Bioidentical hormones are hormones that are extracted from some plants such as soybeans and yams and that are used during menopause to reduce their effects: insomnia, hot flashes, sadness, fluid retention, memory loss… Everything that happens at that time it is due to the same thing, to the state in which your body is because the ovaries have begun to stop working and, therefore, the levels of the hormones they secrete have plummeted: estrogens and progesterone.
Before the appearance of bioidentical hormones, what was used, and is still used exactly the same now, is what is called hormone replacement therapy, which consists of providing the body with estrogen and progesterone. The point is that this hormone replacement therapy has risks; They are not high, but women who use it are more likely to suffer a myocardial infarction, a stroke, a blood clot in the lower limbs that can end up in the lung or breast cancer.
Bioidentical hormones began to be produced to try to avoid these risks. Of them, the companies that market them say they are natural. But the problem is that this is not entirely true because the compound that is extracted from the plant, from soybeans or yams, must be chemically modified to have a therapeutic action. But it is true that they began to be used as an alternative to hormone replacement therapy. They are administered orally, in tablets, in a gel that spreads on the skin or in subcutaneous implants that release the dose prescribed by the patient’s doctor.
But bioidentical hormones have detractors. For example, the Mayo Clinic, one of the most prestigious medical research centers in the United States, has carried out various investigations that ensure that there is no scientific evidence that they are better than hormone replacement therapy. And, in addition, according to the center, the fact that they are prepared as master formulas in pharmacies means that their quality rigor is not the same as that which hormones that are marketed as estrogen or progesterone tablets have to pass. Their reports also cast doubt on the efficacy of so-called personalization of bioidentical hormone treatment. This is done using a test that measures the amount of estrogen in the patient’s saliva and, from there, it is decided how much to give the patient. But the determination of estrogens in saliva is not conclusive nor is it a reflection of the estrogens that are actually circulating. And, furthermore, the estrogens in a middle-aged woman when she reaches menopause are very fluctuating, so that amount can change every day and at different times.
There is another thing that you should know and that is the same with hormone replacement therapy: when it begins to be used, there are patients who develop side effects. It is not very common and usually occurs only when you start taking the medication, but facial hair, swelling in the hands and belly, tiredness and even mood swings can appear. It is also true that this usually lasts only a few days and then disappears.
Carmen Calatayud Lliso She is a medical expert in assisted reproduction, co-director of CREA Center for Assisted Reproduction.
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The advice in this office is of a general nature and is not a substitute for medical advice. If you have questions about your specific problem, ask your doctor or pharmacist.
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