Well, as promised here are my three month follow-up hormone levels.  The red boxes are from my original test results before I started bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, the green boxes are my most recent test results.

Yeah!  I have progesterone, I know it’s a bit high, but Dr. Lee assures me not to worry, “Just cut back your dose, we will achieve that hormone harmony yet!” he says.  And my estrogen is still high as well.  We have reduced my dose, so no worries there either.  The reason I feel so good (as per Dr. Lee) is because I finally have some balance between my estrogen and progesterone even though it is not perfect.  I can’t wait to see how good I’ll feel when they’re balanced!

I must tell you I am worried about all the news lately regarding breast cancer and synthetic hormones.  My goodness, I was on ‘synthetic estrogen’ for eight years- if only I had known about all natural bioidenticals back then!  Yikes, I’m overdue for my mammogram as it is, so I see an x-ray in my near future.

It’s nice to be treated as an individual with specific needs, oh wait, aren’t we all individuals?  I guess someone forgot to tell the traditional doctors that we need individualized care and they cannot PRESCRIBE the exact same does of any drug to every single patient!  That felt good to say!

Happy Hormones,

Judyb

Hello my BIHS (bioidentical hormone sisters),

With the New Year fast approaching it brings with it a mix of regrets and hope. 

I regret the years I lost to menopause because of doctors who didn’t take the time to treat me like an individual patient instead of just one in a stereotypical herd.  I regret not knowing about bioidentical hormones sooner.  I have hope that I will be able to continue to live life in a way that I thought was dead when I got menopause.  I have hope that my blog and natural hormone therapy will help others avoid the hell too many of us have had to go through.

Three months ago I began treatment with bioidentical hormones.  The big M is always on my mind.  I find myself obsessed with this diagnosis, change or transition, whatever the hell you want to call it.  I HATE it!  What does menopause really mean anyway?  Does it mean I’m old?  Am I more mature (I don’t think so)?  I don’t want to feel defined by my diagnosis.  Maybe I’m just a victim of bad medicine.  Maybe if I had been treated properly from the get go I wouldn’t be so preoccupied- maybe, maybe, maybe, who knows.  What I do know is I’m not quite ready to let go.  I know Oprah is always talking about forgiveness.  You know, we must forgive in order to move on yada, yada, yada.  I know what I should do, but give me a break Oprah, it has only been 3 months.  I don’t submit to forcible forgiveness!  I think I have post traumatic OBGYN syndrome. 

Well, I will work on letting go for the New Year, but for now I think I will hold on.  I actually get more done when I’m all wired up over something.  I think getting screwed by 8 physicians deserves a pout don’t you?  Besides, my lips look sexy when I pout.

Until next time

JudyB

Happy Friday All!

Since I hear Las Vegas calling my name to come out and play I’m going to make this post sort of short! The A4M Conference is going great; we listened to Patrick Savage, President of BodyLogicMD, make an amazing speech (learn more from the BodyLogicMD blog) yesterday and we’re headed out to some more seminars today.

Anyways, a couple weeks ago I introduced you to Pam H., a menopause maniac with a lot of spunk! She’s been so impressed with the result of bioidentical hormone therapy that she has referred many of her friends and even her sister to her BodyLogicMD physician in Phoenix, Dr. Eric Hottie, or sorry I mean Dr. Eric Honing (*wink wink*). Check him out here, don’t you agree?!?

Now, let me introduce you to Pam H.’s sister, Perri W. She started hormone replacement this past May because she was feeling just awful (now why does that sound familiar?!). Five months later, and Perri W. is enjoying relief from her symptoms of imbalanced hormones. She’s got her energy back, is losing weight, is less irritable, and she’s finally getting a good night’s sleep again! As always, it’s easier to let her tell you (plus I’ve got some gambling to do). I love that my family of bioidentical hormone sisters keeps growing!

I can’t wait to fill you all in on my exploits here, but what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas! Have a great weekend, I know I will!

JudyB

Dear friends,

I have been invited to attend the A4M (American Academy on Anti-Aging Medicine) conference in Las Vegas this weekend! Yeah!

A4M is hosting this international event, the 16th Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine & Regenerative Biomedical Technologies, that connects over 3,000 influential physicians, scientists, educators, and other professionals to one another to share the latest anti-aging information and technologies; bioidentical hormone therapy being a big one.  Together, these companies and individuals work to spread the knowledge AGING IS NOT INEVITABLE (this works well for my age denial).  My mission will be to learn all I can about preventative medicine and natural hormone replacement therapy (my new passion) and pass along to all of you my new insights.

It is not my place to tell any women to take bioidentical hormones, this is a personal choice.  I do however feel compelled to tell any women suffering from menopause symptoms that we do have choices available.  I encourage all women to take charge of their health, find a trained BodyLogicMD physician, get the appropriate testing and make an informed decision.  I know that menopause is not classified as a DISEASE, but it sure feels like one.  Any medical condition that can cause so many symptoms warrants some kind of treatment, don’t you think?

That’s all for now, wish me luck in the casino! 

Happy hormones,

Judyb

Hello to all my friends!

A few weeks ago I introduced you to my friend Ellen who was through the roof with perimenopause symptoms.  In the interest of our friendship I took her to see Dr. Lee to mellow her ass out!  She’s been on the bioidentical hormone replacement therapy for about five weeks now and she can’t thank me enough for referring her (I’m enjoying this Goddess-like pedestal she’s put me on!).

Anyways, I’ll let Ellen tell you in her own words how she’s feeling.  Enjoy!

JudyB

Hello friends!

For almost 2 months now I have been going on and on about getting “tested” and it occurred to me that I have never shared my results with you.  Well, here they are.

Let me explain as best I can.

These are the results of my saliva tests.  Yes I know it sounds gross, but I HAD to do it (and it wasn’t really that bad at all)!  There were 4 separate samples taken throughout the day.  This is because our hormone levels naturally fluctuate from morning to night so multiple tests are necessary to get the most accurate results.  The hormone testing measured my cortisol, progesterone, testosterone, and estrogen levels. 

Remember way back, when I confessed that I was doubling my dose of estrogen in an attempt to stop my hot flashes, look at my level 29. YIKES!  WAY too high!  No wonder I was the queen of puke.  And look at my progesterone, it’s virtually nonexistent.  I remember stopping Dr. Lee and asking him why my progesterone was so low, he gazed at me almost puzzled and said “Judy, you are in menopause.”   My only response was “oh.”  I knew it, but no one, not any of my past ‘doctors,’ had ever said the word. 

Anyways, this is what I have been talking about when I said that it is so important to know your actual hormone levels, so your bioidentical hormone doctor can treat you properly.  It’s that simple, you’ll get immediate relief from those horrible menopause symptoms.  That’s right, no more hot flashes, insomnia, mood swings, and low sex drive (*wink wink*)!  Those ‘one size fits all’ medications just don’t work; you need to know where your hormones are before you can start balancing them- it seems pretty logical to me!  So, I cut back my estrogen and started taking natural progesterone; you know the hormone every Doc said I DID NOT need.  It seems it is the one I needed most. 

So pucker up ladies and get spitting.

JudyB

Hi all my bioidentical hormone therapy sisters!

So, a few of you were curious about the BodyLogicMD fitness and nutrition plans. Well, to try and answer all your questions at once: they are both super easy!

Honestly, the fitness plan is perfect, even for a glamour girl like me who hates breaking a sweat. Plus, the diet plan really isn’t even like a diet. I feel really satisfied on it. Really, the main purpose of them is to support your hormone therapy program.

Here are some videos of Dr. Lee describing the plans to me when I went for my first visit.

Enjoy!

Judy B.

Lately you’ve all been asking about the different kinds of hormone tests I’ve taken and where/how to get them.

To answer, I am posting a video from my first visit with Dr. Lee. You will see how he explains my test results - and should be able to tell why I’m so obsessed with him.  He touches on everything from progesterone to sleep to my hysterectomy.

Contact BodyLogicMD directly for complete information on the types of testing they do. Hopefully these videos help some of you to decide to start bioidentical hormone therapy and start feeling normal again!

Xoxo
Judy B.

A month or two ago, I would have told you my two biggest saviors in life were Ben and Jerry, and that they lived in a magical ice cream factory in Vermont.

Not anymore! Although I’m still partial to Phish food.

So, I finally bit the bullet and went to see a hormone therapy specialist for this menopause shit. I found some mentions about BodyLogicMD in Suzanne Somers’ books and I decided to contact them. They are a group of anti-aging physicians that deal only with hormonal issues. I was skeptical at first, but honestly, I feel like this could really help me.  I chose to go to Dr. Lee, who is located in Miami – near my home. Seriously, he is SO amazing, he is the first doctor I’ve met in years that I didn’t dream of killing in creative ways.

Before I went to the visit, I took a saliva test, so that he could tell what was going on with my hormones.

We took some videos during my visit, so that you guys could see what was going on.

Check out their hormone therapy Web site if you are interested. I’ll keep you all posted, promise!

Xoxo
Judy B.

I just wanted to let you know more about why I decided to start this blog…and to let you all know how much I appreciate your comments.

I started this blog out of pure hormonal rage. That is, my anger towards all the docs that have MIS-treated me, MIS-diagnosed me, and just plain PISSED me off. I feel so empowered by all your comments. I knew I was not alone. With your help we just may change the way women are treated. We may not change the way main-stream medicine treats us, but now we have the power and knowledge to find docs that actually know how to help us, and how to use bioidentical hormones.  Keep the comments coming.

Your fellow maniac,

Judy B.