SHOULD EVERY WOMAN TAKE HORMONES?

OK enough is enough, almost every woman over the age of 45 should be offered hormones and many who are younger. There I said it! 

Why is that so hard to hear? Let alone believe?

I am tired of avoiding telling women the truth because people are so afraid of the word ‘hormone’. Hormones are critical for every function in the body but somehow or the other we have been brainwashed into thinking there are good and bad hormones, with the sex hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone being the 'bad' ones.

Women represent the greatest proportion of people aged 65 and over, a total of almost 58%.  And guess what ?  EVERY woman is going to be menopausal at some point. So this is really a topic of epic proportions that is why I cannot understand why it is so ignored.

Millions of women and their partners put up with emotional swings, with paralyzing anxiety and depression. They are a shadow of their former selves because no one will tell them that taking hormones will fix it.

Millions have given up having a satisfying sex life because they have been told that it is part of the normal aging process not to want sex and for intercourse to be uncomfortable.

Millions of women are forgetful and can’t sleep because their hormones are out of whack . They get prescriptions for sleep aids and anti-depressants because no one explains to them that there is another way. One that is safer and way more natural with no side effects.

When women sleep at night they function better in their profession, get along better with their family and colleagues and they can find the motivation to exercise. Exercise leads to a better mood, less weight and less diabetes. Their blood pressure is better, so they have less risk of stroke and disability.

Women who are on hormones feel less pain whether it is from arthritis or a whole host of other issues.

They look better because there is less fat deposition around their mid section, the skin, eyes and everything else is less dry and they seem happier and more calm.

So what’s the down side? None, seriously. If you use bio-identical hormones, there really isn’t one. Yet fear mongering keeps women in a vice so tight they are afraid to allow themselves the benefits of  hormone replacement.

I have written books and given talks to try to get the word out there. Yet still, very few women are aware of the potential life changing benefits of hormone replacement. If men stood to gain as much as women from this therapy I am sure it would be front page news.

Yesterday Harvard ( JoAnn Manson et al JAMA 2017:318(10) 927-938)  after studying the outcomes of 27,000+ women, published a new article saying that hormone therapy is safe and does not shorten a woman’s life. Let's keep our fingers crossed, maybe the news feeds will pick it up and maybe this time women will have the opportunity to hear more about it.

If you find this post informative please do other women and their loved ones a favor and share it.

Yours in health

Dr. Tuakli

Babies, babies, babies!

Babies, babies, babies! People often comment that there are so many baby pictures in my office. That’s because I love babies and they are pictures of children I have taken care of over the years, many of whom have graduated from college already. Over the years we have less and less babies in our practice. This may be because of all the anti-aging signs in the office, perhaps mothers think you have to be walking and talking to be a patient of mine! The average age of my adult patients is also increasing so not as many are getting pregnant. Be that as it may, we love our littlest patients as much as the older ones. I am still certified by Johns Hopkins with privileges in the newborn nursery and I take care of many small people. Many people do not realize that Family physicians do 3 years post graduate training in pediatrics just like pediatricians. Their focus tends to be more on out patient healthy children than sick hospitalized ones. A common question asked is why someone would choose a family physician (board certified of course) over a pediatrician to take care of their children. Here are some of the reasons: A family physician knows the whole family and what history may be relevant to the baby. The child doesn’t have to find a new doctor at 16 and has someone who has followed them and their family all their lives. With female children family physicians can answer questions about periods and gyn issues. Girls are developing much earlier these days. Family physicians generally have less children in their practice so they know and care about the intricacies of each individual child. We know all our babies by their first name. In our practice we have a dedicated room for babies so they don’t have to wait in the waiting room. And they don’t have to compete for space. In many cultures it is assumed that the person who takes care of the mother is able to take care of her whole family, it is more the norm than the exception, family practice is a holistic specialty that encompasses everyone. It is the one specialty that specializes in you whatever your age. In this country there is a push to use specialists for everything, for example I know my patients are often surprised when I treat their rash and it goes away yet they thought they would have to go to a dermatologist because they have something on their skin. Everyone should really think through their options, as always knowledge is power, and then do what makes sense for them, their family and their personal aspirations. ‘My’ last baby was born the week before Xmas rounding out a family of five and 2015 for us. Looking forward to 2016 and more babies to love and care for!

Originally published by Dr. Tuakli in 2015