HealthBeat News

Category: Sexual Health

  • Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy – Dr. Myatt Brings You The Truth

    Bio-Identical Hormone Replacement Therapy Is A Complicated Subject.

     

    Because it is so complicated it is a subject surrounded by half-truths, urban legends, and outright B.S. (that’s Bad Science…)

     

    Bio-Identical hormone replacement isn’t just for women any more. Men benefit as well.

     

    But whether you are a man or a woman, how can you know what is real, and what is hype? What is safe, and how can you know that you are receiving the best advice from your doctor on this important subject?

    Dr. Myatt has done the deep research on this issue and has combined cutting-edge findings with her more than two decades of clinical experience in Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy to create a balanced and heavily referenced position paper that discusses Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy treatment modalities, hormone testing, and the pros and cons of Bio-Identical Hormone Therapy and conventional hormone therapy.

    As HealthBeat News Readers, you have access to this paper – click here to read Dr. Myatt’s paper Bio-identical (Natural) Hormone Replacement Therapy and Other Natural Hormone-Balancing Therapies

  • PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) – Tragic But Treatable

    PolyCystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

     

    PCOS is a tragedy because it affects so many young women who desperately want to have babies of their own – and it affects their partners and other family members as well.

     

    What is PCOS?

     

    PCOS is a condition in which a woman’s ovaries and, in some cases the adrenal glands, produce more androgens (a type of hormone) than normal.  High levels of these hormones interfere with the development and release of eggs as part of ovulation.  As a result, fluid-filled sacs or cysts can develop on the ovaries.

    Because women with PCOS do not release eggs during ovulation, PCOS is the most common cause of female infertility.

    How does PCOS affect fertility?

     

    A woman’s ovaries have follicles, which are tiny, fluid-filled sacs that hold the eggs. When an egg is mature, the follicle breaks open to release the egg so it can travel to the uterus for fertilization.

    In women with PCOS, immature follicles bunch together to form large cysts or lumps. The eggs mature within the bunched follicles, but the follicles don’t break open to release them.

    As a result, women with PCOS often have menstrual irregularities, such as amenorrhea (they don’t get menstrual periods) or oligomenorrhea (they only have periods now and then). Because the eggs are not released, most women with PCOS have trouble getting pregnant.

    What are the symptoms of PCOS?

     

    In addition to infertility, women with PCOS may also have:

    • Pelvic pain
    • Hirsutism, or excess hair growth on the face, chest, stomach, thumbs, or toes
    • Male-pattern baldness or thinning hair
    • Acne, oily skin, or dandruff
    • Patches of thickened and dark brown or black skin

    Also, women who are obese are more likely to have PCOS.

    Although it is hard for women with PCOS to get pregnant, some do get pregnant, naturally or using assistive reproductive technology.  Women with PCOS are at higher risk for miscarriage if they do become pregnant.

    Women with PCOS are also at higher risk for associated conditions, such as:

    • Diabetes
    • Metabolic syndrome—sometimes called a precursor to diabetes, this syndrome indicates that the body has trouble regulating its insulin
    • Cardiovascular disease—including heart disease and high blood pressure

    What is the treatment for PCOS?

     

    Conventional medicine says here is no cure for PCOS, but holistic doctors like Dr. Myatt believe that many of the symptoms can often be managed, improved greatly, or even eliminated with carefully targeted natural therapies.

    It is important to have PCOS diagnosed and treated early to help prevent associated problems.

    Conventional medicine will offer medications that may help control the symptoms, such as birth control pills to regulate menstruation, reduce androgen levels, and clear acne. Other medications can reduce cosmetic problems, such as hair growth, and control blood pressure and cholesterol. Many of these medicines have significant, serious, even dangerous side effects.

    Naturopathic physicians like Dr. Myatt can offer more natural solutions including metabolic modification diets, hormone testing and balancing, strategies for the reduction of inflammatory factors, and more.

    Lifestyle changes such as corrective diet and regular exercise will aid weight loss and help reduce blood sugar levels and regulate insulin levels more effectively.  Weight loss can help lessen many of the health conditions associated with PCOS and can make symptoms be less severe or even disappear.

    Surgical treatment may also be offered as an option, but it is not recommended as the first course of treatment.

    Recent research has also examined the effects of the anti-diabetes drug metformin on fertility in women with PCOS. Dr. Myatt can help her patients to understand the mechanisms of this option.

    How is PCOS diagnosed?

     

    Your health care provider will take a medical history and do a pelvic exam to feel for cysts on your ovaries.  He or she may also do a vaginal ultrasound and recommend blood tests to measure hormone levels.

    When examining hormone levels, remember that your conventional doctor will almost always order a blood test. (and it is likely that a blood test is the only hormone test your disease insurance will pay for) This blood test, while technically accurate, is only a “snapshot” – an accurate picture of your hormone levels only at the moment the test was performed.

    Sex hormones are made and secreted in “waves” over a 24 hour period and a blood test cannot show the averages of those waves or highs and lows.

    A more accurate test is an examination of saliva – this will provide a look at hormone levels over the past few hours. It still runs the risk of catching a “peak” or “trough” of a hormone level and thus providing an erroneous result. Dr. Myatt finds this to be a useful test when performed and interpreted correctly and offers it as an economical alternative to more expensive (and more accurate) 24 hour urine testing – find more information here.

    The “Gold Standard” of hormone testing is considered to be the 24 hour urine collection. While it may be a bit time-consuming and awkward for someone who is busy and “on-the-go” it will provide the most accurate possible look at overall hormone health as it will show your body’s hormone production over a full 24 hour period.

    Dr. Myatt finds that the 24 hour  COMPREHENSIVE PLUS HORMONE PROFILE is the most accurate and useful of the hormone tests when performed and interpreted correctly. Interpretation of the results of this test, which includes and examination not only of the major sex hormones but of their intermediates and metabolites as well, is time consuming and complicated – this may be one reason most conventional doctors are reluctant to perform it. Dr. Myatt spends a great deal of time analysing the results of this test for her patients and she offers Physician Interpretation for a modest fee to non-patients who order this test.

    Other tests may include measuring levels of insulin, glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides. Vitamin D levels, and Iodine levels.

    Iodine Testing is especially important to PCOS since so many Americans are Iodine deficient and Iodine Deficiency is a major contributor to cystic conditions of all sorts – especially the breasts, ovaries, and thyroid.  Learn more about Iodine testing here – Dr. Myatt offers two accurate Iodine tests.

  • Which Test Is Better For Hormones – Urine Or Saliva?

    Many of you know already that one of Dr. Myatt’s areas of specialty is endocrine health and function: hormones and bio-identical hormone replacement. The human endocrine system is an exquisitely complicated and elegant chemical equivalent to the human nervous system – hormones are the chemical messengers for our bodily functions. Indeed, without healthy hormones, even the nervous system cannot function correctly!

    While at first glance hormone balance looks like a fairly simple task, it truth it is not – there are too many things that are inter-dependant, and the do-it-yourself approach to correcting and maintaining hormone balance can be like walking blindfolded through a minefield.

    We offer hormone testing, and we also offer a very special service where Dr. Myatt will provide an analysis and interpretation of the results of that testing. For this service, Dr. Myatt spends up to an hour (and sometimes more!) consulting with top experts at the testing lab and then provides a written interpretation, report, and recommendations. This allows those who wish to attempt to manage their own hormone health to do so with the benefit of as much knowledge and understanding as possible – to keep them from stepping on any of those "hormonal land-mines" that await the unwary.

    Another question we often hear is which is better – blood, saliva, or urine testing for hormone levels?

    Will recently wrote to ask:

    Dr. Myatt

    Why do you recommend urine over saliva for male hormone test?  Dr. John Lee recommends saliva but nothing said about urine. I am 44 and am do bikram yoga 5 times a week eat mostly raw etc. and want to establish a "baseline" marker today and maintain using the bioidentical hormone therapy mode (I think). LEF.ORG has a list of markers that they recommend and yours are somewhat different.  Please advise!  Thanks in advance for your time.

    Thank you
    Will

    It is clear that Will is trying to do things right with his health, and he is correct to be wary of the conflicting information that can be found on the internet. One advantage that we have here at the Wellness Club is that Dr. Myatt’s knowledge is cutting-edge and very up-to-date.

    Here is Dr. Myatt’s response to Will:

    Hi Will:

    Sex hormones are released in "bursts" throughout a 24-hour period. Obviously, a blood test will be the least accurate. Saliva is next best for a baseline, but hormones are not always consistently concentrated in saliva in a way the is truly representative of the 24-hour average. Urine is the most accurate, because it factors in the "bursts" and tells us the true 24-hour average.

    The urine test was not available back when Dr. Lee started making recommendations about testing. I have used all three tests over the years and believe solidly in the value of the 24-hour urine.

    The Comp Plus urine test also gives much more information than just the sex hormones because it tells us "intermediates" (as one thing is converted to another), plus HGH, adrenal hormones and ratios of sex hormones that are known to be markers (preventive) for hormone-related cancers. This information gives a much more complete picture than just the sex hormones alone.

    I recommend you spend the extra dollars and get the "state-of-the-art" 24 hour urine test. That way, you’ll have an excellent baseline to refer back to.

    In Health,
    Dr. Myatt

    P.S. Here’s the link to my medical test page so you can read more about these tests. I still offer saliva hormone testing but feel it if far inferior to urine. http://www.drmyattswellnessclub.com/medicaltests.htm#CompPlus

  • Dr. Myatt’s Bread!

    Dr. Myatt’s Bread – The follow-up to Dr. Myatt’s Muffins

    Dr. Myatt recently revealed her recipe for Dr. Myatt’s Muffins – the tasty, heart-healthy, high-fiber, low carbohydrate treat that can be enjoyed guilt-free and cooked in 90 seconds in a microwave oven.

    Myatt Muffins are a hard act to follow! But follow it we have…

    Work has continued tirelessly here at the Wellness Club Culinary Research Laboratory (also known as Dr. Myatt’s kitchen) and we are proud and pleased to announce that we have developed a similarly tasty, low-carb, high fiber, guilt-free substitute for bread and English Muffins.

    That’s right, now you can enjoy a sandwich, or eggs Benedict, or a toasted English muffin even when you are on a strict low-carbohydrate diet!

    Not only that, but this recipe is so high in fiber that your gut will love you – one of these and one Dr. Myatt’s Muffin each day is certain to give you “Happy Bowel”!

    The “Baking” Directions Are Ridiculously Easy And Convenient!

    • Mix egg and water
    • Combine dry ingredients and mix
    • Place into a small flat-bottomed microwaveable dish or container – we use a square-shaped container for “bread” and a round container for “English Muffins”.
    • Microwave on high for 90 seconds.

    Makes 2 servings – use a bread knife to make 2 slices. It is best if toasted.

    This proprietary, copyright recipe is available at this time only to Dr. Myatt’s private practice patients.

    Please contact Dr. Myatt if you wish more information or to obtain this recipe.

  • Gardasil, Mandatory Vaccinations, And Health Freedom – What Can History Teach Us?

    Do we learn nothing from history?

    Be it the "Swine Flu" vaccine in the 1970’s that caused more deaths than the swine flu did, or the polio vaccine in 1955 that cause more disease than it prevented (known as "The Cutter Incident"), it looks like we need to be reminded over and over again that when we monkey around by introducing foreign substances into people there are likely to be unforeseen, unintended, and serious – even lethal – repercussions.

    But that is just recent history – were you aware that there have been mandatory vaccination programs since the later part of the 1800’s? And that respected physicians of that day exposed the folly, ineffectiveness, and danger of those programs just as there are respected physicians who do the same today? And that those physicians, then and now, are systematically ridiculed, marginalized, harassed, and even ruined by the allopathic vaccine industry that stands to lose obscene amounts of money should the truth about vaccination become common knowledge?

    Let’s follow the money for a moment: Merck is the Big Pharma giant responsible for the vaccine Gardasil. This is said to be the most expensive vaccine in common use, with a price tag of $360 per three-injection series and Merck is said to have sold some 16 million doses of the stuff so far. Now, if a three dose series is $360, then presumably each dose is worth $120. Multiplied by 16 million, that works out to $1,920,000,000.

    That’s one billion, nine hundred and twenty million dollars folks. Darned near two billion dollars!

    Do we begin to see why there might be a big push going on to make this vaccination "mandatory"? Especially when there are reports that women, given freedom of choice, are not flocking to be vaccinated and sales are sagging (and profits too…)

    Remember, this is the company that also brought you such stellar performers as Vioxx, Fosamax, and Singulair… and has the money and power to "make things happen."

    Even the mainstream media is now beginning to follow the money-trail, with reporters like CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson finding heavy financial connections between Big Pharma, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Every Child By Two (a lobbying group created to promote early childhood vaccination and located within a stone’s throw of the White House in Washington, DC), and vaccination proponent Dr. Paul Offit – the pediatrician and vaccine patent-holder who has been reprimanded by congress for his conflicts of interest.

    Don’t get me wrong – everyone needs to make a living and pay their bills and the money has to come from somewhere – but when these organizations and doctors are taking money from Big Pharma they really shouldn’t be presenting themselves as impartial, public-service, free-from-industry-and-financial-influence when they are presented as experts promoting these drugs and vaccines.

    As I was doing a bit of research on Gardasil and other vaccines I came across a fascinating, chilling little tidbit: I visited Medscape – that medics-only online repository of medical information, supposed to be impartial and unimpeachable in it’s content. I was looking for an article titled "HPV Vaccine Adverse Events Worrisome Says Key Investigator," which was posted on July 26, 2008. In it’s place I found an article titled "HPV Vaccine Deemed Safe and Effective, Despite Reports of Adverse Events" and a note explaining that the first article had been removed following "editorial review."
    Removed, mind you – not left there, perhaps with an editorial caveat or warning about it’s suitability or impartiality so that the readers might draw their own conclusions – but removed. Gone. Dare I say censored? Suppressed?

    Fortunately, with a bit of careful searching, this article can be found elsewhere – though for how long, no-one knows. So that it may remain available to our HealthBeat News readers, I have placed the contents of this article in our archives. We believe that it should be the author of this article Allison Gandey who should decide the fate of her research and work – not Medscape or Merck. Ms. Gandey is welcome to contact us if she feels it should be removed…

    But I have digressed – this was supposed to be an article about mandatory vaccination programs, and it was prompted by recent news articles reporting that New York was considering a new law – Assembly Bill 10942 – would make all vaccines recommended by the CDC mandatory for all children to attend school. Not only that, but for the first time vaccines would become mandatory for infants and toddlers.

    Additionally, according to sources like the "Home School Legal Defense Association" this bill would allow doctors to give a vaccine to children without the consent or knowledge of the parents. Says the Association: "Theoretically, a doctor could ask if a 12-year-old girl had a boyfriend and when told “yes”, the doctor could tell this young girl that she would recommend the HPV vaccine to prevent her from getting cancer. The doctor could administer the vaccine without ever getting the parents’ consent and without their knowledge."

    Best of all, this boon-to-Big Pharma would require all children in the state to be given EVERY vaccine recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – some twenty in all, some of which require multiple doses to achieve their desired "effect."

    So, once again we have legislators looking to remove from us any ability to exercise free will or choice with respect to our health.

    Perhaps the biggest question for us here is just who is at risk when someone is not vaccinated? It would seem to us that the person most at risk is the person who has decided to be at risk. We hear from the CDC, the FDA, the AMA, Big Pharma and others that vaccinations are supposed to "stop the spread of disease" and that this is justification for forced vaccination. But is this really so? Smallpox is said to have been "eradicated" through near universal vaccination – but the truth is that there are still isolated outbreaks of this disease today. People still get sick with this disease – most recover, a tiny few succumb. Smallpox vaccinations have not been given routinely to children since 1977. Why? the WHO would have us believe that because smallpox has been "eradicated" they are no longer needed. Could the truth be that no-one is willing to deal with the liability issues created by a vaccination that causes as much suffering and misery as it is said to prevent?

    Vaccinations are a contentious issue. There is ample evidence that vaccines can cause harm and illness. There is ample evidence that vaccination is considerably less than fully effective in preventing disease. There are many people who are suspicious of vaccination, and given the choice would rather take their chances with the disease than with the vaccination. As a kid I can remember "Chicken-pox parties" where moms would gather their children around an infected kid so that all could "enjoy" the illness and subsequent immunity. In fact, the earliest form of "vaccination" for smallpox was simply to rub against the open lesion of an mildly infected person. This usually resulted in a limited, mild infection which conferred immunity. This time-honored practice, known as Variolation, is of course scorned by "modern" medicine.

    Those who refuse vaccination expose only themselves to any possible risk of illness – those who wish to be "protected" are free to be vaccinated and then smile smugly at their "unprotected" neighbors. They are welcome to have a hearty "told you so" at my expense if I spend a day or two longer in bed with the flu because of my decision to forego
    the risks of immunization.

    We are not entirely anti-vaccination – indeed, Dr. Myatt has been known to prescribe certain vaccinations to some patients in order to stimulate immunity. But this is a carefully considered recommendation, not a wholesale mass inoculation program as Big Pharma would like to see.

    We support the right of informed people to make their own decisions. We feel that it is just plain wrong for government or Big Business to force any drug or vaccine or chemical on anyone. Especially when the motivation looks more like profit than health.

    Further reading / Resources:

    • "The Cutter Incident" book review – http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/332/7543/733
    • smallpox myths – http://www.the7thfire.com/Politics%20and%20History/SmallpoxMyths.htm
    • thiomersol controversy – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thiomersal_controversy
    • "Worst Vaccine Bill Ever" article – http://www.infowars.net/articles/may2008/300508vaccines.htm
    • Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program – http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no01/05-1007.htm
    • NY Times – "The Rush To Vaccinate" article – http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/25/opinion/25CIfry-revere.html
    • Wall Street Journal Article Questions Cost-effectiveness of Gardasil – http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121928503311259059.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
    • "DR. PAUL OFFIT: QUOTE MACHINE FOR HIRE" – http://www.ageofautism.com/2008/05/dr-paul-offit-q.html
    • 60 Minutes-REMINDER of who Dr. Paul Offit is: – http://www.whale.to/a/offit.html
    • "Serious Questions About HPV Vaccine" CBS article – http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/07/eveningnews/main4239462.shtml
    • VaccineEthics.org article: "HPV Roundup: Gardasil safety worries, Cervarix FDA delays, more on mandates" – http://blog.vaccineethics.org/2008/07/hpv-roundup-gardasil-safety-worries.html
    • Variolation and historical inoculation – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inoculation