This is a huge challenge facing physicians and patients today. The physicians who are not familiar with bioidentical hormones, are not interested in bioidentical hormones or have not extended themselves to receive training in bioidentical hormones, will not likely prescribe you them because of their lack of awareness of the benefits, how to dose them, etc. Because they are not pharmaceuticals, there is no advertising by the pharmaceutical industry, there is no education by the pharmaceutical industry of doctors regarding these so it is something that the doctors who are interested in have to go out and pursue their own education in bioidentical hormone replacement. This does not apply to many physicians. So, the best way to find a doctor who is familiar with bioidentical hormone replacement is to either contact the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine or looking on online resources to find a local anti-aging and regenerative medicine doctor near you. This could also be a gynecologist or functional medicine specialist. However, it does take a little research to get to the right physician.

This is a complicated issue. The benefits of using a compounding pharmacy are first you can use Estriol which is a weaker type of estrogen that is naturally found in women that have some very protective effects for the breast and can help replace deficient levels of this hormone in the body and this is not available by standard FDA approved pharmaceuticals. The compounding pharmacies make up the prescription uniquely for you so the dose can be adjusted very precisely to match your unique needs which are why I favor compounding pharmacies, both for the Estriol availability and for the individualized dosing. FDA approval process really only applies to pharmaceutical companies. It cannot truly apply to a compounding pharmacist who is making up a prescription one at a time. It is like comparing apples and oranges, it is a different regulatory body to some degree. However, I do on occasion use the pharmaceutical bioidentical hormones such as the Climara patch, Vivelle Dot, Prometrium and for some patients where there are financial constraints or they have a preference for this type of pharmaceutical, it is an option that is available to you.

Unfortunately, male pattern baldness is a tricky condition to reverse. Certainly by balancing out your hormones, this can be beneficial for hair loss in general, however, I rarely see any true regrowth in men from bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

It is possible. Certainly a hormonal imbalance can cause water retention. It could be that your estrogen or progesterone levels are too high. They may be out of balance with each other. Some men that are on very high doses of testosterone can retain fluid as well. If this happens, it is certainly important to come in and see your doctor immediately, have your levels checked and make any dosage adjustments as needed.