Can I Still Start Hormones 10 Years After Menopause? Doctors Respond

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Is it too late? Can I still go on hormones 10 years after menopause, or if I'm in my early to mid-60s? That's the question from one of our community members, and the answer is coming from a lot of my physician friends. I did a roundup of all the physicians that I could get my fingers on and get to respond in a timely manner, and they're here giving their very short answer. So in a very brief episode, you're going to learn a lot from different physicians about, yes, some overlapping answers, but some unique nuances to each their answers. If you've been wondering about this question, this is for you. If you haven't, I guarantee you, you have a friend, a sister, or a colleague who has. Would you do me and her a favor and share this one?

I'm Debra Atkinson. You're listening to Flipping 50. I started this podcast over a decade ago to answer questions about fitness in menopause and beyond before you knew to ask them. The goal: to help accelerate your results with science and the practical application of proven protocols while living your best life. There's no more powerful health influencer in the world than a midlife woman. And it's not just about you, but the 3 generations that you influence. My unique 40-year career, including being a university senior lecturer in kinesiology, an industry subject matter expert, and an international speaker, to founder of the first and the only exclusively made for menopause and beyond fitness membership in the world. Every week I interview experts behind the scenes and the science of optimal hormone balancing, fitness, and longevity, and share answers to our community's questions so you can have the vitality and the energy that you want, need, and deserve.

So let me introduce each of my guests for you, and I will be very brief, getting you right to the message that they have. First of all, we have Dr. Felice Gersh. Felice, her interview in the What, When, and Why to Exercise for Women 40 and Over, the summit for 2024. Dr. Felice, Interview was one of the most top-rated interviews of all of this year. If you still want to get your hands on it, I will put the link to get those recordings in the show notes. Felice Gersh is a multi-award-winning physician with dual board certifications in OB-GYN and integrative medicine. She's the founder-director of the Integrative Medical Group of Irvine, a practice that provides comprehensive healthcare for women by combining the best evidence-based therapies from conventional, naturopathic, and holistic medicine. For 12 years, she taught obstetrics and gynecology at Keck USC School of Medicine as an assistant clinical professor. She now serves as an affiliate faculty member for the Fellowship in Integrative Medicine through the University of Arizona School of Medicine. Feliz is a prolific writer and lecturer who speaks globally on women's health and regularly publishes in peer-reviewed medical journals. She's the bestselling author of the PCOS SOS series and her latest book, Menopause: 50 Things You Need to Know.

It's a great and challenging question to ask What do you do if you're part of what I call the lost generation, the women who were told at the time or during the time following the Women's Health Initiative that hormones were bad, they were dangerous, they were so risky, and they should not take them? Now, as the pendulum is somewhat swinging back and hormones are recognized to have significant benefit, did those women miss the boat? The reality is that we do have limited data. My own personal opinion is that it is not too late. Definitely early is better than late when it comes to starting hormones. The only study that is available that has been published looking at this question that didn't use the Prempro products. That have been pretty much panned was the ELITE study that used 1 milligram of oral estradiol, which is not the preferred method, and used progesterone. And in that study, they had one group that was compared to a control group, and that group was of women who were at least 10 years past their age of menopause.

Next up, I have a response from Dr. Anna Cabeca. She's the bestselling author of The Hormone Fix and Keto Grain 16, as well as Menu Pause. Dr. Anna is a triple board-certified and fellow of the gynecology and obstetrics, integrative medicine, and anti-aging and regenerative medicine. She holds special certifications in functional medicine, sexual health, and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. She lectures frequently on these topics throughout the world to large audiences and is known nationally as the Girlfriend Doctor and host of the Girlfriend Doctor Show. She has personally developed natural products to help women balance hormones and thrive through menopause, including the highly acclaimed Julva cream for the vulva and Mighty Maca Plus, a powerful superfood blend. She now lives in Dallas with her daughters. Horses and dogs.

In response to the question, if someone's 10 years post-menopause, is it too late to start hormone replacement therapy? The answer is I, I definitely don't discriminate based on age. So if you are healthy and we want to optimize hormones, absolutely we should. If if there are disease conditions, underlying inflammation, or adrenal dysfunction, or glycemic control issues, we want to optimize them as well as even more important. Yet hormones transdermally, even post-menopause, have been shown to be safe and effective. Doing it right with bioidentical hormones and using the safest route. So, on the vulvar vaginal area or transdermal on the skin. Are excellent options. Definitely something to discuss with your physician about based on your current medical conditions.

My next guest, and I guess the token male here on this roundup, not on purpose, but I'm so glad he's here. If you want to see this physician in action, you'll find Dr. Sean Tassone, who was for a while my physician, doing a client-patient consults on my YouTube channel. You can go to Flipping 50 TV and find it there. Shawn Tassone, known as America's Holistic Gynecologist, is the first physician in the United States to be double board certified in obstetrics and gynecology and by the American Board of Integrative Medicine. He holds a medical degree in addition to a PhD in mind-body medicine. He's a practicing OB-GYN in the Austin, Texas area and a hormone specialist, author, speaker, highly rated patient advocate, and creator of the world's first integrative hormonal mapping system. In his 20-plus years of practice, Dr. Tassone has seen over 40,000 women, and he's determined to remove the myths surrounding women's health. As an integrative health practitioner. He believes that you should have an active role in your own care. His work includes studies and publications on hormone imbalances, spirituality in medical care, whole foods to heal the human body, and integrative medicine. Dr. Tassone is featured in many publications including the New York Times, NBC News Online, Stanford MedX, and his book The Hormone Balance Bible is published by HarperCollins and available wherever you get your books.

Hey everybody, it's Dr. Shawn Tassone, America's holistic gynecologist, out here private practice in Austin, Texas. The question is, what if you haven't been on hormones for at least 10 years, or you're over the age of 60 to 63 and you've never been on hormones before? Can you start hormones, and what are the risks? What a great question. I get it all the time. The simple answer is this: if you haven't been on hormones for at least 10 years, or you're over the age of 63 and you've never been on hormones, there is a slight increased risk of heart attack. And the reason being is if you have calcium in your coronary vessels and you start on estrogen, it can soften that calcium plaque and cause pieces of it to break off, causing a heart attack. Now, the risks are relatively small.. But I usually have that discussion with my patients. The benefits may even outweigh the risks. But what I usually recommend is that they go get a calcium CT score of their heart to see what kind of calcium they have in their blood vessels. And if there's none, then I'll start it. If there is some, I'll just have that discussion with the patient and we'll talk about lifestyle changes and things like that if they want to add estrogen because of the benefits to bone and heart and just life in general. What a great question. Thank you so much. Remember, I'm in private practice here in Austin. If you'd like to give me a call, 512-956-0296. Have a great one.

Hey, this is Debra Atkinson, and there is one thing you can't do in the gym at your age, and that's get all the protein that you need. You've got to do that in the kitchen. To make it easy for myself, not only to get the protein but the fiber, the fruits and vegetables I want daily, I started drinking a smoothie a day 30 years ago. But when I realized all the junk, the sugar, and the extras that you don't want, that I don't want, hiding in most protein powders, that's when I I finally caved in after years of saying I will never ever ever sell supplements. Stop skipping, skimping, and sabotaging yourself in the morning after workouts by always being prepared. Look, yep, I agree, real food first, but it's just not convenient to carry a turkey sandwich. Sometimes the protein— and don't forget the fiber— they kill cravings and they boost satiety. And you've got to make it easy to do the right thing. You can use code PODCAST for 10% off your first order at Flipping50.com today.

Next, I can't wait for you to meet Donna White. She is a seasoned expert in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy with over 30 years of experience. As the founder of the BHRT, the bioidentical, by the way, hormone replacement therapy training academy, the author of The Hormone Makeover, and a pioneer in establishing BHRT programs. She's played a pivotal role in advancing hormone health. Donna's unique approach lies in her ability to translate complex medical information into digestible content. Making her a sought-after speaker, educator, and consultant. Her training academy has revolutionized the way medical practitioners approach hormone therapy, leading to a significant improvement in patient care and practice growth.

Hello, I'm Donna White, founder of the BHRT Training Academy. Let's clear up the misconception that hormones must be started within 10 years of menopause to be safe or effective. What we know from recent studies, including studies such as the ELITE study or one of the Finnish studies, indicate that yes, while starting hormones prior to menopause does provide significant benefits, actually initiating HRT later in life is still safe and can offer significant health advantages such as the reduced risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. The decision to start or continue HRT should be personalized, considering each woman's health status and risk. Evidence suggests that even after the age of 65, HRT can still provide important health benefits and improve the quality of life. So this notion that hormones have to be started within 10 years of menopause to be safe is actually outdated. Studies now show older women can still benefit from HRT, particularly in managing symptoms and protecting long-term health.

Dr. Michelle Sands is a number one international bestselling author and licensed naturopath physician with a specialization in women's hormone health. As a highly sought-after expert in female hormones and anti-aging, she's dedicated to helping women achieve limitless health at any age. Dr. Michelle co-founded Glow Natural Wellness, where she focuses on providing solutions for women struggling with chronic conditions and hormone-related issues. Here's what she had to say.

Is it too late to start hormone replacement therapy 10+ years past menopause? The answer is absolutely not. While it is better to start as early as possible, even at the first onset of symptoms, so you never have to live a day in a state of hormone deficiency, it is still beneficial to stop the degrading of your bones, your heart, your bone, your brain, and by adding those hormones in as soon as you can. So even though you didn't jump in right when the hormones were starting to decline and you still had some years that you had to live in that state of hormone deficiency, we can minimize the decline, we can minimize the deficiency by starting now, and you can get some great benefits The benefits will not be as great as if you'd started previously, but you're going to now be restoring the strength to your muscles, to your bones. You're going to help to slow down the insulin resistance. You're going to help to reverse some of the rapid aging, and it can be very, very beneficial for you as long as you're using plant-based bioidentical hormones, which are very much readily available today. And you want to work with a practitioner who is going to dose you properly, give you the proper delivery method for you, and you can start seeing a lot of great results in the area of libido, vaginal dryness, energy, mental health. The list goes on and on.

Next up, we have Dr. Deb Mathieu, America's Happy Hormones Doctor. She's a best-selling author, international speaker, educator, wife, and boy mom of 4 boys. After suffering for years herself with fatigue and irritability due to hormone imbalances, her quest to solve and resolve her personal health led to change her— to change everything about her practice of medicine. She's been featured on national podcasts, radio, and broadcast shows including NBC, ABC, CBS, and Fox. Here's what she had to say.

If you are more than 10 years past menopause and you haven't been on hormones and you'd like to try them, can you still give it a go and get some benefits? And the answer is yes and no. It is not too late to still get benefits for your bones, your skin, your muscles, your urinary tract, for vaginal dryness, etc. So you can still get tremendous benefits. You will not likely get the same type of benefits on heart health, etc., as somebody who started it right around the time of menopause.. And it's important that we do it a little bit differently when you are a little bit older, because we don't want to give you the forms of hormone replacement therapy that could increase the risk for blood clots. That would be the synthetic forms of progesterone, progesterone called progestins, oral estrogen. So estrogen by a pill can increase the risk of blood clot. But if we give you topical hormones like a patch or a cream or vaginal hormones, those don't increase the risk for blood clots. So we need to do it differently. But many doctors will tell you no, because they are only familiar with the type of hormones that increase the risk of a blood clot. And so they would be too scared to give it to you. If that's the case for you, don't give up. It just means that you need to find another practitioner who's more up to date on the science of how to give it in a way that's safe.

And last but certainly not least, Dr. Sharon Stills is a naturopathic medical doctor providing comprehensive healthcare, therapeutic, and diagnostic services to patients worldwide. She combines her conventional and medical training, data-driven science, cutting-edge diagnostic tools, and a deep knowledge of natural healing to effectively identify and treat health concerns ranging from allergies to end-stage cancer and everything in between. And here is her response to the question of the day.

Hi, this is Dr. Sharon Stills, and my response to is 10 years post-menopause too late to start bioidentical hormone replacement is heck no, it's never too late. Don't let anyone out there tell you the studies say this just go with the physiology. Your body is dried up and it's craving the benefits from the bioidentical hormone estrogen and progesterone and testosterone and DHEA and melatonin and oxytocin and all of the good things. And so it's really important that you get started with someone who understands. I have My gosh, I can't even tell you. A large, large percentage of my practice is women just in this situation. They've been struggling, they've been suffering. We get them on hormones, we get them on the right doses in the right forms. We monitor them properly and they do phenomenal. The weight comes off, the brain fog goes away, the sleep becomes lovely and sound and deep again. The libido returns. The bones get stronger, the heart gets healthier, all the things. So yes, yes, yes, it's never too late. Go get some hormones and watch your life change. My name is Dr. Sharon Stills. You can find me at drstills.com. I practice in Scottsdale, Arizona.

And there you have it. In summary to, can I still start hormones 10 years post-menopause? The answer, I I think you too got was number 1, no, it's not too late. Number 2, the dose and the type of hormone replacement matter more. Number 3, there could be some greater risk factors that you want to consider. And number 4, your lifestyle habits are always still going to be the bottom line on the results that you get. I hope that was helpful. If it was, please do me a favor. If this wasn't for you, if you've been on HRT or don't plan on going on it, you inevitably know someone who may be asking this question, who's hearing about the new science, about the longevity play that BHRT may be for bones, for brain, for the heart, and for the skeletal system that includes your muscles. So what are you waiting for? Please share this with one of your friends or colleagues, and thank you in advance. What are you waiting for? Let's start flipping 50 today.

Thank you for listening. To listen to a decade of episodes and to get the show notes, visit flipping50.com where you'll be able to find all the previous episodes. And I made it super easy to make the most of your listening time and get exactly what you want to listen to as top priority by getting the top 10 episodes in the areas you most care about, like how much protein do you need, weight loss, and other 3 ultra-important topics we've identified as our community's top 5. There's no more powerful health influencer in the world than you, midlife woman. So go and listen right now. Do you have a question for a podcast? A question you'd love to ask, or maybe a story you want to tell? Did you know we have a special group just for podcast question roundups and the answers? My community coaches and I provide answers daily inside of this group, but it's also where I go when I occasionally say, okay, open call for podcast questions or tell your story. Would you like to via guests. So if you're looking for a community of women who are also interested in optimizing their health, strengthening their mindset, and looking forward to every new year, join the Flipping 50 Insiders group. That's Flipping 50 Insiders on Facebook.