Re: Hormone replacement therapy

[Guest guest]

With 's servers down for a couple of days, my post of Friday evening has

been superceded by

hours of online research resulting in more questions than answers.

My physician has recommended 'natural testosterone' to be compounded with DHEA

into a lozenge for

absorption through the mucous membranes of the cheek. What this testosterone

amounts to I have

utterly no idea. This much I do know: it is a so-called " natural " testostorne in

micronized form, an

artifact of what are called 'compounding pharmacies'. So-called 'natural'

hormones (and nhrt) result

from plant sterols (soy) being extracted, then subjected to biochemical

manipulation to result in 'natural'

testosterone. Secondly, they are administered in anywhere from 10-25 mgs, twice

daily. Twice daily administration

suggests a relatively short half life. It is said the liver does no processing

of these: I have no clue if this is true.

The only micronized testosterone I've found on the web is from Upjohn. It's

17-beta-hydroxy-androst-4-ene-3-one,

aka 17b-hydroxy-4-androstene-3-one. The stuff i saw yesterday, however, was

not Upjohn - from some

pharmaceutical house I'd never heard of before. Such hormones are also known as

'bio-identical natural

hormones'. Other than that a profound dissociative condition exists between the

muscle building steroid sites,

hormonal replacement sites, with nothing turning up on medical systems.

I find this whole matter as infuriating as fascinating. Any information will be

richly appreciated. I don't

know if we have a new alternative here, or what.

Ken O'Neill

Tucson, Arizona

[Guest guest]

> Here is from this week's Lancet. It available as PDFs including

> Lancet articles referenced to.

>

> It is an analysis of previous studies on hormone replacement

> and risks. It suggests the thumb is down, I think. Although

> obviously more directly pertinent to women, I believe that

> CRONies who are advised to take testosterone or take male

> hormones run similar risks.

" Hormones " is a broad category.

I doubt consumers of 7-Keto DHEA or Melatonin will be swayed by

studies of HRT using oestrogen.