Guest guest Posted September 29, 2006 Report Share Posted September 29, 2006 Is anyone out there doing lab work with their herbal therapy to determine if hormonal imbalances are resolving? I've had an ongoing debate with a Doctor about symptomatic relief versus the measurable balancing afforded through bioidentical hormones. This doctor uses herbs, acupuncture and nutritionals liberally, so he doesn't have a bias against herbal care per se. I've been adamant that TCM has a long history of safety and efficacy when the correct pattern is diagnosed and treated. I am unsure of the long term safety of bioidentical HRT. His opinion is that the modern progressive medical consensus is that bioidenticals are safe and the risks of unchecked hormone irregularities are too great to leave untreated. I am interested in as detailed information as anyone cares to comment on. Including information such as which hormones do and don't tend to respond (as determined by lab tests not symptomology), including the obvious E1 (estrone), E2 (estradiol), E3 (estriol), Progesterone, Testosterone, and even others such as DHEA and the 2/16 hydroxyestrone ratio. Please mention what method of testing you're using (urine, saliva, blood). Thanks, Tim Sharpe L.Ac. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 30, 2006 Report Share Posted September 30, 2006 Hi Tim, As a practitioner who has worked with many women through menopause, this is what came to my mind regarding your query: First, from an anecdotal clinical perspective - yes, hormone imbalances do resolve. Secondly, the HRT perspective is to replace what the body is not producing enough of. From a Chinese medical perspective, the symptoms show up because the natural decline of certain aspects of Jing cause an underlying imbalance to show up. We don't want to treat the decline itself, but rather that pathology that was submerged and now shows up. So, with our herbs and acupuncture, we don't want to mimic HRT and in fact, don't want to replace anything necessarily. Just as a side - hot flashes, a common complaint of menopause, are often seen as an indicator of Yin vacuity. In my classes and clinic, we call it simply heat. It is either empty heat (which can be the result of Yin, Qi, Blood or Yang vacuity) or excess/depressive heat. More often than not, I do not nourish Yin for menopausal women. It is very common to see depressive liver heat as the main disharmony. Hope this is helpful, Sharon Posted by: " Tim Sharpe " listserve zhongyaoren Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:03 am (PST) Is anyone out there doing lab work with their herbal therapy to determine if hormonal imbalances are resolving? I've had an ongoing debate with a Doctor about symptomatic relief versus the measurable balancing afforded through bioidentical hormones. This doctor uses herbs, acupuncture and nutritionals liberally, so he doesn't have a bias against herbal care per se. I've been adamant that TCM has a long history of safety and efficacy when the correct pattern is diagnosed and treated. I am unsure of the long term safety of bioidentical HRT. His opinion is that the modern progressive medical consensus is that bioidenticals are safe and the risks of unchecked hormone irregularities are too great to leave untreated. I am interested in as detailed information as anyone cares to comment on. Including information such as which hormones do and don't tend to respond (as determined by lab tests not symptomology), including the obvious E1 (estrone), E2 (estradiol), E3 (estriol), Progesterone, Testosterone, and even others such as DHEA and the 2/16 hydroxyestrone ratio. Please mention what method of testing you're using (urine, saliva, blood). Thanks, Tim Sharpe L.Ac. Sharon Weizenbaum 86 Henry Street Amherst, MA 01002 413-549-4021 sweiz www.whitepinehealingarts.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 3, 2006 Report Share Posted October 3, 2006 Tim, Abundant Chin ese research confirms that, when Chinese herbal medicine, eliminates the signs and symptoms of menopausal syndrome or any other gynecological condition, it also normalizes all the reproductive hormones. Blue Poppy has published numerous studies documenting this. Sharon is 100% correct that all the heat signs and symptoms associated with perimenopausal and menopausal syndrome are not vacuity heat but are often due to depressive heat. Blue Poppy Herbs has recently introduced a formula to address exactly that. It's called Change & Enrich, and it is a research protocol from China. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 7, 2006 Report Share Posted October 7, 2006 It's called Change & Enrich, and it is a research protocol from China. Can anyone direct me to the url that gives info about this Thanks On Behalf Of Bob Flaws Wednesday, October 04, 2006 4:33 AM Re: Herbs vs Bioidentical HRT Tim, Abundant Chin ese research confirms that, when Chinese herbal medicine, eliminates the signs and symptoms of menopausal syndrome or any other gynecological condition, it also normalizes all the reproductive hormones. Blue Poppy has published numerous studies documenting this. Sharon is 100% correct that all the heat signs and symptoms associated with perimenopausal and menopausal syndrome are not vacuity heat but are often due to depressive heat. Blue Poppy Herbs has recently introduced a formula to address exactly that. It's called Change & Enrich, and it is a research protocol from China. Bob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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