What is With This Movement to Discredit Bioidentical Hormones?

Hormone users, body owners, beware!

When I was lecturing a few months back in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, doctors were saying they were aware of a growing “movement” against bioidentical hormones. One doctor said that there was a podcast called “The Surprising Risks of Bioidentical Hormones No One is Talking About” - by Ronda Nelson Ph.D. This is a “business class” podcast about building a profitable practice. This podcaster also has her own functional practice. Dr. Nelson shared on her podcast, “Placing hormones on the skin causes dangerous transference all day long.”

I had not heard of this doctor. First thing I did on setting my luggage and computer bag down, was open that computer and listen to this show.

What Dr. Nelson said, its not accurate in a variety of ways.

When applied correctly, topical bioidentical hormones (BHRT), if rubbed into the skin for about 60 seconds, have NO transference — after an hour.

If you were worried, you could wash the skin once the hormone is rubbed in well. We recommend to our patients to have no intimacy one hour after application, just to be safest. Also, to use their own towels.

But transference is NOT a dangerous issue. Plus, her title sounds ominous. When I would be more worried, based on science, to age without BHRT.

What does she base these transference comments on?

Dr. Nelson says she has seen this hundreds of times play out, that bioidentical hormones are dangerous, and risky for people around you.

She admits, “I have never been on BHRT and never plan on it.” She reports that she used herbs for her harsh personal menopause experience.

Dr. Nelson discusses the show “House”. One episode, she says, “way back in the day” had a man and kids who were acting strangely with anger and harsh behavior. It turned out to be the testosterone that the man was applying but the whole family was getting exposed to.

This is called “passive transference”. But it is easily avoided.

If you rub the topical in well, and avoid contact for an hour, transference is NOT an issue.

Dr. Nelson says there is much more transference than you think.

She says that even oral hormones accumulate in the body. WRONG! Hormones signal their receptor, then move off. They do not permanently “clog” or damage receptors.

Dr. Nelson offers no citations. She bases this on a House episode and what she sees in practice.

Why don’t we in the trenches for many decades see this?

We inform patients on the correct ways to use.

Dr. Nelson also uses saliva testing. Interestingly enough, recently when I was hired to speak at the School of Applied Functional Medicine in a few weeks, they wouldn’t hire me if I was teaching their docs to use saliva.

Different docs test hormone levels by varying assay methods.

But it’s not the the “level’ of a hormone that matters as much as the receptor’s ability to receive this signal and pass it on to the genes, called by the scientists that discovered these receptors and whom I got to hang with at Tulane, called “receptor functionality”.

With saliva testing, Dr. Nelson shared that she finds that women going out with men who use testosterone have high testosterone levels.

We do not see this regularly in practice at all.

Also, when you rub a topical hormone in, rub it in well, for 60 seconds at least. You should not feel much cream left on the skin.

This drives the hormone cream down below the skin, into underlying fat cells. These “time release” the hormone out to distant tissues.

There should be NO transference after an hour.

Dr. Daved Rosensweet* is an international expert in BHRT. We are both on the International Board of Bioidentical Medicine. I told Dr. R. about this movement and about Dr. Nelson’s concerns.

Dr. R wrote back:

“We did a transmission study….he says, “Our original study using Carbopol for the base. I did this study 15 years ago… The Upshot is: We tested a carbopol based bi-est cream. It was completely “absorbed”, 95%, in 1/2 hour.

“Also, washing the skin right after application reduced residual on skin surface to zero. It was already in the bloodstream.”

“Interesting math as well, re Bi-est in carbopol: I was using a 2.75 mg/ml, 73:27 at the time (1 ml of this was equal in strength to 1 ml of estradiol 1 mg/ml) my pharmacist at the time…the very time you were in my office (he was my doctor 27 years ago), had come up with this equivalency to help docs used to the strength of estradiol, be able to quickly convert to Bi-est.

However, if you “slap” cream on, don’t rub in well, and then touch or hug kids or pregnant women, this may transfer.

That is why you apply topicals with the correct instructions.

1. Rub in well, for at least 60 seconds.

2. Avoid skin contact for an hour.

3. Use your own towels.

There is also a well-known and articulate ND who is an expert in complementary cancer. A smart doc, except about hormones.

This doc lectures all over the Internet and in her “cancer classes”, erroneously reports that since bioidenticals are made in a lab, they are not natural. WRONG! It is the exact molecular structure as our own hormones, and this is what are bioidentical hormones.

Hormones made in a lab but the exact same molecular structure as our own hormones, are bioidentical hormones.

Hormones made in a lab, but made to be the EXACT same structure as our own (endogenous) hormones, are bioidentical.

Not synthetic.

Synthetic is when the molecules are “altered” to be slightly different than our own. They then can be patented. Like synthetic progestins.

This doc goes on to say that when bioidenticals enter a receptor (genomic hormones “enter” a receptor, shimmy in space, and deliver signals to genes) they paralyze the receptor. WRONG!

They do NOT paralyze receptors in any which way.

I am not sure what this movement is against bioidenticals.

Do you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

At the same time, the FDA is trying to make it illegal for compounding pharmacists to compound bioidenticals. Dr. Rosensweet was in Washington last week and sadly shared with me last evening that the FDA appears to soon put bioidentical hormones on the non-compoundable list. Not sure when this will happen. But this would put many compounders out of business, and would leave the approximately several million women on BHRT, out in the cold.

All this at a time the FEDS are trying to supposedly save the economy. Even though many of those on these committees do not practice menopausal medicine and do not have the background to understand the clinical efficacy as well as vast scientific information SUPPORTING bioidenticals over non-identical hormones.

There is a “war” going on. Don’t miss out on what BHRT can do for you from this misinformation campaign.

Beware.

Be smart.

Be hormonally balanced.

I hope to be the most hormonally balanced clump of ashes in some box on some mantel.

Dr. B.

*Dr. Rosensweet joined us last night for our Pro Webinar with more details and updates from his trip updates. And, our very dear Pro Member, Dr. Jennifer Burch shared her experience as well. This will be in the archives soon. We will also send out other vital info and links.