Hormone Therapy San Diego is a medication that helps relieve menopausal symptoms and can help protect your long-term health. It is a combination of medications that includes estrogen and progestin.
Hormone therapy increases the risk of blood clots, stroke and heart disease, and it can also increase your risk of certain cancers including uterine and prostate cancer. It may also impact fertility.
Hormones are chemical messengers that control and manage hundreds of bodily processes. They act on cells only when they “fit,” or bind to, special receptors on the cell surface. The hormone-receptor complex then triggers biochemical changes in the cell’s interior or membrane, or alters its permeability or rates of growth and reproduction. Hormones can also trigger other cells to respond, which is known as feedback. This occurs when the target cell increases the secretion of its own hormones in response to an increase in the level of another hormone, such as estrogen.
There are three main types of hormones based on their general molecular structure: steroids, polypeptides and amino acid-derived hormones. Steroid hormones, which are derived from cholesterol, have a lipophilic molecular structure that allows them to easily traverse the lipid-rich membrane of the target cell and interact with receptors within the cell’s cytoplasm or nucleus. This initiates a variety of biochemical responses, including protein synthesis, activation or deactivation of enzymes and alteration of gene expression.
Amino acid-derived hormones, such as epinephrine and norepinephrine (produced by the adrenal glands), are based on the amino acids tyrosine and tryptophan. They can also be produced by the hypothalamus and pituitary glands. Polypeptide hormones are chains of amino acids ranging in length from three to several hundred. They are produced in the pituitary, hypothalamus and pancreatic glands. They are converted from inactive precursors, or prohormones, by the enzyme glucocorticoid reductase.
The most common type of hormone therapy combines the hormones estrogen and progestin, which are made in women’s bodies before menopause, primarily in their ovaries. They are produced in lower quantities after the ovaries stop producing them, but continue to be made in body fat and muscle. These hormones stimulate the growth of some cancer cells, including breast cancer.
If a person’s cancer treatment requires the use of hormone drugs, doctors may surgically remove one or more organs that make these substances. For example, the testicles may need to be removed in order to reduce testosterone levels as part of a prostate cancer treatment. The ovaries can be surgically removed in order to stop estrogen production as part of a breast cancer treatment.
Oral hormone therapy
Hormones are chemicals that help control the activity of certain cells or organs. They are naturally made by glands in the body and travel through the bloodstream. They are important for many normal body functions, including sexual function, pregnancy, mood, and how the body gets energy from food. Some cancers use hormones to grow. If the cancer is sensitive to estrogen or progesterone (called hormone receptor positive), hormonal therapy can prevent the cancer from coming back, slow its growth, or stop it from spreading.
Hormonal therapy can be given as a stand-alone treatment or in combination with other cancer treatments, such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation. It is most often used to treat breast cancer that has spread or comes back after treatment. Hormone therapy works by blocking the hormones that cancer cells need to grow or by lowering the amount of estrogen or progesterone in the body. It is also sometimes combined with targeted therapy, which targets specific chemicals in the cancer cells and can make hormone therapies more effective.
Some types of hormone therapy are designed to prevent high blood pressure or osteoporosis. Others are meant to help with menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes and vaginal dryness or shrinkage. It is important to talk to your doctor before you start hormone replacement therapy so that he or she can explain the benefits and risks. You should also tell laboratory personnel that you are taking hormone therapy, because it may interfere with some laboratory tests.
The most common type of hormone therapy is tamoxifen. It is taken for five years and can be used alone or with other cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiation. Tamoxifen reduces the amount of estrogen that the ovaries produce or blocks the receptors on the cancer cells that hormones can attach to. It can help prevent a recurrence of breast cancer or cancer that has spread to the bones.
Another type of hormone therapy is aromatase inhibitors. They lower the levels of estrogen produced by the ovaries after menopause or block the receptors on the cancer cells that estrogen can attach to. These medications, called aromatase inhibitors, can reduce the risk of a recurrence of a hormone-sensitive breast cancer or a new cancer in the ovaries and lower the risk of metastatic disease.
Bioidentical hormones
Bioidentical hormones are a type of hormone therapy. They are made in a lab and have the same chemical structure as the hormones your body makes. They are often prescribed if you have an allergy to a product that’s been FDA-approved (like if you can’t take estrogen or progesterone from an animal source, like those found in Premarin and other prescription drugs). Some bioidentical hormones are available in pill form and are regulated by the FDA. Others are injected or given as a skin cream. They are sometimes referred to as “natural” hormones. However, according to the Food and Drug Administration and medical specialty groups, there’s no evidence that they’re safer or more effective than other hormone therapies.
A naturopathic doctor may recommend bioidentical hormones to ease symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, including vaginal dryness and loss of libido. They are also used to help with osteoporosis and menstrual pain. These hormones are derived from plant-based ingredients such as wild yams, cactus, soy, and can be converted into different types of estrogen and progesterone for use by your body.
The bioidentical hormones are then incorporated into different formulations such as gels, creams, tablets that dissolve under your tongue, or nasal sprays. However, because these hormones aren’t regulated by the FDA, they can vary in strength and quality from one pharmacy to the next. This may lead to overdosing or underdosing and can increase your risk of side effects.
In addition, there’s no randomized, controlled trial comparing compounded bioidentical hormones with FDA-approved hormone therapy for treating menopause symptoms. The International Menopause Society, Australasian Menopause Society, and the Endocrine Society don’t recommend this therapy.
Even though bioidentical hormones are derived from natural plant sources, they still have the same molecular structure as synthetic hormones such as those in Premarin and other hormone replacement therapy products. This means that they can increase your risk of blood clots, heart attack and stroke, endometrial cancer, and other problems caused by long-term exposure to synthetic hormones. They can also increase your risk of breast cancer, especially if you take them for more than five years.
Side effects
Hormone therapy adds, blocks or removes hormones to slow or stop the growth of cancer cells that need estrogen and progesterone to grow. It is also called hormone withdrawal therapy, hormone manipulation or endocrine therapy. Hormone therapy may be used alone or with other cancer treatments such as surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy to reduce the risk that the cancer will come back (recur). Hormone therapy is most often given as a pill taken by mouth, but injections can be used for some types of hormone therapy.
Side effects from hormone therapy depend on the type of drug or treatment, how long you take it and your overall health. Most of the time, your doctor will explain what side effects you might have with your hormone therapy. They will tell you what to watch for and how to manage them.
Some of the most common side effects from hormone therapy are changes to your mood and sexual function. Some women have low sex drive, and men may experience problems reaching an orgasm or erectile dysfunction. Hormone therapy can also affect your gastrointestinal tract, and you might have diarrhea or constipation. You might have changes in how you think or remember things, which doctors call cognitive problems.
For some types of breast cancer, hormone therapy is used to reduce the size of a tumor before surgery or to shrink the tumor so that radiation can be more targeted. In some cases, your cancer might be sensitive to estrogen or progesterone receptors and you might be able to have hormonal blockade treatment with drugs that stop your body from producing these hormones.
If you are taking hormone replacement therapy, be sure to take your medication at the same time every day. This will help you to keep track of your doses. If you miss a dose, take it as soon as you remember. However, if it is almost time for your next dose, skip the missed dose and continue with your regular schedule. Talk to your doctor about how to manage missing doses. You should tell your doctor about any other medications, including supplements and herbal medicines, you are taking while you are on hormone therapy.
