Saliva Testing and Natural Hormone Balance
By Carol Ladle, FNP-c, CLC
For many years I have had patients enter my office and ask me to "test their hormones." They may have been experiencing hot flashes or power surges as some women describe them. Often these women were battling weight gain, headaches, depression, anxiety, moodiness, foggy thinking, or had a decreased desire for intimacy. My response had always been that I would be happy to test their hormones, but that I didn't think that the result would be that accurate. A serum or blood test for hormones only tested hormones at that specific moment in time. Hormones fluctuate throughout the day and night.
Finally, in the summer of 2008, I attended a conference on saliva testing and natural hormones held in Salt Lake City. I came back from the conference a believer. Since then I have been offering saliva testing and based on the results of the saliva testing, treatment with natural hormones compounded specifically for their individual needs.
Saliva Testing easily tests for imbalances in each of the major hormones that impact our health: estrogen (estrone, estradiol and estriol) progesterone, testosterone, cortisol, and DHEA-S. Hormone levels in saliva represent the amount of the hormone that is currently available or unbound, to target tissues and actively exerting specific effects on the body.
Each of us, male or female. desires to be in balance, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Hormones in balance are critical to our health. Proper diet and lifestyle choices increase the likelihood that our hormones will be more in balance. Life or stress, more often than not, gets in the way of us achieving our goals.
We desire to treat the underlying problem-hormonal changes and replace what is missing. A compounding pharmacist uses the knowledge that he has to customize a compound made from plant-derived hormones that are bio-chemically similar to those produced by the body. They may be formulated in cream or lozenge form. The lozenges quickly dissolve under the tongue. They come in a variety of flavors: mint, tangerine, pina colada, chocolate mint, orange marshmallow, raspberry, chocolate, lemon and green apple. The creams are easy to apply on the inside of arms, back of upper arm, upper thing, or lower abdomen. They are to be rubbed in for about one minute. If transferring the cream to someone else is a concern, the patient may use the back of the knee, thigh or calf.
It may take 4-6 weeks before the patient feels a positive difference. After a 3 month period of treatment, the patient should return to the provider and be retested to make sure the prescription is correcting the hormonal excess or deficiency.
All the ingredients used in compounding natural hormones are USP grade and contained in FDA approved products, or listed in USP or similar reference. Compounding is supervised and regulated by individual states. Compounded hormones do not imply any bioequivalence. We believe that there is a triad in health care: patient, health care provider and pharmacist. This triad enables the patient to receive the best possible care.