Article: Estrogen Choices: Compounded Estrogens

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Article: Estrogen Choices: Compounded Estrogens
What are compounded estrogens? What are bioidentical hormones?

Bioidentical hormones by definition means that the hormone is chemically identical to the hormones that are produced by the ovaries. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy is used to help treat the symptoms of menopause, perimenopause, and post-menopause.

Compounded Bio-Identical estrogens include: Tri-Est and Bi-Est

Ovaries produce three different estrogens: Estradiol, Estriol, and Estrone. Tri-est is made of bio-identical compound of all three estrogens, usually in the following percentages

estriol = 80 percent

estrone = 10 per cent

estradiol = 10 percent

Bi-est is made of estriol and estradiol only....usually in 90/10 percentages.

Compounded estrogens are available in different forms from a compounding pharmacy:

* creams (skin and vaginal) to rub into thin skin
* sublingual (small pill that dissolve in the mouth)
* troche (gummy like chunk that dissolve in the mouth)
* capsules (to swallow)

Treatment with bioidentical hormones usually includes creating a unique cocktail of hormones for the individual patient, based on hormone deficiencies identified via saliva samples. The theory is that the natural hormones absorb better into the system when it is put into the body without first going through the digestive system. Ingested medicines tend to change in chemical makeup through the digestive system, altering the effectiveness.

The major benefit of this type of treatment is that doses are individualized, and the mixture of products may not be commercially available. However, although the estrogen and/or progestogen components are government approved, the mixtures themselves are not, as they have not been studied to confirm that they are absorbed appropriately or provide predictable levels in blood and tissue.

Although these hormones become molecular identical to the ones humans produce, they cannot be considered completely natural due to the fact that they are altered in a laboratory.

This content was written by staff of HysterSisters.com by non-medical professionals based on discussions, resources and input from other patients for the purpose of patient-to-patient support.