So you’ve listened to the evidence and you’ve taken the plunge; you are now applying natural hormones to your body and trying to improve your health. How do you get the best of your therapy or bring your therapy back on track if it seems to be falling off the tracks? Here are a few simple tips:

-Don’t put creams, lotions or oils on the skin before your hormone creams. This could block the absorption of the active ingredient. Do not put oils in the bath.

-Avoid eating large amounts of fiber. Fiber that you cannot digest results in increased elimination of estradiol through the stools.

-Apply the preparation to a large area of skin and rub in well. The larger the area of application, the better chance of a resevoir of the hormone building up in the fat tissue.

-If progesterone therapy seems like it is failing, try dealing with yeast overgrowth in the intestines. This will inactivate progesterone therapy more than estrogen. This applies to topical application as well. One suggestion is to avoid sugar, sweets, pop, as well as dairy and wheat. Try eating only steamed or boiled meat, rice and vegetables for a few days. Then gradually introduce fruit.

-If you are on an oral dose of estrogen, there is more conversion to estrone. This leads to not enough estradiol. Estrone is the estrogen implicated in cancer. Progesterone helps in the conversion to estradiol as does the topical application of estradiol rather than oral estrogens. This is one of the reasons that all women taking estrogen should take progesterone, even if there is a hysterectomy.

-Applying your testosterone cream at the same time as estrogen topically does not seem to be an issue.

-Optimal diet for testosterone treatment is to follow a paleolithics diet and organic foods. This means avoid alcohol, vinegar, caffeinated drinks, sugar, dairy and wheat.

-One of the most common sources of hormone therapy going south is cortisol involvement. The most common source is stressful lifestyle, the second is glucose disregulation. Avoid simple sugars and increase protein. Adequate sleep is crucial.

-Thyroid issues can throw off your sex hormone therapy. Avoid caffeinated drinks. Thyroid hormones increase the breakdown of estrogens into metabolites that are inactive. An increase in estrogen/progesterone may be needed or a dercrease in thyroid hormone. Keep in mind that T4 and TSH can be normal but the conversion to the active form (T3) may be the issue. Switching to a T4/T3 product that has 1-1.5% T3 with the T4 may help. This is especially evident when your weight stagnates even when you are on a low carb/high protein diet.

As you can see there are lots of variables that can determine the success of your hormone therapy. Ask us for help if you have any issues.

Take Care

References

The Hormone Handbook 2nd ed., Thierry Hertoghe, MD.