Erika Schwartz - The Hormone Solution: Naturally Alleviate Symptoms of Hormone Imbalance from Adolescence Through Menopause

Copyright 2002 by Erika Schwartz, M.D.

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Wellness Central

Hachette Book Group USA

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New York, NY 10017

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Wellness Central is an imprint of Grand Central Publishing.

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First eBook Edition: April 2002

ISBN: 978-0-446-55044-4

You may be suffering from hormone imbalance

Did you know:

Natural hormones may reduce or even eliminate the symptoms of depression in women of all ages

Natural hormones can banish hot flashes, night sweats, bloating, and mood swingsand make you feel sexy again

Women who take natural hormones may experience fewer side effects than those who take their synthetic counterparts

Natural hormones are FDA approved, yet your doctor may not know about them

There are risks to the popular phytoestrogen alternative supplements such as black cohosh, isoflavones, soy milk, vitex, and dong quai

Transdermal creams are the best way to absorb natural hormones

Over-the-counter products that include the words natural and progesterone on the label may not treat your symptoms as effectively as prescription natural hormones

Learn About

THE HORMONE SOLUTION

For twenty years I suffered endometriosis, chronic joint and muscle pain, irritable bladder, headaches, and other symptoms which doctors concluded were due to a neurological illness. Within four months of starting natural hormone replacement under Dr. Schwartzs care, even the worst of my symptoms eased. The Hormone Solution provides an enormous missing piece to the puzzle of good health. I cant imagine anyone who would not ultimately benefit from reading this book.

A. Manette Ansay, author of Limbo: A Memoir and Vinegar Hill

Every woman can and will identify with this book. An immensely readable, engrossing, easy-to-read, and informative resource a commonsense guide for the lay person as well as the physician.

Maria E. Levada, M.D., president, Nassau County OB/GYN Society

To Katie and Lisa, my guardian angels To Ken, my love

I hope you find this book as easy to read as it was to write. Being surrounded by good friends and knowledgeable advisers, when dealing with a topic for which everyone desperately needs information and solutions, made my work rewarding and inspiring.

Christine Iurato, my friend and partner in the development of the Hormone Solution Program. I thank you for being so generous with your time, your brilliant advice, your knowledge, your care.

Deborah Schneider, my agent, friend, and cheerleader. Thank you for leading me to natural hormones and keeping the faith in my ability to write on my own.

My friend Joe Bova, thank you for always being there to teach me the intricacies of pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals.

Robert Giuliano, thank you for allowing me the use of your lab to work out combinations of natural hormones.

At Warner Books, my editor Diana Baroni and assistant editor Molly Chehak, your insightful guidance made my job a pleasure. Thank you for your patience.

Thank you to my patients. You are my source of strength, information, and faith. Your stories will undoubtedly help improve the lives of many.

T he program described in this book is not intended to be a substitute for medical care and advice. You are advised to consult with your health care professional with regard to all matters relating to your health, including matters that may require diagnosis or medical attention. In particular, if you have any special condition requiring medical attention, or if you are taking or have been advised to take (or to refrain from taking) any medication, you should consult regularly with your physician.

The identity of some of the patients referred to in this book, and certain details about them, have been modified or are presented in composite form.

The information provided in this book is based on sources that the author believes to be reliable, and information regarding products and companies is current as of December 2001.

A lmost twenty years ago, I opened my first private practicean outfit so small that it fit into a garage in Westchester County. Prior to that, I had done my residency at Kings County Hospital Center, the second largest hospital in the country, and was director of the Emergency Department at Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla, New York. While my years at the medical center were exciting and action packed, I began to feel that I was missing the extended, close patient contact I knew private practice could offer. I wanted to be part of my patients everyday lives and have a role in keeping them well. Over the years, my practice grew and began to reflect my philosophy that the absence of disease does not equal wellness. Being well means feeling well, and feeling well definitely does not include constantly worrying about being sick.

The more I practiced medicine, the more I focused on finding the source of this fear and worry, eliminating the possibility of disease, and then looking for ways to treat the root cause. Women of all ages came to me with the same issue: They looked healthy, their test results came back normal, yet they felt miserable. The more experienced I became, the more I realized that hormones were the common thread in all of these womens situations. In addition, I, too, experienced the debilitating effects of hormone imbalance. I had been through depression before my periods, incapacitating cramps and migraines when taking birth control pills, night sweats after the birth of my first daughter, loss of sex drive after the birth of both daughters. I worried every month when I felt lumps in my breasts before my period. I was sure they were breast cancer and Id never live to see my kids grow up. Needless to say, I worried a lot. I was lucky, though, because being a doctor forced me to learn to deal with the worry, and gave me the opportunity to help other women deal with it as well.

Hormone changes, imbalances, and deficiencies turned out to be the root cause of many of my patients (and my own) health problems. I struggled to find solutions for young girls with mood swings and depression and young women with postpartum depression, PMS, PMDD, migraines, and fertility problems. I relied on conventional therapies to treat women in their middle years for menopausal symptoms, the mainstays of which still were synthetic estrogens and progestins. Some patients took birth control pills to stave off the symptoms of menopause; others took Premarin and Provera. These methods never seemed to work, as my patients would continually return to my office complaining of symptoms. If the hot flashes disappeared, the trade-off was sore, swollen breasts and return of never-ending, heavy periods. If the period was gone, headaches and migraines overwhelmed the women. My patients were unhappy and so was I, as their doctor. At that time, I still believed standard conventional hormone replacement therapy was the only option. After all, most of my colleagues used it and felt it offered reasonable results.

But then it happened to me: At forty-six years old, I went through The Change myself. I began to wake up in a pool of perspiration, my heart pounding so hard I thought I was having a heart attack. I could no longer sleep. With my long work hours, the sight of a bed used to be enough to make me fall asleep. Yet suddenly, sleep had become my enemy. And that was only one of many strange symptoms I was experiencing. My weight had never been a problem in my twenties and thirties. Then gradually, over a six-year span after I turned forty, I gained 15 pounds. I worked out regularly and ate a healthy diet. Yet, somehow, I could not shed the weight.