Hormone Solutions Newsletter #13 May 2013

Dear I get hundreds of emails each year from people lamenting the lack of accurate, reliable, proven and trustworthy information about hormones. The internet is a wonderful source for researching any subject, however when it comes to hormones it seems that most websites are selling the magic bullet to cure all hormone ills.

When it comes to hormones there is simply not the single magic pill, potion, powder, troche, drop, gel, cream or injection to fix all things hormonal. I attend many conferences throughout the course of a year and some of the best and brightest minds in the world of hormones have heated debates about what are and are not appropriate treatments for managing various hormone related conditions.

Do we or don't we treat men who have all the classic symptoms of low testosterone - moody, extreme tiredness, declined physical and sexual motivation, weight issues and depression - but have testosterone blood levels just above the bottom end of the normal range? The man described above is termed the late-onset hypogonadal male and is now over 30% of the adult population. The science shows he is a heart attack waiting to happen and is possibly of the most undertreated and polarising issue in medicine today.

Similarly, the debate rages on the issue to treat or not to treat women who have had their ovaries removed with testosterone. The science is rock solid that in many of these women their libido and energy level disappear within weeks of the surgery and is on-going. The ovaries produce the bulk of the hormones estrogen, progesterone and testosterone. For decades estrogen has been the mainstay of hormone supplementation post surgery despite volumes of clinical trial evidence showing supplemented testosterone improves libido and energy in these women. Yet only a small fraction of women are offered testosterone as part of their hormone replacement.

If medical experts worldwide cannot find consensus on some of these issues what hope has a patient of making an informed decision?

With this in mind, the Hormone Solutions website has been overhauled to assist patients gain a basic knowledge of the underlying hormone imbalance can lead to multitude of health problems. Some of the more common issues that have an underlying cause due a hormonal change include:

• breast changes (women and men)
• depression and anxiety (men and women)
• sleep disturbances (men and women)
• infertility (men and women)
• low libido (men and women)
• weight gain (men and women)
• weight loss (men and women)
• diabetes (men and women)
• metabolic syndrome (men and women)
• night sweats (men and women)
• mood changes (men and women)
• unexplained fatigue (men and women)
• endometriosis (women)
• premenstrual syndrome (women)
• erectile dysfunction (men)
• skin disturbances (men and women)
• cystic ovaries (women)
• adrenal fatigue (men and women)
• repeat first-term miscarriage (women)
• post-partum depression (women)

The new HormoneSolutions website contains video and written responses to frequently asked questions, detailed downloadable condition-specific information booklets, online self-assessment questionnaires and links to authority websites for a balanced approach to understanding. As we build addition features into the website we hope it will provide men and women with a comprehensive starting point to finding their personal hormone solution.

Please email me any feedback you may have on how we can improve the website.

Best wishes

Michael Buckley

CEO / Medical Director / Pharmacist