ESTROGENS: Estrone (E1), Estradiol (E2), Estriol (E3), 16 OH Estrone, 4 OH Estrone, 2 OH Estrone
Estrogen is responsible for keeping the female and male healthy in too many ways to mention here. However, most notably, it maintains bones and muscle mass, keeps the skin and vaginal mucosa healthy, and minimizes breast sagging.
If a woman or man has a family or personal history of breast cancer, their metabolism should be evaluated and addressed if needed (16 OH Estrone). If you are having hot flashes and you are over 30 years old, chances are good that you have a deficiency and you could be peri-menopausal (early menopause). Not all women have hot flashes with low estrogen.
For hormone replacement therapy, we prefer bio identical hormones BHRT over non-bio identical hormones. Be careful, plant , or phytoestrogens, and other hormones derived from plants may be considered “natural” but are NOT bio-identical. Phytoestrogens are natural but are not the same as human ones, so they are NOT bio-identical and should not be used for hormonal replacement.
Testosterone is a hormone made of cholesterol. For women and men taking cholesterol lowering medication, it should be noted that they could have an important impact on lowering levels. Estrogens should NOT be taken orally as this can result in lowering Growth Hormone (GH) among other problems.
They can be administered by daily creams and gels or by pellets inserted under the skin that last about 4 months. These pellets are inserted only by Dr. Arthur Zacco in our office in about 15-20 minutes.