BIOIDENTICAL HT: WHERE DO YOU STAND?
A 54-year-old woman, recently menopausal, complains of hot flushes that make her miserable. After an evaluation, including an endocrine work-up, you recommend hormone therapy (HT). She promptly asks about bioidentical hormones, which she has read about on the Internet and heard about from friends. In your practice, the next step would be to:
COMMENTS
“I would educate her on the facts about bioidenticals but, if she insists, I would let her have them.”
“I employ a combination of the three options.”
“As a specialty, we need to be clear on terminology: There are pharmaceutical bioidentical hormones.”
“I explain to patients that estradiol—the medication in Estrace, Vivelle, etc.—is bioidentical.”