Not All Hormones are the Same - Erika Schwartz, M.D.

Presented at the 14th Clinical Applications for Age Management Medicine by Erika Schwartz, M.D.

Hormones are the juice of life. When you are 20 regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, you are full of hormones, you are fertile, diseases are rare and recovery is swift, we are fertile, do not have wrinkles, can get our body weight under control with diet and exercise and we want to have sex. With the aging process, we loose our hormones and along with their loss we start experiencing symptoms that make us feel crummy. We have hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, irritability, stubborn weight gain, loss of libido, infertility and chronic illnesses like high cholesterol and high blood pressure become the norm. In short we become roadkill. You can try to exercise, change your diet, get some rest and take supplements but unless you address the hormone balance and recreate the environment of your 30s and early 40s, aging will prevail and turn you into an old, chronically ill and unhappy person. There are options for the safe and intelligent use of hormones to decrease the risks brought on by aging but they are not taught in medical school. Understanding there is no class effect in hormones is key to helping patients and making the difference between a borderline life and a vibrant, healthy life. Bioidentical hormones or human identical hormones are a class of hormones that have been in conventional medical use for more than six decades. Hormone formulations and preparations are crucial and they DO affect outcome in both men and women. The science of hormones is solid and the clinical application and use of hormones in wellness and disease prevention is of utmost importance in the practice of prevention. Understanding the difference between hormones and their application are the key to ideal hormone balancing.

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It is the goal of the Age Management Medicine Group (AMMG) to provide education and information on the specialty of Age Management Medicine to physicians and healthcare professionals through evidence-based, continuing medical education conferences, workshops, seminars, publications and Web media. The Group consists of leading industry healthcare professionals, physicians, practitioners, researchers, medical
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