SURVIVING HEALTHCARE Chapter 7 HORMONES FOR BOTH SEXES
Which replacements do men and women sense the most? Many women feel distinct improvements when they use thyroid, estrogen, testosterone, or progesterone. Some have dramatic responses to vitamin D. For men, testosterone is the most noticeable and some feel better with HGH. A few older men improve when they only take DHEA.
See Appendix A and B for dosing and blood testing information about each hormone.
Sally’s story: I started menopausal symptoms at 29. I was not a healthy individual. It took coming to you, and you asked how I felt. You actually let me adjust the dosage and fine-tune myself, and now I feel attractive and I’m sleeping again. It’s just a better overall quality of life that I didn’t have for eleven years. I would go to doctors and they would say my hormones were in the normal range, but I didn’t feel good… They didn’t give me enough… I felt amazing within two to four weeks after I started…
Another story.
MELATONIN is a harmless but potent antioxidant or clean-up hormone with many benefits. It is taken at bedtime and improves sleep. It also helps mood, migraines, energy, and the immune system. Dentists say that patients taking melatonin have improved gum and mouth health. It has favorable effects on both breast and prostate cancer.
Some use it to reset the sleep-wake cycle. When travelers enter a new time zone, they take up to 100 mg on the first night. Melatonin has also been used to help addicts stop Valium and related sedatives. And it decreases nighttime urination for men with large prostates.
An anecdote: Those taking melatonin may see their grey or white hair gradually change back to the original color. As this happens, they get dark roots and white tips, which is the reverse of what happens to dyed hair as it grows out. This may mean their health is getting better.
The best melatonin preparations last six hours or longer. Compounders make these slow-release products as prescriptions. These are also available over-the-counter for purchase at either Nutrascriptives.com or LifeExtension.com. The melatonin capsules made by compounders are 1, 2, 3, and 5 milligrams and higher. Women start at 1 mg and men at 3 mg. Dosage is increased until good sleep or side effects occur. For men, the average dose needed is 9 to 30 mg and for women, 1 to 30 mg. Up to 100 mg every night is safe and some people need that much.
The only problems with melatonin are sleepiness and vivid dreams. Since it is taken at bedtime, most people do not mind these, although a few become agitated and cannot tolerate it. Several weeks may go by before the full response occurs. Some people must take melatonin several hours before going to bed because it has a slow onset for them. These effects are individual.
I wanted to have dark hair, but melatonin gave me restless sleep. So I am still using dye.
VITAMIN D (D3) is a steroid hormone, just like estrogen or testosterone. True vitamins cannot be made by the body, but this is produced in the skin during sun exposure. Those with a deficiency who take it often get an energy boost and have less joint pain.
Susan is 63 years old and has a vitamin D level of only 11 ng/ml. She is black, vegan, has high blood pressure, and gets little sun exposure. She wears sunscreen every day and takes Norvasc, a high blood pressure medicine. These all make D deficiency more likely. Susan would probably feel more energetic if she took supplements and had higher levels.
A 2015 Dan