Pharmaceutical / synthetic hormones are extremely strong and toxic, and due tend to suppress the body's natural output.
Nutritionals alone just don't do enough to help the fatigued and failing gland to ever recoup, while the body continues to demand more output.
NMF treatment is right in the middle. We believe in using bioidenticals to appropriately give the body the hormone it needs in order to:
1. Allow the body to heal, and the symptoms to resolve.
2. Allow the gland to rest.
3. Set up the gland for potential recovery at some point.
If the prescription bioidentical is stopped prematurely the body typically slides back to where it was, or with improved functioning as the gland has rested.
If the hormones are never restored the gland will continue to burn out.
If excess 'anti-aging' doses are used then yes, the body can become 'addicted' which is really 'resistant'. In a flood of hormones the cellular receptors 'down regulate', and with reduced doses patients experience withdrawal type symptoms. This is especially true for the L.I.E. hormones Leptin (hunger), Insulin (diabetes and high sugars), and Estrogen (imbalanced hormone symptoms).
Some glands / hormones due come back commonly ie Growth Hormone (the last in the HPTAG chain to becom deficient).
Others never do (androgens / gonadal function).
The rest are somewhere in the middle. Thyroid in particular improves about 50%, 50% of the time, and during the intiial treatment stages. Adrenals quite a bit less and requiring months to years of balanced and healthy living.
Based on its amount of improvement, and other markers such as Homocysteine, and physical symptoms, we determine how much to replace.
There is truly an 'art' to the practice of naturally scientific, conservative and appropriate hormonal balancing.
Best in health,
Dr Edward