cream is used for hormone replacement in men who are not able to produce enough testosterone (for example due to hypogonadism). The cream is absorbed through the skin, enters the bloodstream and helps the body reach normal testosterone levels. Other benefits include increased libido and muscle mass.

Testosterone is as important for women as it is for men. Some women think it will make them manly or they will grow a beard. Pre- and post-menopausal women often lose their libido, suffer hair loss, fatigue, night sweats and hot flashes. Natural testosterone can improve hair growth, bone health, increase energy levels, help lift brain fog and eliminate hot flashes. It also benefits post-menopausal women whose ovaries have completely shut down.

I can bear testimony to the above. I was pre-menopausal when I started to use Bio-identical Hormone Replacement Therapy (BRHT) and experienced absolutely no menopausal symptoms whatsoever.

The only way I knew I had been through ’the change of life’ is that I stopped menstruating at 56 years old. Most important in regard to this book is that it plays a vital role in health and longevity.

SO, WHAT SHOULD A WOMAN OR MAN DO? 

First find a doctor who is knowledgeable in natural hormone replacement.
This may be your own doctor or more likely an Integrative doctor (a fully qualified doctor, an MD who has studied further the natural alternatives to dangerous drugs), and whose conscience does not allow them to prescribe drugs they know are not beneficial, or worse, will harm their patients.
Look up Integrative doctors in your area.
Blood tests will be taken by him/her.
According to the results, he/she will prescribe the correct bioidentical hormones for you.
The script will be forwarded to a compounding pharmacy.
I pay EFT and they deliver to my door.
They will make up your prescription.
It will be valid for 6 months.
It is so easy to use – simply apply it to your skin.
Your doctor may ask you ask you to have an annual blood test.
The feedback re: changed lives, from this type of treatment is more than encouraging. It spurs me on to tell as many people as possible about the dangers of HRT. [Maureen]


~The above is an exact excerpt from Maureen Boddy’s book: “Youthing: Look Younger, Stay Healthier, Live Longer.”

Hormone replacement therapy, Youthing, Book, Anti-ageing, Look Younger, Health, Maureen Boddy, Organic, Natural, Products, Cape Town