There was a time when people married in their early teens; women bore children almost yearly; men were experienced warriors by the age of 16; and forty was considered to be advanced old age.

We now benefit from better nutrition and health care, and the average life expectancy is in the late seventies. However, we have been led to believe that in our later years we have to live with a certain loss of functioning and quality of life.

Both women and men as they grow older produce less estrogen and testosterone. Some of the effects of this can be anxiety, irritability, fatigue, loss of energy, poor focus, poor concentration, depression, loss of muscle tone, osteoporosis and loss of sexual desire. Women may experience hot flashes and night sweats. Men may experience decreased erectile function and prostate enlargement. Both sexes may experience weight gain, even in spite of exercise, or no improvement with exercise.

The highly publicized Women’s Health Initiative study was designed to measure the effects of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) on the above symptoms in women . It was discontinued in August 2002 because of increasing rates of breast cancer and cardiovascular disease, an event that caused shock waves throughout the medical community and among women. This study, however, was using synthetic patented estrogen derived from horse urine, a hormone that on the molecular level does not have the same structure as the estrogen produced in the human body. It is self-evident that such a substance will not be well tolerated by the body, and will place undue stress on the liver as it attempts to process it.

Fortunately, there is a bio-identical hormone—i.e. a hormone with the exact molecular structure of that produced by the human ovaries and testes—that has been in widespread use in Europe since 1936 and has been available in the US since 1939. This kind of hormone therapy has had continual positive research papers published in respected international medical journals from 1936 to the present day. It is not widely known in this country because it is a natural product that cannot be patented, and is therefore of little interest to the pharmaceutical companies that engage in aggressive marketing of synthetic hormones.

The various delivery systems of synthetic hormones all have drawbacks that contribute to uncomfortable side effects. Synthetic hormones taken in pill form have to be processed by the liver, and larger doses are required to compensate for the part of the drug that the liver eliminates. Patches have adhesive problems. Hormone shots are absorbed in an irregular fashion and with long term use create increased resistance, necessitating higher doses. Levels of the hormone fluctuate throughout the day, giving a roller coaster effect of feeling better at certain times of day than others, instead of being in steady supply or adjusting to the body’s changing requirements. Gels, creams and pills may have to be taken twice a day to try and even out the roller coaster effect, which is a hassle. All are delivering a hormone that is often not bio-identical to the human hormone.

Hormone pellet therapy provides hormones that are biologically identical to those produced by the human body. They are administered in a form that is directly absorbed into the bloodstream and provides the hormones when and in the amounts that the body needs, just as the ovaries and testes do. Tiny pellets, about the size of a grain of rice, of estradiol and/or testosterone are placed under the skin in the fatty tissue. The active area of hormone delivery is the outer surface of the pellet. A small percentage of the surface area is released into the blood stream twenty-four hours a day, and the effects of treatment last for four to six months. This method of delivery allows the body to take as much or as little of the hormone as it requires. If you exercise strenuously, or are under stress, the increase in heart rate and muscle activity will generate a faster release of hormone from the surface area of the pellet, because the blood is flowing more rapidly. When the exercise or stress is over, the body returns to its normal heart rate and the level of hormone release from the pellet returns to its base rate.

Introduction of the pellet into the fatty tissue of the buttock is a simple procedure that takes only a few minutes. The area is numbed with a small amount of Lidocaine, similar to the numbing effect experienced during a visit to the dentist. The pellets are placed under the skin via a needle instrument inserted into the fatty tissue. There may be some discomfort for a few days, though many patients experience no discomfort at all. Many patients report noticeable benefits within 3 days to 3 weeks.

For further information on hormone pellet therapy you can visit the web site of Gino Tutera, MD, by clicking here: www.natureshormone.com