Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for menopause (women) or andropause (men) fall into two main categories, such as:

1) hormone medications that are different from the hormones produced in the human body (conventional HRT) called “NON-bioidentical hormones” (for example the well known “Premarin”, which is derived from horse urine). They cannot be personalised.

2) hormone medications that have an identical structure to the ones produced in the human body (BHRT) and, therefore, behave in the exact same way as human hormones, called “bioidentical hormones” (for example “Estradiol” which is exactly the same as the hormone “Estradiol” that the human body produces). They can be personalised.

Please see the image below:

TESTOSTERONE (MEN):

ESTROGEN (WOMEN):

“Bioidentical”, also known as “natural” or better yet, “human identical hormones”, are synthetically manufactured hormone drugs that look identical to the human hormone molecules our bodies make. These hormones are made from soy and yam oils by pharmaceutical processes of concentration and purification that produce hormone powders. These powders are then placed in different preparations for us to take (pills, patches, gels, lozenges, creams, and pellets). Synthetic doesn’t mean bad. It just refers to the process of creating specific molecules in a laboratory, in this case, hormones that look identical to our own hormones. Because bioidentical hormones replicate your own hormones incredibly closely, we find the side effects which are commonly associated with NON-bioidentical hormones aren’t experienced, making bioidentical hormones a more appealing treatment method for many patients. Bioidentical hormones, differently from NON-bioidentical ones, can also be “personalised” to address the individual needs of a patient. In fact, “one-size-fits-all” approach of the NON-bioidentical hormones works for some patients but not for everyone. Thanks to bioidentical hormones, doctors can prescribe dosages and formulations that are just right for each patient. Patients tolerate bioidentical hormones extremely well as their medication has been designed for them and tweaked according to how they respond. Personalised bioidentical hormones are particularly effective for patients with very precise dosing requirements, multiple chemical sensitivities, gut issues, and/or absorption issues.