Southwest Florida's Health and Wellness Magazine Health and Wellness Articles
By T.J. DePaola, PharmD
The balance of hormones produced by the body is essential to good health and a feeling of well-being. Hormones are remarkable chemical messengers that affect our brain, heart, bones, muscles and reproductive organs. As a woman ages, she can expect her hormones to naturally fluctuate. At a certain stage, perimenopause and menopause, a woman’s balanced hormones are disrupted. When the body’s hormones are compromised, it causes the entire hormonal system to spiral out of balance.
According to The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, an estimated 6,000 women approximately 51 years or older reach menopause every day. Prior to menopause, women experience a transitional period when progesterone levels begin to decline, a period called perimenopause. It is during this stage that hormones are in a constant state of flux and become unbalanced. More than 75 percent of women experience uncomfortable symptoms including, night sweats, insomnia and fatigue due to unbalanced hormones during perimenopause.
During menopause, there is a substantial decrease in hormones produced by the ovaries including estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Ultimately the body is unable to produce a considerable amount of estrogen resulting in menopause, the permanent end of fertility. The significant loss of estrogen increases the risks of certain diseases, including osteoporosis, which affects the hips, wrists and the spine, and heart disease.
Regaining hormonal balance can offer relief to women during this new stage of life.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is used to treat a variety of conditions, but is most commonly used to assist menopause and perimenopause. The medication aims to increase or balance hormones in relation to reproduction and youth including estrogen, progesterone and adrenal hormones.
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is a natural approach to boosting hormone levels. The medication ultimately produces the same chemical and molecular structure of hormones that the body would normally produce on its own. Synthetic hormones are often too strong for the body to absorb through natural metabolic ways, therefore bioidentical hormones provide women a way to find balance naturally.
Compounding pharmacies, such as Cypress Pharmacy, produce specially formulated compounded medications to help restore the natural balance of the hormones affected by menopause and natural aging. Compounding pharmacies are able to produce varying strengths and dosage forms, including topical creams, oral capsules or suppositories.
The bioidentical hormone replacement therapy compounds are produced through a process that requires vigilant testing, discussion and partnership with a patient’s health care practitioner. Through this collaboration, the pharmacist is able to create biologically identical hormones that match the unique characteristics of the patient. Once therapy has begun, our pharmacists will continue to work with the patient and her prescriber to ensure the hormone replacement therapy is successful.
For more information about bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and compounded medications, contact the pharmacists of Cypress Pharmacy at 239-481-7322 and consult with your physician.
Cypress Pharmacy has been providing pharmaceutical and health care services in Fort Myers for more than 40 years. The entire staff, including pharmacists T.J. DePaola and Justin Ceravolo, are dedicated to providing the best possible service to every customer. For more information, call 239-481-7322 or visit www.cypresspharmacy.com.
