How do I know if my hormones are unbalanced?

The surest way is to have your hormones tested. We offer Test Kits from ZRT Labs, the leading lab for hormone testing.
 

• You can do this test in the comvenience and privacy of your own home and mail it to ZRT Lab to be analized. They send the results directly to you. More about Test Kits.........

•   Many women have decided to try Bioidentical Hormones based on their symptoms, especially after reading books by Dr. John Lee, including "What You Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause" or Suzanne Somers' books. Many others who have had a hysterectomy or are post menopausal want to restore hormone levels to feel better and enjoy a healthier lifestyle.

What are some of the symptoms of hormone imbalance?
  Some of these include weight gain, water retention, hot flashes, night sweats, mood swings, depression, vaginal dryness, osteoporosis, fibrocystic lumps, and other symptoms described below.

Are there natural remedies available to alleviate these symptoms and help restore hormone balance, even after menopause or hysterectomy?
  Many health professionals now encourage the use of natural bioidentical hormones and other natural supplements that safely control the symptoms associated with menopause, hysterectomy and PMS, as well as help with bone loss. We offer high quality naturalProgesterone Creme,Estriol Creme, Homeopathic Testosterone Creme. We also offer Herbal products that help the glands to  function normally to produce hormones naturally and boost "good estrogen" while lowering the "bad estrogens".

What is the first hormone I should supplement?
   Dr Lee and other authorities on the subject of hormone balance, have explained that women begin to lose the ability to produce Progesterone much earlier than estrogen. Quite often, by the time a woman reaches 40, her progesterone levels have dropped low enough to result in her experiencing "Estrogen Dominance" as Dr. Lee refers to it. Low progesterone can even occur in young women and can result in Migraines, Fatigue, Irritability, Cramping, Anxiety, Mood Swings, Depression, Fat Gain, Water Retention, Foggy Thinking, Breast Tenderness, Fibrocystic Breasts, Irregular Menstrual Periods, Miscarriages, Infertility, Decreased Sex Drive, Dryness, Endometriosis, Bone Loss, Hair Loss, Hot Flashes, Insomnia, Premature Aging, PMS, Menopausal Symptoms and Bone Loss. So it would make sense to supplement progesterone if you are experiencing any of these. Quite often, just adding progesterone will restore normal balance and make a world of difference in how you feel. Another excellent supplement that does not add hormones, but helps strengthen the glands that produce them naturally is Royal Maca. You can use both progesterone and Royal Maca at the same time.

If I am pre or peri-memopausal, do I need estrogen?
   It depends on what your hormone test or syptoms show. According to Dr. Lee, most women are able to make sufficient estrogen well after menopause if they still have their ovaries. Estrogen can also be produced in the Adrenal Glands and even in the fat cells. However, there are certain symptoms that do indicate low estrogen and the possible benefit of using estriol creme. They are, (according to Dr. Lee's Hormone Questionnaire) Night sweats, Vaginal dryness, Painful intercourse, Memory problems,  Bladder infections,  Lethargic depression,  Hot flashes.

Dr Lee and other authorities say that women need progesterone if they are approaching menopause or have had a hysterectomy.  Why did my Doctor tell me I don't need progesterone after my hysterectomy?
   You might want to ask him to explain this reasoning. However, a little history of hormone supplementation provides a few clues as to the reason many doctors have that idea.
  At one time, estrogen was given freely without the use of progesterone to balance it. Then it was realized that unopposed estrogen promoted cancer in women with a uterus so, since the pharmaceutical industry needed to add progesterone to balance the estrogen, they patented a synthetic progestin that mimicked progesterone to be given with estrogen.

The results of the WHI study tell the rest of the story.......synthetic progestins added to estrogen actually increased the risks of cancer, heart attack, stroke and blood clots.
   So now, since doctors do not have a safe form of  patent progestin, the direction seems to have turned back to giving just estrogen to women who have had their uterus removed. When doctors think about progesterone, perhaps they are only thinking of the fact that it protected the uterus from cancer for their patients on Estrogen. So maybe they think that if you don't have a uterus, you don't need progesterone.
   In Dr. Jonathan Wright's book "Natural Hormone Replacement", he tells about a woman who told him she didn't need progesterone because she had a hysterectomy. He asked her, "when your uterus was removed, did they remove the rest of your body?" He went on to explain to her that there are progesterone receptors everywhere in your body and progesterone affects every tissue of your body, and that the receptors wouldn't be there without a reason.
  Also the practice of just giving estrogen (conjugated or synthetic) overlooks the fact that you can still develop breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and that the risks of heart attack, senility, stoke and blood clots still remain with the use of synthetic (patented) estrogen. And even if you are low in estrogen, progesterone drops much faster than estrogen and its possible to still be estrogen dominant if you don't supplement progesterone.

My doctor told me that Premarin® is "natural estrogen" since it comes from horses.
  Natural for horses....not for humans!  Quoting Dr. Wright again, " horses have all the enzymes they need to process equilin (a strong horse estrogen, not common to humans) but humans do not. The use of horse estrogen can lead to serious problems. For this reason, conjugated estrogens are, strictly speaking, not natural to human beings."
If you are not familiar with how Premarin® is produced, please click on the link below:
 http://www.femfatalities.com/Premarin.asp

Have natural hormones been studied for safety?
   Once again, quoting Dr. Wright from his book "Natural Hormone Replacement":
"No and Yes".... "No, these hormones have not been "tested" in the large, expensive, double-blind studies that some modern scientists can't live without. But, there's 30 to 40 years experience using patentable "hormone" replacements--Premarin®, Provera®, things like that--and there's very little doubt that natural hormone replacement can do much better than those mismatched molecules"  And Yes, natural hormones have been thoroughly checked out for thousands of generations of women. Nature seems to have settled on them as the safest possible."

Don't I need a prescription for estriol?
  Natural Estriol is not recognized or approved as a drug by the FDA. Estriol and  progesterone are produced in a laboratory process from ingredients in plants: wild yam or soy. Since it is a natural product, it cannot be patented unless it is altered in such a way to make it a synthetic version. Natural products, including natural hormones are non-prescription substances. If your doctor says you need a prescription to get it from your pharmacist, that is because the pharmacist is filling it at the doctors order, so the pharmacist is the one that needs the presciption.

Does the estriol or progesterone contain wild yam or soy?
   These hormones for NHR get their start from the wild yam, which is rich in 'precursor' molecules easily converted by biochemists into other molecules that are identical in every way to 'natural' estrogens, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones"  So, even though the estriol and progesterone are derived from ingredients in the wild yam, these ingredients are actually converted to the hormones themselves by a process that occurs in the laboratory.
  Dr Lee explained that wild yams are very rich in cholesterol,  and hormones are derived from cholesterol. We naturally make hormones from the cholesterol in our bodies (a reason why many very thin women have a hard time producing enough hormones) In the same way, a chemist can add enzymes to the cholesterol and bring about the conversion to specific hormones in a test tube.

How can I know if I need hormones and what ones I need?
  You can have a Saliva Hormone test done by a lab that specializes in this. We offer Saliva Hormone Test Kits on our website, or, if you are aware of your symptoms, you can use Dr. Lee's Hormone Questionnaire to help you make a decision.

Why do I need a saliva test? My doctor uses a blood test for testing hormones?
  To see why saliva testing is the most accurate please read what Dr. Lee has to say here.

Do the bioidentical hormones help with fibrocystic conditions, such as Fibrocystic breasts and Fibroid Tumors.
  Dr Lee addresses this in his books, linking these conditions with low progesterone and estrogen dominance. Quoting from his book, "Of fibroids that develop in the uterus, they are another example of estrogen dominance secondary to anovulatory cycles and consequent progesterone deficiency. They generally occur in the 8-10 years before menopause. If sufficient natural progesterone is supplemented from day 12 to day 26 of the menstrual cycle, further growth of fibroids is usually prevented (and often the fibroids regress)."

Dr William Wong also gives a very clear decription of what causes these and his protocol for treating it here.

Will I start having  periods again if I start on Bioidentical hormones?
  It is unlikely that you will unless you are still peri-menopausal or it has just been a few months since you had your last preiod. In that case, it is possible that using the bioidentical hormones could restore your period temporarilly. However, you should gradually stop having periods. The goal of using natural hormones, according to Dr. Lee, is to just restore the levels that keep you from having symptoms and stop the process of accelerated aging, including bone loss.

How do I know if I need Testosterone?
  If you have scored high for it on Dr Lee's Hormone Questionaire, or your hormone test results indicate it, you might want to try it. Usually the symptoms are low sex drive, lack of energy, foggy thinking, lack of lean muscle. A little testosterone usually goes a long way with women, so start slowly and watch your results to tell if you are getting enough or too much. Irritability or agressiveness might indicate that you are using too much. It is best used just before exercise or sexual activity. The testosterone creme that we offer is a Homeopathic version. Real testosterone requires a prescription.

Please click the links below to learn more:
Links to more information
Order a Test Kit
Anti-Aging Skin Care
Directions for using Natural Radiance Hormones
Why we chose Natural Radiance Products
Terms and Conditions /Privacy Policy
Products we offer
Progesterone Creme
Estrogen Creme (Estriol)
Estriol Oil for vaginal use
Homeopathic Testostereone
Progesterone Creme with Herbs
DHEA Creme
HGH Creme
Adrenal Support Creme
Renewing Facial Creme
Bio Beta Glucan Creme

Links to more information:

Bio-Identical Estrogen (Estriol)	Estriol - a safer estrogen	Natural Progesterone creme	Estriol Oil for vaginal use
Ingredients in Products		Testosterone Support	Fibrocystic conditions
Why Natural Radiance Products	Books you should read	Breast health information
Progesterone questions & Dosage	Hormone Tests	Osteoporosis Support	Adrenal Support
Excerpts from Dr Lee's Books	Glandular Support	Homeopathic HGH	Questions about Pregnancy

Important Notice...please read.
No one at Naturally Better is a health care professional. We cannot advise or answer any questions about your personal health problems or how to use the products we offer for your personal circumstances. The books offered on our website were written by qualified physicians and we strongly advise reading one or more of these books for information on how to use bioidentical hormones. All information compiled is strictly for educational purposes and neither Naturally Better or Radiant Laboratories is not responsible for this information. The FDA has not evaluated these statements. Products and/or statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. Consult with a healthcare professional. Not recommended during pregnancy or lactation. No animal products or by products are used in the manufacturing. No animal testing.