Womens Health (Hormone) (FSD)

By Zoom Heaton RPh, CDCES, ABAAHP, FAAMFM
Clinical Liaison — Women's Health, Revelation Pharma

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is a complex endocrine disorder that affects women of reproductive age worldwide. As healthcare practitioners, it is essential to adopt a holistic and integrative approach to the management of PCOS to address its multifaceted nature. In this blog, we will explore the principles of integrative medicine and provide practical strategies for treating PCOS from a comprehensive perspective.

PCOS is not just about reproductive or hormonal issues; it involves a combination of metabolic, hormonal, and psychological factors. Integrative medicine views the body as a whole system, recognizing the interconnectedness of various physiological functions. By treating the underlying imbalances and supporting overall health, we can better manage PCOS and improve patients' quality of life.

Integrative Treatment Approaches

Women have been dealing with menopause for a couple of hundred thousand years, and yet there’s still a bit of a stigma talking about it, the effects it can have on a woman’s body, and ways to help alleviate some of those negative issues.

Worse, as this article in the Atlantic explains, many gynecologists will try to solve everything with estrogen (or, if they’re British, oestrogen). Since the 1960s it’s been the go-to magic bullet for women in and after menopause.

Reality, though, is more complex — and we’ve learned a lot since the ’60s. Still, though, the lack of a “frank approach to sexuality” for both people born female and those who have transitioned there has kept many from realizing the benefits of other hormones. (Ironically, trans women often get better care when it comes to hormones.)

The point of all this, and of the Atlantic article, is that it’s important for women to think beyond

Just because you’ve hit 65, ladies, doesn’t mean you have to give up on hormone therapy. That’s according to the North American Menopause Society^* — a new paper it published says, essentially, that fears of cancer and heart disease are unfounded … sort of. Rather, the risk is nuanced:

A new large-scale study based on the records of 10 million senior Medicare women from 2007 to 2020, however, suggests that the implications of HT [hormone therapy] use beyond age 65 years vary by type, route, and dose.

In other words, ‘there is no general rule for stopping hormone therapy in a woman based on age alone.’

Did you read that bit about "type, route, and dose"? That's what your pharmacist can help with. There are more options than you know of, and he or she can work with your physician to make sure you get the right, safe, hormones customized

Most people think of menopause as a hormonal event. Sure, it can have a lot of effects on a woman's body — hot flashes and mood swings are probably what you think of — but it turns out there's a bigger danger lurking behind the scenes: heart problems.

A new study out of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center found that "A woman's cardiovascular risk can rise sharply after she goes through menopause" — so high, in fact, that it's on par with men of a certain age.

It's almost certainly about the estrogen. Lower levels after menopause seem to increase the buildup of coronary artery calcium (CAC), aka plaque. And plaque levels don't just increase — the buildup accelerates, "indicating that many women experience a steep rise in the risk of heart problems."

This doesn't mean women should rush out and start taking estrogen supplements; you don't want to play fast and loose