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Bio-identical HormoneS

Bio-identical hormone replacement products need to be specially compounded by a compounding pharmacy, like Aiken Compounding Pharmacy. Compounded hormone replacement offers you and your physician an option to customize treatment and really focus on you as the individual.

At Aiken Compounding Pharmacy we are able to provide an alternative to synthetic hormone replacement (conjugated equine, or horse, estrogens and medroxyprogesterone). This alternative is natural, human-identical hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Many women experience intolerable side effects associated with the use of synthetic hormone replacement. Dissatisfaction and a desire for more natural HRT has led to a strong interest in the use of Compounded Bio-identical hormones.

Bio-identical, or human identical, means that the hormones we use to compound your medication are an exact match to the hormones produced by the human body. These hormones get their start naturally, found in soy beans and wild yams. They are then converted into the hormones your body is familiar with and recognizes; the body uses them just as it would if they were being produced by the ovaries, testes, or adrenal glands. Most side effects seen with compounded, bio-identical hormones are associated with incorrect dosing. These can be easily adjusted by making slight variations in the dose, or dosage form. Once these adjustments have been made these side effects often disappear.

Synthetic hormones are not easily recognized by the body even though they may produce similar effects. Because these synthetic molecules are often much larger and much more potent than our bodies natural hormones, they are linked to many side effects.

Natural HRT includes estrogens (estrone, estrodiol & estriol), progesterone, testosterone, DHEA and pregnenolone. These are the same hormones your body has made all your life. They are unlike synthetic hormones that are not identical to your hormones.

Aiken Compounding Pharmacy has helped hundreds of women with hormone-related problems and we can help you. We offer private consultations with our specially trained pharmacists. We will work with you and your physician to develop a customized hormone replacement plan that best suits you.

Physicians will choose to select doses for patients in one of three ways. They may use blood testing, saliva testing, or patient symptoms and their own expertise to formulate a dosage regimen specific to the patient. We recommend, but do not require, saliva test kits to monitor hormone levels periodically throughout treatment. Saliva samples are collected at home and mailed to the lab. Results are available in about 10-14 days. The cost for saliva testing is $40 per hormone. We recommend testing Estradiol, Estriol, Testosterone, Progesterone, and Cortisol (total cost $200 payable to the testing lab). We help you and your physician interpret the results at no charge.

The most popular dosage form for bio-identical hormones is topical cream that is applied to forearms once or twice daily. We can also help you with alternate dosage forms such as capsules, suppositories, lozenges, or tablet triturates (melt-in-mouth) tablets.