That’s Hormone Replacement Therapy. It’s when you get old and your body just doesn’t chug out the amount of hormones it once did and you start feeling depressed, grumpy, tired, and slightly crazy. Or in my case, you stop sleeping and start sweating at night.

I love my hormones. They have allowed me to sleep like a regular person. And I love my sleep.

But then I heard about bioidentical hormones, hormones that are biologically identical to one’s own, even though they are plant based. Suzanne Sommers has written two books about the glories of these bio-identicals, and while she is no expert, nor does she claim to be, she has brought a lot of awareness to this attractive alternative to sweating out the crazies of menopause and perimenopause.

So, when Dr. Cheryl Hart came to town touting her bioidentical hormone program, I was in! Why? Because I was hearing that these bioidenticals were better and safer. More natural. So, I slammed down my $1,000 for her two seminars, got my blood tests and awaited the transformation once I received my new, shiny vials of hormones.

Well, I won’t bore you with the whole three month horror story of
how I started sweating again at night and stopped sleeping and started
feeling chilled to the bone during the day. I’ll just say this. I’m
back on my Estradiol pill and I"m playing with the bio-identical
progesterone to see if I can make it work. It’s been a rough ride and
I’m beginning to wonder why I just don’t go back on the Prometrium,
too.

I think it’s because I do believe that these bio-identicals are the
best way to go, IF they work for you. Basically, estradiol is estradiol
and it is plant-based. But there are studies that are finding that if
you take estrogen through your skin, like a patch or the cream that Dr.
Hart prescribes, it’s easier on your liver and less likely to cause
cancer. Who knows.

So, I’ve been off my progesterone for two days
and I feel fuzzy-headed and tired. Will that pass? Don’t know. All I
know was that the bio-identical progesterone was keeping me up at
night. So, I thought I’d try cycling it with my periods and see if that
helps. I’ve never had to do that with the Prometrium, but I’ll try it.

I feel like my body is a little labratory now. I am just experimenting
to see if I can make these new hormones work. I realize it takes time
to get it just right. But I don’t have any qualms about going back to
my Prometrium if need be. I’m already back on my Estradiol, so…

While being on Dr. Hart’s program has been frustrating, I do want to
say that what I appreciate about this program is that she tests and
addresses ALL your hormone levels, not just the three sexual hormones,
estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. She looks at your thyroid,
DHEA, insulin, and cortisol as well.

If you want some good information on bioidenticals, I feel Dr. Hart is a good source. They make work great for you even if they aren’t ringing my bells.