Estrogen is commonly thought of as the dominant “female” hormone and is given to women who are post-menopausal. Men have estrogen too but in smaller amounts. There is a lot of misinformation out there about estrogen so I am hoping to clear some of that up in this blog. Estrogen is a class of three types of estrogen. When I use the term estrogen I will be referring E2 or estradiol the dominate form and most active form of estrogen in the body.
The benefits of taking oral estradiol include, control of hot flashes in menopause, improves balance, concentration and protects against cerebral vascular disease including Alzheimer’s, protection against heart disease, osteoporosis and protects against vaginal atrophy and urinary incontinence as women age. Signs of estrogen deficiency include, decreased libido, insomnia, fatigue, depression, sagging breasts and mood swings. You may read that list and recognize some of these symptoms in yourself. Keep in mind that there are many reasons for these symptoms and they are not specific to estrogen alone. What I mean to say is, hormones are alive, active and complex. It is their relationship with each other (progesterone, testosterone etc) that dictates how you feel and treatment options.
For example estrogen has to be balanced with progesterone. You may have heard the term estrogen dominance. That’s not just an issue of high estrogen levels like you might think. It’s an issue of balance or imbalance of estrogen with progesterone that causes the symptoms. For the purposes of this blog I am focusing just on estrogen. Estrogen should only be given when in menopause and should be taken orally to see the most benefit. Some women choose the topical or transdermal patches because they believe it is safer and has a decreased risk of blood clots. Bio-identical, oral estradiol has not been shown to increase blood clots. The studies that did show increased blood clots used oral Premarin which you will remember from previous blogs, is synthetic and chemically altered to not look exactly like the estrogen naturally produced in the body. Bio-identical oral estradiol has been shown to decreased LDL (bad cholesterol) increase HDL (good cholesterol), decrease triglycerides, raise Apo-A and decrease Apo-B. What does all of that mean? Taking oral estradiol makes your body healthier and decreases your risk for heart disease and stroke.
When taking estrogen some side effects include, breast tenderness, abnormal uterine bleeding, bloating, mood swings and acne. If you are taking estrogen and feel a negative side effect your dose can be adjusted or as I mentioned before maybe other hormones like progesterone need to be added or increased. Don’t suffer in menopause out of fear. Bio-identical hormones can be taken safely and not only help you feel and look better but have benefits to your long term health.
