To be considered “bio-identical” a hormone must be an exact molecular copy of the naturally occurring human hormone and be administered in a non-oral, intravenous (trans-dermal, sublingual, etc) fashion in a concentration that mimics that seen in the pre-menopausal state. The substrate for these hormones happens to be the Mexican yam but this is not part of the reason they are “natural.”

What sets these apart from products found in the health food stores is the fact that they are pharmaceutical grade and strength and require a physician’s prescription.

Continued application of these substances through the menopausal time of life has proven to prolong and enhance a more youthful appearance and function with minimal potential deleterious effects.

As stated, these products are derived from the Mexican yam and are put together or “compounded” by compounding pharmacies. As a prescriber I tell the pharmacist what concentration of hormone I have determined would be most beneficial to each individual patient. This formula is determined by both saliva testing and patient history.

During the first visit to the office we do an extensive symptom history and try to determine which combination would be most effective. Also at the time of the first visit a saliva kit is given to verify and help with further adjustments to the dosage as time goes by. This testing is done at home and takes about 3 weeks to get results. The second visit is to see how the patient did on the original prescription and review saliva test results.