As a bioidentical hormone doctor, Dr. Anju Mathur, M.D., provides bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) to help women through life transitions that occur with aging and hormone decline.

Life transitions when hormone changes occur

While most women naturally start to see their hormone levels decline as early as their late 20s and early 30s, these hormones continue to decline until the onset of menopause at around age 52. At this point, it becomes a raging emergency to seek symptom relief from those nasty hot flashes, mood swings, and drenching night sweats. This is rightfully called menopause.

However, other factors such as stress, lack of proper nutrition, poor sleeping habits, lack of exercise, smoking, and excessive alcohol intake can also cause hormone levels to decline while women are still relatively young. Some other women may experience premature menopause induced by the surgical removal of their ovaries.

As early as their late 20s or early 30s, many women experience declining female hormone levels, especially progesterone. As a result, sleep becomes a bit restless and superficial, and irritability or mood swings may emerge as occasional outbursts of anger with the kids or husband, especially before the periods. This is called pre-menopause. If treated at this stage with a bioidentical hormone replacement therapy treatment plan, women suffering from these hormone imbalance symptoms will find life enjoyable again.

Peri-menopause is the next well-defined phase when these symptoms become more sustained and severe. If left untreated, life can become more miserable for the women suffering these uncomfortable symptoms of a hormone imbalance. This phase can last anywhere from 10 to 15 years. Most women usually notice significant changes in their menstrual cycles during this time.

Some women may experience increased PMS symptoms, irregular periods, headaches, severe mood swings, shorter or longer periods, and lighter or heavier periods. While every woman’s experience of peri-menopause is different, other common symptoms may include fatigue, mental fogginess, increased abdominal fat and weight gain, bloating, water retention, migraines, dysmenorrhea, acne, food cravings, mood swings, infertility, and irregular menstrual periods.

Transition #3: Natural menopause

Natural menopause is a condition that every healthy woman will experience as she reaches middle age, typically between the ages of 35-59. A woman is considered to have reached menopause when a full year has passed since her last menstrual period. It is a natural, gradual process that occurs when a woman’s ovaries produce less estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone, and her lifetime supply of eggs becomes depleted.

Women going through menopause often experience a combination of symptoms, including hot flashes, night sweats, irritability, mood swings, sudden tears, loss of libido, vaginal dryness, heart palpitations, fatigue, anxiety, urinary urgency, inability to sleep through the night, clammy skin, depression, and weight gain.

THE BENEFITS OF BHRT FOR WOMEN

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) can benefit women going through hormonal imbalances at any age. Some of the benefits of bioidentical hormones may include the following:

Healthier moods can be achieved when sex hormone levels such as progesterone and estrogen become balanced. Sex hormones affect brain chemistry by promoting neurotransmitters that send signals of calmness and contentment. When hormone levels decline, many women experience increased mood swings in the form of anxiety, irritability, depression, and anger. Regaining balance can improve mental health and wellbeing.

Stronger bones may also be the result of balanced hormone levels. Estrogen allows the bones to absorb important nutrients that keep them strong, and when it declines, the bones may not be able to take in enough calcium. This can cause bones to become brittle and porous, which can lead to osteoporosis.

Weight loss is another possible result of natural, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Progesterone is a natural diuretic, and when it is deficient, women may bloat and retain water, causing weight gain. An estrogen deficiency can cause the body to hold onto body fat because adipose tissue contains estrogen. Reestablishing the balance between estrogen and progesterone can lead to weight loss.

Regulated body temperature occurs when hormones are able to signal the hypothalamus in a balanced way. The hypothalamus is the body’s temperature control center, and hormones are responsible for signaling it to regulate temperature. When hormone levels decline, body temperatures may fluctuate to produce hot flashes and night sweats.

Improved sleep is another benefit of our bioidentical hormone replacement therapy treatment plan. The hypothalamus sets the body’s cycles. When hormones are out of whack, the body’s cycles may be affected. Regulating hormones can help the hypothalamus set sleep cycles correctly so that women can fall and stay asleep more easily.

A more youthful appearance can occur with balanced estrogen levels because it is responsible for giving women a feminine and youthful appearance. Estrogen allows the skin to form collagen, which keeps the skin youthful and elastic. It also ensures lustrous hair, strong nails, and full breasts. A lack of estrogen can cause women going through hormone decline to experience wrinkling skin, sagging breasts, and dull hair and nails.

Improved sexual function is another plus to bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. Many women with hormone imbalance symptoms complain of vaginal dryness, low libido, and an inability to climax. Bioidentical hormones for women can help women desire and enjoy sexual activity more fully.

WHAT ABOUT THE RISK OF CANCER?

There has been confusion regarding an increased risk of breast cancer, heart attack, blood clots, and stroke with the use of bioidentical hormones. This confusion was caused by the release of WHI trial results to the public. The study was done in 2002 on 16,000 post-menopausal women to evaluate the effects of hormones on cardiovascular, cancer, osteoporosis, and Alzheimer’s risk in postmenopausal women.

This was actually an expected outcome for this particular medication, which combines synthetic hormones: estrogen, oral horse estrogen, and synthetic progestin.

The undesirable effects observed in these studies were related to:

Unnatural and synthetic “hormones.”
Premarin, the most popular estrogen replacement therapy, is derived from pregnant horses and contains mostly estrogen and a number of equine (horse) estrogens that are not natural to humans. Provera is a synthetic progesterone called progestin.

Oral administration of estrogen.
When estrogen is administered orally, it must pass through the liver. This increases clotting factors and inflammatory protein (CRP), effects that aren’t observed with trans-dermal (skin) administration.

The natural hormone combinations found through bioidentical hormone replacement therapy have been shown to decrease the risks of stroke and heart attack by 50% (Premarin and Provera increase it) and reduce the risk of breast cancer by 80% (Premarin and Provera increase it). Natural, bioidentical hormones also reduce the risk of osteoporosis by 50%, reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s by 80%, reduce the risk of osteoarthritis by 40%, and reduce the risk of colon cancer by 40%.

One of the largest studies to date comparing the risk of breast cancer with the use of natural bioidentical hormones and synthetic hormone replacement therapy demonstrates that natural bioidentical hormones have significantly less associated risk of breast cancer. This study published in a 2007 issue of Breast Cancer Research reported the association between various forms of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy and the incidence of breast cancer in over 80,000 postmenopausal women who were followed for over eight postmenopausal years.

This study found that compared to women who never used any hormone replacement therapy, those who used estrogen-only (different preparations analyzed together) had an increased risk of breast cancer, that was 1.29 times those who never used estrogen. If a synthetic progestin was used in combination with estrogen, there was a significant increase in the risk of breast cancer compared to those on estrogen-only – or 1.69 times the risk of those who had never used estrogen.

If, however, a woman used natural progesterone in combination with estrogen, the increased risk of breast cancer was eliminated. In addition, estriol-containing products were found to have a further protective effect against breast cancers, resulting in a lower risk of breast cancer than even those who had never used any hormone replacement therapy. This study adds to the mass of previous medical literature that demonstrates the superior safety of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy compared to synthetic hormones.

A combination of natural estrogens, estriol, and estradiol have been shown to protect against breast cancer and reduce breast cancer risk. When this is added to natural progesterone’s powerful breast cancer risk reduction, one would expect a significant reduction in breast cancer in women on natural bioidentical hormone replacement therapy than in women on no therapy.

We believe our bioidentical hormone replacement therapy approach is more physiological and mimics nature. As such, it will not only relieve the symptoms of menopause but, very likely, can also improve overall health in menopausal women. Depending on a woman’s personal and family medical history, the bioidentical hormone doctors at Angel Longevity Center may recommend estrogen, progesterone, or testosterone for your menopausal nightmare.

Our hormone specialists will not only improve your quality of life, but we will also assess your risk of developing cardiovascular conditions or cancer in the future. The laboratory evaluation of hormones is very thorough and may include a blood test, a saliva test, or a 24-hour urine test for a comprehensive hormone profile.

Once we achieve balance with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, as a final check, we will require you to do a 24-hour urine test to evaluate your particular risk of breast cancer.

Dr. Mathur will determine if any nutritional supplementation or detoxification is required to modulate the metabolism of the hormones in your body by looking at 2:16 alpha hydroxyestrone ratio and estrogen quotient, as well as other metabolites.

Many factors interfere with hormone receptors and change the way a particular hormone is broken down in the body. This is properly assessed so as to further lower your risk of breast cancer. Getting your hormones balanced with our treatment plan actually reduces your risk by balancing even the breakdown products (metabolites) of these hormones effectively.

THE HORMONE BALANCE FOR LIFE

The “Hormone Balance for Life” program balances your hormones for real. As a bioidentical hormone doctor, Dr. Mathur has years of experience diagnosing and effectively treating female hormonal imbalances.

Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) is an exact science and you deserve the best. Call us for a complimentary phone consultation today.

I started bio-identical hormone replacement therapy in January for hot flashes, night sweats, and “the jitters”. Four months later, I have no hot flashes, no night sweats and I am more calm and happy, with a relaxed and peaceful energy! Thank you, Dr. Mathur.

– Michael, Los Angeles

I have been on this bio-identical hormone therapy for three months and I have noticed that I have more endurance. I last longer during the day. I can now walk farther each day. I am looking forward to continued improvement.

– Dorothy (83 yrs. old), Los Angeles

I have had severe pains in my lower back, groin, leg, knee and ankle, which were getting progressively worse for over a year. After two weeks on the bio-identical hormones prescribed by Dr. Mathur, the pains ceased 100%. If someone had told me that would happen, I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s now been over a month since I started and the pain has not come back.

– Kathy, San Fernando Valley

Although you can’t make your biological clock run backwards, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy can handle some of the effects of the aging process so that you can have more energy and feel younger.

– Burleigh, San Fernando Valley

I started treatment here several months ago. When I first came in, I had three to four headaches every week, pain and cysts in my breast and so many gray hairs and cellulite. Now, my headaches are 90% better. I have less gray hair and less cellulite, and the horrible cysts in my breast are gone. The treatment with natural bio-identical hormones gave me a younger body. My process to become a 40-year-old woman was terrible to confront because of all the changes in my body. Now, I am a happy 40-year-old young lady. Thanks, doctor and thank you to your staff.

– Claudia, Los Angeles

I started with the Bio-identical Hormone program one month ago. I am usually a very stressful person. I saw my doctor (Dr. Mathur) one month later, and I told her I feel much better. I am doing the same stressful things, my schedule is very tight, but now I feel calmer and I have a lot more energy. She is surprised but happy.I am much better with this hormone program.

– Rigoberta A., San Fernando Valley

I’ve been doing the bioidentical hormone treatment for approximately one and a half months. I wasn’t sure I’d stick with it because I had a lot of pills to take, which is not my favorite thing to do. But I managed it remarkably well and have achieved amazing results. I feel way better than I have in years. Pains have gone away. Hot flashes have pretty much gone. I have more energy and have confronted things that I put off for a long time. Looking forward to improving even more. Best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. Thanks

– Carole S., Los Angeles

I have been seeing Dr. Mathur for a few months now and I already feel better, have more energy, and sleep better. I am looking forward to the next improvements that I anticipate with this program. Dr. Mathur is great!

– Y. P., San Fernando Valley

Learn how to overcome the uncomfortable symptoms of menopause, perimenopause, and female hormonal imbalances by calling menopause, perimenopause, and hormone specialist, Dr. Anju Mathur at (818) 961-2055 to set up an appointment. Complete the form below to schedule your complimentary phone consultation!