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“Bioidentical” hormones are not a sure thing, no matter what some celebrity says.
That’s why Dr. Kathryn Einhaus is blunt about potential results whenever she prescribes custom-compounded, or “bioidentical,” hormones as a last resort to relieve menopause symptoms.
“Don’t think this is some magic bullet,” she warns patients.
“What’s in there is no more ‘natural’ than what is available anywhere else. It’s not safer – it has the same risks, as far as we know, as any other hormones,” she says.
And the results vary from patient to patient, just like any other treatment. Some might find relief, some won’t. Any hormone therapy should be used in the lowest dose possible, for as short a time as possible, Einhaus says.
“What we are not trying to do is get a woman back to the level of hormones that she had in her 30s. We’re not trying to make you young forever,” she says.
Einhaus, an obstetrician with the Einhaus Group, suggests patients first try other pharmaceutical products that have been tested and approved by the FDA. Those include gels, patches, pills, sprays and vaginal rings.
“But all hormonally active preparations have risks. We use a token therapy for a short time to get people through the bad symptoms,” she says.
