Are Bio-identical Hormones Safe?

The fact that this article used ???safer??? and FDA in the same sentence is a joke. I was happy to see all the comments posted with a clear understanding that FDA recommendations have nothing to do with protecting the public and everything to do with protecting the interests of the Pharmaceutical Industry. As an RN, I have seen on a daily basis the extent to which Pharma. reps will go to push their "safe" products.

I want to clarify that the Prometrium my doctor put me on was for 2 1/2 years. Even though it is not a bio-identical cream, it is a bio-identical in pill form and the only one on the market. Thank God, I have a doctor that puts the patient first and not his checkbook.

I agree - this is just another ploy by the greedy drug companies who are "in bed" with the FDA - as well as the "so called" doctors and researchers that are also "in bed" with the greedy pharmaceutical companies - when is America going to wake up and realize that we are all being poisoned by our own government? They approve all kinds of medications that have horrible side affects, they approve all kinds of food additives (aspertame and Splenda) that have horrible side affects, but they will shut down anyone who has a natural cure because, gee, the pharmaceuticals can't get a patent on it! This is totally outrageous !!!!!!! I too have been helped by the natural hormone therapies!!! How can we stop this insanity!

Newsflash: This is the most biased article I have ever read. Pat and Barbara, have you ever taken bio-identical hormones? If you had, you would have writtten this article from a different perspective. Sorry, but I have worked in biotech/pharmaceutical for 6 years and the bottom line is that bio-identicals cut into the drug company profits and they can't get a patent. Period.

from a personal standpoint, bio-identicals saved my damn life. I'm not even menopausal but had to go on bio-identicals at the age of 40 because I no longer produced progesterone and was estogen dominant. My face was covered in Melasma. I was a wreck emotionally and at the end of my ropes, when my doctor put me on a pill form (Prometrium from Solvay Pharmaceuticals) and then we switched to the Progesterone cream. Three years late, the melasma is almost gone and I am fine emotionally.

Your article says that "marketers target women...."". Really? Because my doctor is the one that told me about it and the compounding pharmacy I go to has been in business here locally for 25 years. My doctor has been an OB/GYN for 30 years and he is getting away from Big Pharma. I take vitamins every day, as prescribed by my doctor (Folic Acid, Vit A&D, C, Multi, Grapeseed Extract and Acidopholas).

You want to crack down on drug makers who make un-safe products, then you should start with the company that makes Lupron-Depot. Now that drug there is a travesty for any woman and her hormones. Next time don't write such a biased article in favor of the FDA.

unless the government is ready to stop letting fat people buy ice cream and candy i don't see under what authority they are acting under except to try to repay the drug companies that give large contributions to thier campaigns. the last time i check adults of halway sound mind in the united states have the right to make decisions for themselves as long as thier behavior doesn't harm another. If you want to include health suppliments which give the correct information of what they are, and you are not willing to stop the icecream much less the alcohol or cigarrettes. the fake butter in microwave popcorn is more of a proven health hazard than health suppliments......let me sing and old beatles song for the fda... "go back to the u.s, ....go back to the U>S>.... go back to the U>S>S>R>... we know who you are""""" and the lyrics continue

When I went into raging menopause some years back, my OB-GYN tried the standard SYNTHETIC estrogen / progesterone prescriptions on me and as a result, triggered massive panic attacks. Stopped the prescriptions and the panic attacks lessened, but continued. At that point, he shrugged and told me he couldn't help me and that I would just have to "tough this out." I self-educated myself on the biodentical hormone therapies, and my family doctor (who was just coming up to speed on bioidenticals) was willing to prescribe Tri-est and Progesterone from a compounding pharmacy. WOW! What a difference -- the hot flashes (more than 50 per day) began to subside, the panic attacks lessened, the agoraphobia improved, and I began to function again. Now, some years later, I still use compounded hormones, however, at a dose about one-third of what was originally prescribed. Probably in a couple years, I will no longer need them at all. God save all of us mid-life women if BIG PHARMA succeeds in twisting the FDA's arm to take the bioidentical hormones off the market. It's all about profits that are NOT going into BIG PHARMA'S pockets -- never mind the very real suffering of menopausal women! Wish I could magically send raging menopause to the pharmaceutical company's management teams -- then maybe they would understand.

I am 52 years old. I started menopause in my early 40's. It was devastating....hot flashes, night sweats, fuzzy memory, dizziness, dry skin, vaginal dryness, loss of libido, anxiety, I felt like a completely different person inside and outside...I tried hormone replacement therapy from my physician in pill form but I couldn't tolerate the drugs. I became emotionally unbalanced and had to end the therapy. For several years suffered with terrible symptoms. My life was no longer the same....I read about natural hormone therapy in a cream form that rubbed on the skin. My doctor wouldn't give me any information so I sought out a physician that would help me. He took my hormone levels and prescribed an estrogene/progesterone cream that I use once a day. I rub a very tiny amount into my skin. I feel 100% better although I don't feel like my pre-menopausal self, I can function relatively symptom free. I am grateful that I found this therapy because I don't know how much longer I would have been able to cope with the devastating symptoms of menopause that I experienced.

I find it interesting that our bodies are intelligent enough to produce all three estrogens in specific ratios yet there is "no scientific evidence" for this therapeutic concept. Bio-identical hormones derived from plants have the same molecular structure as our endogenous hormones and it is for this reason that a patent can not be granted...no patent = no profit for drug companies. Since a huge profit is not possible there is no incentive for drug companies to initiate/fund the clinical trials needed to get these products approved by the FDA. It is a vicious cycle because until such studies can prove what our bodies already know, bio-identical hormones will not be fully accepted in the medical community.

The use of bioidentical hormones is up, and breast cancer has been down. Could there be a relationship, have in depth studies been done? The powerful pharmaceutical companies are not making money from bioidentical hormones though, and money is their main concern. I think more study is needed.

These hormones have changed my life. I had a total hysterectomy at 35. I tried the typical FDA approved hormone therapy. I gained weight, developed migraines, felt horrible. Upon switching to the compounded medication my life has been dramatically changed. I've lost weight, I'm off depression medication and the migraines are gone. There is a place for this type of medication. I agree that the pharmacy companies don't like them due to their loss or revenue, get over it and put the patient first. My quality of life is greatly improved and I'm spending less in co-pays and down-time.

How can it be that our bodies are intelligent enough to produce all three estrogen hormones in specific ratios yet there is "no scientific basis" for this therapeutic concept. Furthermore, bio-identical hormones have the same molecular structure as our endogenous hormones and for this reason a patent can not be granted. No patent = No profit!! Drug companies have no incentive to initiate clinical studies when a huge profit is not foreseen. This leads to a vicious cycle because it means that the research needed to prove what our bodies have know for years will not be completed.

My wife is on hormone replacements (componds), it helps alot. Whithou these treatments I could not live with her.

I am only 37 years old and was suffering with symptoms early. I went to my ob-gyn and was put on birth control pills. Never mind the dangers in those at my age, I felt even worse. I would basically have a period for about 3 weeks out of month. I was told that was to be expected and my body would get used to that. Finally I found a doctor that prescribed progersterone from a compunding pharmacy and I feel so much better. I think drug companies are putting pressurre on the FDA to try to stop this because they are not making any money off of it...they do not make money if you fel good!!!

I am only 37 years old and was suffering from pretty bad symptoms. I went to my ob-gyn and was put on birth-control pills to treat my issues. Never mind the dangers in those, I started bleeding about 2 1/2 weeks out of every cycle. This is to be expected is what I was told. Thankfully, I found a doctor that put me on progesterone cream from a compounding pharmacy and that has made all of the difference in the world. I think drug companies are scared and they are pushing for this to happen. They don't make any money if you feel good!!!

drug companies and doctors are just upset that patients are using herbals/natural products instead of buying their drugs. if people want to use herbals products, it is their right to do so. i would trust the doctors more if they weren't making money by prescribing the products the drug companies are pushing. also, they should prescribe drugs on a patient by patient basis, and not give every patient with the same problem the same amount and type of drug. and if the patient prefers herbal solutions to created-chemical cocktails, the doctor should be competent enough to know what herbal /natural products to prescribe.

people are trying so-called herbal and natural products because they are tired of every time they go to the doctor, the doctors give them another drug- and they are usually given the same drug as everyone else with that same problem regardless of differences between the patients. i think the only reason the doctors and pharmaceutical companies are pissed about people using herbal and natural products is because the doctors aren't getting the money from prescribing drugs the companies are making. people should have a right to use what they want herbal/natural products they want, within the limits of the law, and should not be dictated to by the drug company industry or compensated doctors who are pushing the drug companies products.

I have been using "natural progesterin" for the past 5 yrs. I have very few hot flashes and those yucky night sweats have all but disappeared!!! If it works for you, use it!!!!! My Husband and children are very happy for me to be using this product and I feel it has been a lifesaver. I have regular blood exams to check my levels and all is well!!!!

All I know is that I have been using "natural progesterone" for 5 yrs and it has been a life saver!!!! Far less hot flashes and much less of the yucky night sweats. I have regular blood exams and all is well!! If it works,
don't knock it!!!!

FDA cracked down on bioidenticals because Wyeth asked them to. FDA also fired a scientist who found that one of Wyeth's drugs killed hundreds of dogs - again, at Wyeth's request (according to Congress). What's next??