Importance of Hormone Balancing for Men & Women by COEM in Charleston SC

This past week, I had a chance to read Dr. Thierry Hertoghe’s book written for doctors and laymen entitled, The Hormone Solution – Stay Younger Longer with Natural Hormone and Nutrition Therapies. Dr. Hertoghe emphasizes three principles:

• Hormone balance is everything.
• Hormones are crucial to every single function of the human body, yet unfortunately rarely do our bodies have optimum levels.
• Almost all hormone levels decline with age, which is the most crucial underlying process causing the signs and symptoms of aging as well as a host of other concerns.

These are many of the signs and symptoms of poor hormone balance and/or nutritional deficiencies:

Whereas we typically try to balance a few to several hormones, Dr. Hertoghe emphasizes balancing no less than the top 15 hormones if we want to achieve optimal health. If you personally haven’t achieved that level of health you were looking for, perhaps we should look more thoroughly at the larger spectrum of hormone balance. How would we do that? We can begin by looking at different patterns of your signs and symptoms and then measure the suspected hormone levels in your blood, urine, and/or saliva.

A practical first step to narrow the large number of possible hormones affected in any individual’s case is to study the questionnaire, click here to download and print a copy. If these symptoms seem relevant to your concerns, complete the form and make an appointment to discuss the findings. We can then test the hormones most likely to be causing your particular pattern of symptoms. Your history and a few physical findings may still offer the best clues, regardless of the measured laboratory values.

Dr. Hertogue teaches that “at best, labs are imperfect tests”. Their worst fault is that laboratory tests don’t uncover borderline hormonal deficiencies. These tests are ‘all or nothing’. However, when it comes to hormones, it is almost never a matter of all or nothing. Most of us are neither grievously ill nor in perfect health. Rather, we inhabit one of the many intermediate stages reflecting subtle glandular breakdown.

With a higher index of suspicion, a therapeutic trial may be the best way to diagnose and treat hormone imbalances. It may be at first frustrating to you to have to keep adjusting certain hormone levels till we find the dose that feels best, but in reality, it is really the only way. Taking the time and having the patience and willingness to do just that will achieve the ultimate reward: a feeling of true well-being.

For more information, contact us today or book an appointment online. We are conveniently located at 7510 North Forest Drive North Charleston, SC 29420. We serve patients from Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Summerville, North Charleston SC, Ladson SC, Hanahan SC, James Island SC, John’s Island SC, Daniel Island SC, all of South Carolina, Nationally, and Internationally. Patients routinely fly into Charleston to be evaluated by COEM and to enjoy this beautiful city which is a Condé Nast and Travel and Leisure Top Domestic and International Tourist Destination.

As you can see, hormone balance is so critical to overall health.

I would recommend that you read these two references:

1. The Hormone Solution–Stay Younger Longer with Natural Hormone and Nutrition Therapies, by Thierry Hertoghe, M.D.
Three Rivers Press, 2002

2. Ageless–The Naked Truth About Bio-identical Hormones, by Suzanne Somers
Crown publishers, 2006

Allan Lieberman, M.D., F.A.A.E.M.
Medical Director, COEM
Consultant in Occupational and Environmental Medicine