Testimonial
Success Story Talking About Bioidentical Hormone Replacement
*The results described are not typical and will vary based on a variety of factors.
Sarah F. became my patient almost two years ago when she was just about to turn 55 years old. She came to my practice complaining of hot flashes, sleepless nights, and mood changes. She knew that she was going through menopause and after several months of going back and forth with other physicians, who were unable to help her, she decided to give herself a birthday gift. Having heard of the Harding Anti-Aging Center through a friend, she scheduled her appointment and came in for her initial consultation. I will let Sarah tell you the rest…
“Menopause! I knew it was coming and tried not to think about it. Maybe I was hoping it would just go away. Over the past three years I was slowly showing the signs as it took me longer and longer to fall asleep and hot flashes made me want to stand in front of the freezer. I had spoken with another doctor and after just mentioning hot flashes he gave me some pills and said he would see me in three months. After three months the symptoms were only getting worse even though I was following his advice. When I went back again he said, “while we can hide some symptoms we cannot prevent all of them.” When I went home that night I cried to my friend as we sat on the couch. I felt as though my body was shutting down and I was not even 55. The next day I decided to call all of my friends to ask for their help and advice. This is how I found out about Dr. Deborah Harding.
When I first met Dr. Harding I was surprised as she sat with me for over an hour to listen to what I was going through. When I told her what the other doctor had said to me I clearly remember her replying, “We CAN control the symptoms and we CAN prevent all of them.”*By precisely measuring your hormone levels we can see exactly what to replace.” These words resonated with me and by the end of the talk I decided to give myself a birthday gift of a complete executive physical. That afternoon I sat with her nurse, Christina, and in an hour my hormone and comprehensive blood panel was on its way across the United States to be analyzed.
Two weeks later all of my hormone and blood panels came back and I was scheduled for a full day physical. During the first half of the day, I watched a video on diabetes and met with Dr. Harding’s nutritionist for an hour. From talking with the nutritionist, I learned how certain foods can help decrease menopause symptoms and how to balance my sugars to slow down aging. It is great that I have other alternatives to helping myself other than taking a pill. As the day progressed I had lunch with Dr. Harding and we spoke about my goals and about our families. Did you know that Dr. Harding has 6 children! After lunch I completed my stress test and VO2 max test which scientifically determined the heart rates that I burn the most calories. It turns out I was exercising at too high a heart rate and at around 115 beats per minute I burn the most fat! I could now work out at a lower heart rate, for half the time, and burn two times the calories.
After the exam I met with Christina who explained how vitamins are absorbed and used by my body. She scanned my hand with a PharmanexBiophotonic scanner and was able to tell me that my anti-oxidant and vitamin levels. I could not figure out how this is possible since I take a multi-vitamin for women once a day. When I asked Christina she replied, “There are many different grades of vitamins. Just because you are taking the daily recommended dose of certain vitamins does not mean it is being absorbed or being used properly by your body. Pharmaceutical grade vitamins are the only vitamins that are strictly measured for quality. This means you are getting the best quality and maximum amount of vitamin per pill. Also most pills are so big that the vitamins are never broken down by the stomach and therefore never absorbed. By using Nanovitamins each capsule contains millions of smaller capsules of vitamins. This means more of the vitamin is absorbed by the body.” I had always wondered why there was such a price difference between different vitamin brands.
After all of my tests were completed is when Dr. Harding and I really went in depth into my medical history. This is the first time I have ever not felt rushed when talking about my medical history with a doctor. We spoke about everything from past illnesses to my family history of cancer. During the second half of this meeting is where she brought out the hormone panel and blood work. Not only were my estrogen levels low, but I was also low in progesterone and testosterone. Plus my bad cholesterol was also high and my good cholesterol was low. Amazingly, she had measured the size of my cholesterol molecules. I learned that generic cholesterol levels are obsolete because 50% of people who have a heart attack or stroke have normal cholesterol level. It is your particle size that counts. The smaller your particle size the higher your risk. I had expected the low estrogen, but not everything else.
As we went over the hormone panel and blood panel, Dr. Harding reiterated how nutrition and exercise play an important role in hormone balance and can help decrease my symptoms. She also said that all my hormone levels were low enough that we should start considering a prescription of bioidentical hormones replacement. From my other doctor I knew of hormone replacement, but had never heard of bioidentical hormone replacement. She went on to explain that bioidentical hormones are exact replicas of human hormones. Some of the other hormone supplements are from animals or are not perfect matches to natural hormones. By using bioidentical hormones I could expect my body to absorb and utilize these hormones far better than the others. Also by correcting the hormone balance I could expect my cholesterol levels to come back to normal. By the end of the day I was excited to try out all of the new information I had learned and to use the bioidentical hormones.
After three weeks of following the nutritional, exercise, and bioidentical hormones program Dr. Harding created just for me I felt incredible. As Dr. Harding predicted once my hormone levels were restored my cholesterol levels became normal again, my hot flashes disappeared, and I was able to fall asleep quickly and stay asleep through the entire night. Plus my energy and sex life were back to how they were when I was 30!
It has now been almost two years since I first met Dr. Harding and she is still my doctor. My birthday is again coming up and I feel amazing. I could not have done this without her.”
~Sarah F.