Just about every hormone declines with age, but the severity of hormonal dysfunction is also largely related to cumulative STRESS. The human body is very smart and tends to prioritize what is most important for survival and interestingly when the stress hormones are overused or depleted, the body will borrow from the sex hormones to keep the body functioning. The end result is oftentimes a viscious cycle of hormone disruption leading to many distressing symptoms which are thought to be a "normal" part of aging, but can actually be avoided with appropriate therapy.

Hormones are chemical messengers formed in endocrine glands and certain body tissues in both men and women, which help cells to communicate, and stimulate the body to heal, rejuvenate and reproduce. A common misconception is that hormones and their subsequent replacement applies only to women starting in midlife with the onset of menopause. In fact, both men and women can be affected by a dysfunctional hormone pattern that can begin during adolescence or even before birth. Below is a diagram which outlines the endocrine system and the hormones produced in each gland, the function of each hormone and some of the symptoms that can come as a result of an imbalance in that hormone (click for diagram).

Natural (Bioidentical) Hormone Replacement Therapy uses primarily soy derived hormones to correct hormone imbalances in comparison to conventional treatment which uses synthetic conjugated hormones derived from various sources (e.g. Premarin which comes form the urine of pregnant females) to try to diminish symptoms. The advantage of using Bioidentical hormone replacement is that the hormones are identical in structure to the endogenous hormones our bodies produce. Our bodies recognize these bioidentical hormones as being more natural and therefore help to achieve the goal of returning to healthful levels without many of the unwanted side-effects seen with conventional Hormone Replacement Therapy. The other advantage to Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy is that the hormones can be custom made with tailored dosages to meet the specific needs of the individual. Also, there are many forms available including sublingual drops, sprays, creams and capsules or tablets. At the Hills Medical Group, we have found that the majority of our patients do better on the bioidentical hormones than the synthetics. Occasionally we do have patients that require or function more optimally on synthetic hormones and we are willing to treat and monitor those patients appropriately.

Hormone levels can be checked through blood, urine and saliva. Comprehensive hormonal testing should be performed to establish a baseline before any individual begins a hormone replacement program and should be repeated periodically throughout treatment. There is a lot of controversy in the news regarding the potential negatives and unwanted side-effects of hormone replacement which many times could be avoided with proper serial hormone measurements. We have found that saliva is a very good medium both for testing stress (adrenal) and sex hormones as well as for monitoring levels once hormonal treatment/supplementation has been initiated. We also use blood studies for measuring different hormones such as thyroid and growth hormone as well as the sex hormones.

Two laboratories that we use for saliva testing are:

Diagnostech
Sabresciences

Please visit their websites for further information