Progress Your Health Podcast

Mary’s Question: Hi. I just started estriol cream a couple of weeks ago. I am fifty-three years old and have been told I have PCOS for the past twenty years with a history of absent periods, heavy facial hair growth, and moodiness, and PMS. I have managed my PCOS through diet change, supplementation, and exercise. And I am told I am quite healthy. I began taking the estriol cream for bladder urgen...

Allison’s Question: I have opened a hormone wellness practice and came across your blog. You mentioned the application of estrogen cream to the face, neck, and chest to improve skin health. From what I found, it appears that .3% Estriol and .01% Estradiol is typically used. Do you recommend a once-daily application? Can this same dose be applied to the inner and outer labia for improvement of exte...

Question: Hello. I am forty-five, perimenopausal diagnosed by blood work. I have my uterus and I am taking 200 milligrams of bioidentical progesterone each night orally by capsule. I do not take anything else for hormone balance other than evening primrose oil and some adrenal support. Neither of these is new to my regimen. What is new is the administration of the progesterone orally. Previously,...

Alexis Question:  Hi there, this forum is fabulous. Thank you. I am so confused with dosing. How much is one gram of Biet in mL – milliliters. So confusing. I use a one mL syringe. One mL is a lot of cream. It is an eighty-twenty ratio and I will split the dose. Reading that your recommended starting dose is three milligrams, how much exactly is that in cream in terms of milliliters or MLs? That c...

Question: What are symptoms of thyroid problems in females? Short Answer:  There is a wide variety of thyroid symptoms in women. Some of the more common are fatigue, weight gain, constipation, and dry skin. Based on our experience, we have noticed many other hypothyroid related symptoms as well. These symptoms include heavy periods, infertility, anxiety, low libido, hair loss and low mood. PYHP 09...

Question:  What diet is best for Perimenopause? Short Answer:  One of the most common complaints we get from women in perimenopause is unexplained weight gain. Their lifestyles have not changed in years, but all of a sudden, their weight keeps increasing. And if they try to lose the weight, their efforts fall short and often gain more weight in the process. An observation we see quite often is tha...

Question:  What supplements are good for Perimenopause? Short Answer:  The conventional treatment options for Perimenopause are limited. Most often, women are offered birth control and other habit forming medications. None of those options are very effective in providing women relief of their symptoms. PYHP 097 Full Transcript:  Download 097 Transcript Dr. Maki:  Hello everybody. Thank you for joi...

Question:  Why Is Perimenopause so awful? Short Answer:  We work with a good number of women in their 40’s and most of them do complain about how difficult Perimenopause is for them. As female hormones begin to decline, but stress levels are high it can cause a wide variety of symptoms. The most common perimenopausal symptoms are weight gain, irritability, and insomnia. PYHP 096 Full Transcript: ...

Question:  What is Oxytocin Used For? Short Answer:  The hormone oxytocin is available by prescription from compounding pharmacies. The most common uses for oxytocin is to enhance female libido and mood. Also, research has shown that oxytocin may also be helpful in weight loss. More research is needed to better understand how oxytocin can be used as an effective therapy for obesity. PYHP 095 Full...

Question:  What is LDN Used For? Short Answer:  There are many possible uses for Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN). The common use for LDN is autoimmune diseases but has also been used in many immune system-related conditions, including cancer. PYHP 094 Full Transcript:  Download 094 Transcript Dr. Maki: Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us for another episode of the Progress Your Health Podcast. I a...

Linda’s Question:  Hello, Dr. Maki. I hope you are well. I eat perfectly. I a small amount of organic food daily. No alcohol. No smoking. I bike forty miles a week. I am a 51-year-old postmenopausal woman at five foot eight.  I am now 25 pounds overweight at 154 pounds. I cannot lose one pound. My TSH was 1.6 free T4, 1.1 free T3, 2.6 reverse T3, eleven had very low sex hormones. Hence, probably t...

Question:  A question we get all the time from patients and podcast listeners is if they should take their thyroid medication before a blood test. Short Answer:  There is not a simple answer to this question. It depends on the patient and their situation. For new patients, we typically want them to take their medication in the morning 3 to 6 hours before a blood test. This is especially true if we...

Question:  How to cycle bioidentical hormones? Short Answer:  When it comes to BHRT dosing, the two main options is static dosing and rhythmic dosing. Static dosing is by far the most common, but depending on the patient’s symptoms and goals, rhythmic dosing might be a better option. We like to use rhythmic dosing with testosterone for men almost exclusively. We are not fans of injectable testoste...

Jennifer’s Question:  Hi there!  Thank you for this forum!  My sister is using the Mirena. I would like to recommend she starts BHRT as she is 49 and has perimenopause symptoms. Is she able to take Prometrium and stay on the Mirena?  Thank you in advance Short Answer:  The Mirena IUD contains 52 mg of levonorgestrel, which is a synthetic form of progesterone. This is often recommended for women in...

Laura’s Question:  Dear. Dr. Maki, I read your article about progesterone cream versus oral format. I have used the cream with some satisfaction but not one hundred percent happy. My sleep has been my main complaint for the last six to eight months. I’m 44 years old, still menstruating with a lot of menopausal symptoms. Recently, I found a doctor in the Netherlands who did blood tests on me. She p...

Donna’s Question:  Hello. I’m 62 years old with a uterus. Recently my nurse practitioner switched me from 6% progesterone cream to Prometrium capsules. The amount of cream I was using was 1/4 teaspoon two weeks out of the month. She also added in the Intrarosa vaginal inserts instead of the estradiol cream for vaginal discomfort. I do not have many symptoms other than occasional sleepless nights a...

Lilly’s Question:  Dear Dr. Davidson, I’m writing to say how illuminating your article on Estriol was for me. Especially your metaphorical descriptions of the actions of the 3 types of estrogens. I have a question, if I may. I am 49-years-old, I just entered menopause and started taking Botanical Phytoestrogens to help with the once a day hot flash. It helped for a month and then the flashes incre...

Nathalie’s Question:  Hello Dr Maki,  I am 45 full menopause and currently on biest 80:20 (0.5 mg) and progesterone 200 since July 2018. I was also given testosterone injection at the time and by Oct 2018 I was losing hair so we stopped that and no longer take it. I have been gaining weight steadily and even though we try to increase my estrogen slowly, I get too many side effects (constipation, w...

Monica’s Question:  Hi,  Thank you for providing such great information regarding BHRT, this has been a great resource and one of the best sites I have visited. My question is: I am currently going through peri-menopause; while back in July my hormones levels tanked and I started having terrible problems with hot flashes and night sweats, after about 3 mos in and no period blood test confirmed my...

Marisa’s Question:  Dr. Davidson and Dr. Maki,   I truly appreciate what you are doing to share your information with the public!! You are helping many people learn more about their body!!      I wasn’t sure the best place to ask this question or where you may answer it, but I found your podcast after I have been digging into how to repair adrenals.  I was elated once I found your Podcast #69 Adre...

Maria’s Question:  Hello, I’ve been reading the articles on BHRT, and I have questions. Does the body or will the body develop tolerance to hormones? Whether progesterone, testosterone or estrogens, will I eventually have to increase my dose to get the same effect, progesterone for sleep, estrogen for hot flashes, testosterone for energy and libido… Thank you very much. Short Answer:  There are ma...

Staci’s Question:  Hello, Dr. D, I was on Biest, 80:20 ratio. One mg/mL. I take one click, which is a quarter gram per day. I have been taking that for two and a half months to come about sleep disturbances, low libido, and hot flushes. I also take 100 mg of progesterone capsules at night. After the two and a half months, my breasts were so dense, tender and sore that I had to stop, to get some of...

Heidi’s Question:  Hi, I’m a 48 year old female who has struggled with PCOS my whole life. I’ve taken 200 milligrams of oral progesterone for several years now. I also take 45 milligrams of Armour Thyroid, and my TSH is 3.87, and my free T3 is 3.22. I’ve had symptoms of: hair loss, dry eyes, vaginal dryness, very low sex drive, and irritability. I just had a saliva test done which revealed very lo...

Sarah’s Question:  Thank you for writing your post weighing the differences between creams and oral capsules . What dosing would be typical for a premenopausal woman with PCOS and amenorrhea (1-2 menstrual cycles per year) who is seeking to regulate cycles? Short Answer:  We often prescribe between 50 mg and 200 mg of bioidentical, sustained-release progesterone for women with a variety of hormone...

Elizabeth’s Question:  I just got my lab results back and they are: TSH, Thyroid-stimulating hormone, is 1.33, Free T4 is 1.64, Free T3 is 2.9, thyroid peroxidase antibodies, that’s for the Hashimoto’s, is 16. My doctor said my Free T4 was a little high so she suggested cutting my levothyroxine, which is a T4 only medication, 50 micrograms in half, which would be 25 micrograms and to come back in...