So what did Suzanne Somers start when she brought hormone balancing to the light for all the women and men out there, and what exactly are bioidentical hormones? Bioidentical hormones are manufactured in the lab to have the same molecular structure as the hormones made by your own body. By contrast, synthetic hormones are intentionally different. Drug companies can’t patent a bioidentical structure, so they invent synthetic hormones that are patentable (Premarin, Prempro, and Provera being the most widely used examples) in essence a product they can make money with.

Though bioidentical hormones have been around for years, most practitioners are unfamiliar with them. There are several branded versions now available for use in the kind of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) typical of synthetic hormones. This is often a one-size-fits-all dosage regime and not unique to the individuals own body and personal needs.

What Dr. King specializes in with all walks of her practise especially hormonal balancing is the individualized approach, because we are all unique and require different products and different amounts based on our genes, our lifestyles, our diet, our stress levels and our own hormone levels. So basically a one size fits most will make most feel a little good, but most can feel nothing at all or worse you can feel even worse then you already feel, YIKES! We begin with an extensive 18 page questionnaire, bioenergentic computerized testing, 2 hour interview with the doctors followed by any necessary laboratory tests of hormone levels (a so-called “hormone panel” which can include Saliva, Urine, and/or Blood based on your body and the findings during your evaluation). When warranted, we then put together your unique program which includes recommendations for lifestyle changes, dietary changes, best foods for your body, vitamins, minerals, homeopathic remedies, detoxification products, and if needed bioidentical of estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, and/or DHEA. Each patient is then monitored carefully through our unlimited email support program through symptom checks as well as regular follow-up through our bioenergentic testing and if needed hormone panels to make sure we put together the best fit for your body and your body’s unique needs as it heals and restores and balances out to the lowest levels you will eventually need. Some people need support formulas that stimulate your body to make your own hormones while others need a little bit of actual bioidentical hormone to boost the body back to normal levels. In the initial stages, we will monitor after about the 4-6 week period then about the three month mark based on your particular program and your body’s needs. Once balance is restored, we put together an easy to follow maintenance program and always have unlimited email support where the doctor is always an email away so you are never alone in the process.
Is bHRT the first step to hormonal balance?
Bioidentical hormones can work wonders, but they aren’t necessarily the first place to turn when hormonal imbalance is a problem. In our experience, the great majority of women can rebalance their hormones without the use of drugs, and even without HRT in any form. We have found that about 85% can find relief through a natural approach that combines pharmaceutical-grade nutritional supplements, homeopathic formulas, gentle endocrine support, and dietary and lifestyle changes. We recommend that every woman start with this combination approach as the foundation to her health, and have found that in as little as 2 WEEKS you begin to feel amazing relief and positive changes in fact many of our clients are able to balance their systems with very little need for actual hormones following our unique system of finding the right balancing formulas for their particular body in our Nutrition/Lifestyle Program.
In our Individualized Nutrition, Lifestyle & Hormone Balancing Program we’ve developed an amazing approach that supports a woman’s hormonal pathways preventing symptoms for those who are feeling great and relieving symptoms for those who are already feeling that loss of balance in their life. Our nutritional guidelines are based on the latest research in clinical nutrition and dietary endocrinology. Our pharmaceutical grade nutrients fill in the nutritional gaps that are so common in today’s diet and toxic environment. And our Homeopathic and Herbal Support Formulas offers phytocrine support to rebalance all three of the major sex hormones most prone to disharmony in perimenopause and menopause: estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.

Even with this foundation, a minority of women will need to add actual hormone supplements to get complete relief, at least through a transition period. We recommend they use bioidentical hormones, preferably in a compounded form personalized to their needs by an experienced practitioner. When a woman can’t find a practitioner to prescribe compounded bHRT, there are now numerous trademarked bHRT options that conventional practitioners can prescribe for her. We offer a variety of biodentical formulas and work with two labs that will specially compound for those who have extra unique needs.
Either way, it’s important that the hormones be used in addition to the combination approach outlined above. Note that Suzanne Somers and Oprah are among this minority — they began with a healthy diet and lifestyle that supported the endocrine system, but still experienced intractable symptoms.

So if you’d like to know if Bioidentical Hormones are for you, or if you’d like to begin changes your lifestyle towards a healthy based Nutritional approach of balancing your body from the inside out talk to Dr. Stephanie King today and we’ll get you on the road to feeling AMAZING again and staying that way.

Call today (626) 799-0557 or Email skingdc@earthlink.net

The Hormone Connection: On average women tend to get by on less then 6 1/2 hours of sleep during the work week and 7 hours on weekends, often interrupted. Job stress, family stress, that “not enough hours in the day feeling” can contribute to a woman’s sleepless nights. But so can her hormonal fluctuations and changes. PMS, pregnancy, perimenopause, and menopause bring with them estrogen and progesterone fluctuations that can lead to increased wakefulness at night.

During the luteal phase of a women’s menstrual cycle, (days 14-24 after menses begins) as progesterone levels increase, sleep often comes easily. Then as progesterone declines, falling asleep can become more challenging. Progesterone, known as the calming hormone, is also believed to influence sleep during pregnancy. One of the most common complaints of my perimenopausal and menopausal patients is a change of sleep patterns. Studies have shown that between 50-60% of all perimenopausal and menopausal women have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep throughout the night, with shortened periods of restful or deep sleep. This can be due to wildly fluctuating progesterone and estrogen levels as well as cortisol increase from overactive Adrenal Glands.

Most of us fall asleep when our body temperature is declining. As heat is lost through the skin, and the core body temperature declines, drowsiness increases. The hormonal changes that come with menopause affect the body’s temperature-regulating mechanisms, which could account for the increased sleep difficulty that comes with menopause and aging.

The Stress Zone: Chronic Insomnia increases levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Insomniacs with the highest degree of sleep disturbance secrete the highest amount of cortisol, particularly in the evening and nighttime hours when cortisol levels should be low. This means that insomniacs are producing stress hormone levels that actually prevent them from sleeping. They are suffering from sustained, round-the-clock activation of the body’s system for responding to stress. Continually living with stress of to little sleep can aggravate and intensify other medical conditions like high blood pressure, digestive disorders and weaken the body’s ability to fight off illness as well as cause increased weight gain. Also continually living with increased stress during the day can trigger this response as well causing Adrenal overload and cortisol overload preventing good sleep. (An important hormone we check during our Saliva Testing)

Natural Bioidentical Estrogen replacement therapy has been shown to improve sleep quality, facilitate sleep onset, and decrease nighttime restlessness and awakenings. Women taking bioidentical estrogen report feeling less tired in the morning and throughout the day. They also report that other symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes, muscle aches, and mood swings are improved. Another reason to check your hormones levels and supplement is low estrogen levels are associated with increased heart rate and blood pressure in response to stress (which is why many women report anxiety and heart palpitations during perimenopause and menopause). Restoring estrogen with natural bioidentical formulas helps restore the body to a more youthful less stress state. Estrogen, Progesterone, Cortisol, DHEA, Testosterone, DHT and Melatonin all play a role with how the body balances throughout any given day and therefore all important hormones to test when the body is not feeling like yourself.

The relationship between hormones is synchronistic, and delicate. What effects one, can affect the others. When one hormone is out of balance the synchrony can be disrupted. It is important never to just supplement one hormone without a full comprehensive evaluation. At our office we offer a 2 hour one-on-one evaluation with the doctor with computerized technology to evaluate the total health and wellness of the body. To assess the hormones we offer Blood Analysis and Comprehensive Saliva Testing in combination with our 2 hour consultation or for those of you already working with me any follow up evaluation. We offer full panel testing of all hormones based on your body’s specific symptoms and needs. Many insurances cover both Blood and Saliva Testing and for those of you without insurance we have a special cash discounts for the Saliva Hormone Testing.

If you’d like further information please don’t hesitate to contact our office and stay tuned for more blog posts on hormones and balancing your body from the inside out. All my best for continued great health,
Dr. Stephanie King