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A Publication of WTVP

Though synthetic hormones are considered harmful, studies back the potential benefits of bioidentical hormone therapy.

Imagine having to present a project proposal to your boss. A lot is riding on this deal, so you need to be at the top of your game. Though you have long known about the deadline, you just cannot seem to pull your ideas together to finalize the presentation. “Brain fog” has set in. It’s hard to organize your thoughts, and you have not been able to get a good night’s sleep due to night sweats. Something has stolen your competitive edge, and you fear you may lose the deal to a younger coworker who seems to have boundless amounts of energy and pizazz. Annoying fatigue—the kind that keeps you from going to the gym and drains your creative energy—has sidelined you, and your self-image is less than ideal because weight gain has sabotaged your confidence. What is happening to you?

Quite simply, it is likely hormone imbalance. I have personally witnessed this constellation of symptoms in hundreds of my perimenopausal and menopausal patients. A 15-year passion for women’s healthcare compelled me to bring to central Illinois a premier hormonal balancing system designed to reverse the effects of hormone imbalance and restore vitality. Bottom line: we have tapped into the anti-aging benefits of hormone balancing and are seeing amazing results.

Differentiating Hormone Therapies
According to a British study released in late 2015, women experiencing bothersome menopausal symptoms should not suffer in silence. Rather, they should voice their concerns to their healthcare provider, as safe and effective treatment options are available. Unfortunately, hundreds of thousands of women have been needlessly suffering the effects of menopause without the assistance of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) because of a poorly conducted study released in 2002 by the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). The WHI incorrectly implied that all estrogen increases the development of breast cancer after three years, prompting women to discontinue all forms of hormone therapy and suffer the ravages of menopause—and possibly increase their risk of heart disease, osteoporosis, dementia and other diseases.

In other words, because all forms of hormone therapy were improperly labeled harmful as a result of the WHI findings, an estimated 50,000 women died prematurely from 2002 to 2009 because they did not use estrogen after hysterectomies. In addition, I wonder how many uncounted women suffered from heart attacks, dementia and other ailments associated with lack of estrogen, progesterone or testosterone.

What the report failed to mention is that there are two, completely different types of hormone therapies: the natural, bioidentical kind and the synthetic, pharmaceutical type. So, yes, the WHI was right in that synthetic hormones are harmful for you. They just forgot to mention the potential benefits of the natural, bioidentical version, which is backed by scientific studies showing its safety and effectiveness. Could bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) have saved some lives?

Renewed Vitality
A well-researched report in The New York Times echoes the late Dr. Gino Tutera’s longtime concerns. Dr. Tutera was a board-certified OB/GYN and champion of BHRT in the form of subcutaneous pellet therapy by SottoPelle. The article notes a report in the American Journal of Public Health by researchers at the Yale School of Medicine which states that “the widespread rejection of all hormone replacement therapies among menopausal women has been misguided” since the WHI warnings were issued in 2002.

Since introducing BHRT pellets in 2012, what I have seen in my patients is a renewed sense of well-being, increased energy, better mental clarity, improved libido and a significant decrease—if not elimination—in bothersome hot flashes and night sweats. Over and over, they tell me they cannot imagine life without hormone pellet therapy, as their quality of life has increased dramatically. It is so exciting to see them feel young again and have a renewed sense of vitality.

And BHRT pellet therapy is not just for menopausal patients. Even my premenopausal patients in their 30s and 40s who suffer from fatigue, “brain fog” and decreased libido due to a testosterone deficiency find that once we balance their hormones, their symptoms resolve and they feel vibrant once again. It is as close to tapping into the proverbial “fountain of youth” as we can get.

I had the distinct pleasure of becoming a SottoPelle-trained physician by its pioneer before he passed away. Recognized internationally as a respected authority in the field of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, Dr. Gino Tutera pioneered SottoPelle in 2002. His subcutaneous method has liberated thousands of people from debilitating symptoms and restored them back to health, and we are proud to carry on his legacy by offering harmonié, our anti-aging hormone system, right here in central Illinois so you can begin to reverse the effects of aging today.

By the way, your boss called and said you landed the deal. Congratulations, my friend, you are back! iBi

Michele A. Couri, MD, FACOG, ABIHM is a board-certified obstetrician/gynecologist and medical director at the Couri Center for Gynecology and Integrative Health. For more information, visit peoriaintegrativewomenshealth.com.

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