Hormone replacement: Encouraging laziness - Part II
In ‘Part I Hormone Replacement — Encouraging Laziness,’ information was given about how taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT) encourages organ laziness. We didn’t discuss how to change that.
There are many forms of HRT. We take exogenous hormones (hormones that are produced outside of the body and fed to the body) versus supporting the endogenous hormones (hormones made by the body itself) in many forms (pills, creams, injections, sublingual tablets, etc.) We take hormones produced from organs and glands, such as thyroid hormones, pineal hormones (melatonin), adrenal hormones (DHEA), sex hormones (birth control pills, estrogen, progesterone, testosterone), pancreatic hormones (insulin), etc. While it appears on the surface to be beneficial to supplant hormones, the body isn’t sufficiently producing. In the long run, it may be more beneficial to support the organ that is supposed to be producing it in the first place.
If the thyroid, for instance, isn’t producing enough T4 or converting it to T3, why? Is there an issue with the liver and its ability to do the conversion process? Is there excess cortisol? Is there iron deficiency, anemia, blood sugar issues or adrenal insufficiency? is there calcium excess issues that are contributing to a loss of cell permeability? What mineral and fat deficiencies are there? Are there parathyroid issues? How are the pituitary and hypothalamus doing? If the thyroid isn’t doing its job, is the thyroid the problem or something else? Most doctors don’t do enough tests or ask enough questions or do enough exploration or investigative work to determine what is wrong. It’s too easy to just prescribe hormone replacement.
Only after doing some serious investigative work, when any endocrine organ isn’t supplying enough hormones, can we come up with a real remedy that not only discourages laziness in organ and gland function but encourages proper function.
Solutions vary widely depending on who isn’t doing their job. It could be as distant as poor digestive function or a direct problem with the organ or gland. Solutions vary from lifestyle modifications, dietary adjustments, improving nutritional status through concentrated food supplementation or the need for acupuncture to help restore function. There may need to be some support via a detoxification program to take the load off the liver so it can do its job. It may also be that there are medications that are inhibiting proper organ or gland function.
Please don’t stop taking HRT or any medication without professional guidance. Some medications are worse than others, but weaning off hormone replacement medications, if you choose to do so, can be serious. The symptoms can be really difficult and can take a year or longer to taper off. Having said that, the only way to safely go off from any medication is to no longer need it. That means you have to correct the problem, not just mask it. The good news is that you can.
Learn more. Sign up for our upcoming health class, Bio-Identical Hormone Recovery, at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 10 at Vital Health in Coeur d’Alene. Fee: $10. RSVP: 208-765-1994 or register here: http://bit.ly/HormoneRecoveryClass
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Holly Carling is a Doctor of Oriental Medicine, Licensed Acupuncturist, Doctor of Naturopathy, Clinical Nutritionist and Master Herbologist with nearly four decades of experience. Carling is a “Health Detective.” She looks beyond your symptom picture and investigates WHY you are experiencing your symptoms in the first place. Carling is currently accepting new patients and offers natural health care services and whole food nutritional supplements in her Coeur d’Alene clinic. Visit Carling’s website at www.vitalhealthcda.com to learn more about Carling, view a list of upcoming health classes and read other informative articles. Carling can be reached at 208-765-1994 and would be happy to answer any questions regarding this topic.