Jean and Marie were 36 year old twins who were suffering from the same symptoms of depression, irritability, mood swings, fatigue, weight gain, low libido and sleeping difficulties. Let’s look at their stories and outcomes.
Jean: At 36 years old, Jean visited her primary care practitioner to address her issues. After a quick consultation, Jean’s practitioner prescribed an anti-depressant to address her concerns, even though this type of medication has been shown to decrease sex drive and increase weight.
At 40 years of age, Jean returns to her practitioner. She is now 30 pounds heavier, has no sex drive and no energy. She asks for help with her weight gain and is prescribed a diet pill. She is also concerned about her increasing anxiety and she is prescribed an anti-anxiety pill as well and a sleeping pill for her sleep issues.
At 45 years of age, Jean returns to her practitioner, still depressed and overweight, and he notices that her cholesterol is elevated. She is placed on cholesterol lowering medication rather than being counseled on her medication and alternatives such as hormone balancing along with healthy diet and lifestyle changes. The cholesterol lowering medication is a statin drug which has been shown to cause muscle aches and fatigue, plus it lowers her other hormone levels. She now feels even worse and has less of a desire to exercise due to her increased fatigue and body aches. She is now 50 pounds heavier than when she was 36 years old.
Jean’s exam at 50 years old has her complaining about a loss of her periods, hot flashes, night sweats, and worsening moods. She is placed on a synthetic hormone pill, which has been shown in studies to increase the risk of blood clots, heart attacks, strokes, and breast cancer. It does help her hot flashes but she still has no sex drive or energy and is unable to lose weight.
Jean feels horrible and does not feel like herself at all!!! To make matters worse, she gets a divorce after 25 years of marriage. She feels bad inside and out.
At 55 years old, Jean tells her practitioner that she has stopped taking her oral hormone pill as she did not like the side effects. She is miserable and feels like she is getting Alzheimer’s disease because she has trouble remembering things. She has a bone density test and they find that her bones are thinning and she is placed on a medication to build her bone strength. This medication causes her chest pain and nausea. She is still moody, has trouble sleeping, and unable to lose any weight. Jean’s blood pressure and blood sugar are found to be elevated and she is also placed on blood pressure medication and diabetes medication.
By the time Jean turned 60, she is on a lifelong host of medications that are merely acting as band aides to her symptoms, rather than getting to the root of the problems. Because she and her practitioner did not understand the importance of hormone balancing in improving her mood, mental clarity, anxiety, bone building, heart health, diabetes prevention, weight control, and Alzheimer’s prevention; she has suffered over the past few decades and is now committed to more and more medications.
At age 60, Jean is still tired, miserable, overweight, depressed, irritable, can’t think, and has no sex drive.
Let’s compare her story to her twin sister Marie.
Marie: Marie at 36 years old had similar symptoms to Jean but she felt that her symptoms were hormone related so she sought the advice of a hormone specialist. After an in depth consultation and blood work evaluation, the hormone expert that Marie saw diagnosed her with premenopausal Testosterone and Progesterone deficiency. Marie was surprised to learn that women needed Testosterone and that it was a vital hormone for overall physical and mental health and well-being.
Based on all the research Marie had done surrounding hormone balance, hormone replacement therapy with bioidentical hormones, and the different forms of replacement; Marie chose bioidentical Testosterone pellets and Progesterone cream as her treatment method of choice.
Marie returned to her follow-up appointment in two months and could not believe how much better she felt!! The depression, anxiety, mood swings and sleep issues were all gone, and she now had energy and even a sex drive!! Her husband told her he would sell the house to pay for the treatment if it came to that–he never wanted her to stop! His wife was back and he loved it!!
Marie is now able to exercise regularly and feels well enough to make better food choices. She has the desire and mental capability to address toxin exposures and proper supplementation. This further enhances her health and aides with her ability to lose her unwanted fat.
At age 45, Marie no longer resembles her twin sister Jean. Marie is fit, lean, exercising regularly, taking a few supplements plus her bioidentical hormones, and is on no extra medications. At her annual checkup her primary practitioner (who also treats Jean) asks what she is doing–how is she staying in such great shape?? She shares with him she is on natural hormone balance therapy with bioidentical hormones; sadly, he scoffs under his breath. He feels that this is not FDA approved and has no merit, even though he can visibly see the difference between Jean and Marie.
At 50, Marie’s periods stop and she has some hot flashes. No problem! Her hormone balancing practitioner makes a slight adjustment in her treatment regimen and she sails through menopause. Her bone density is normal, her blood pressure and blood sugar are normal, her memory is intact, she has great energy, a healthy sex drive, and a balanced mood. She enjoys being in menopause!
Marie has avoided the multiple medications that her twin sister was placed on and the suffering that Jean experienced. Marie is feeling optimal and has vitality. Her primary care practitioner is still skeptical but he is beginning to see with his own eyes how beneficial bioidentical hormone therapy is.
At age 60, Marie feels great, looks great, has energy, mental clarity, sharp focus, sleeps well, and has a great sex drive!!