Bio-identical HRT (or BHRT) is not a medical or scientific term. It is actually a marketing term that originated in America by the compounded hormone industry, but sadly it has now become so widespread that the original meaning has become very muddy, and very confusing. All the discussions about it have also become very muddy and confusing, largely because that's the way the compounded hormone industry wants it to be, so that women will be even more fearful and confused about conventional HRT, which that Elizabeth woman even admitted is their competition.
Unfortunately the term "bioidentical" is even commonly used here on MM to mean the conventional "natural" hormones that GPs and specialists prescribe (like patches, tablets and gels containing estradiol and Utrogestan), so that leads to even more confusion for any woman who lives in a country where the compounded hormone industry is spreading their misinformation and confusion (eg USA, Canada, Australia). This is probably because it appears compounded hormones haven't been so common in the UK, but if they are creeping in there now too, it is going to lead to even more confusion on this forum.
BHRT (bioidentical HRT) is way more expensive than conventional HRT because they're just cashing in on all the scaremongering that has gone on with conventional HRT. The compounded hormone industry goes out of its way to confuse women, by giving very mixed information. They make statements, like this woman did, saying that bioidentical is safer than synthetic, which of course is technically true, but they always equate "conventional HRT" with "synthetic", and fail to tell women that the majority of conventional HRT is also bioidentical. They lie by omission. That woman in this interview is an example of the tactics they use. They purposely confuse all the information and definitions of bioidentical, synthetic and conventional HRT.
The other side of the debate is just as much at fault IMO because I've never heard anyone actually pin them down and confront them with the fact that conventional HRT is also "bioidentical", and that the ingredients in compounded hormones are exactly the same as the ingredients in conventional HRT. This interviewer failed to do it too. The other woman (Elizabeth Whatever) got away with still leading women to believe that all conventional HRT is synthetic.
Compounded hormones are not regulated and are made to individual prescriptions by compounding pharmacists. They use exactly the same ingredients that are in conventional HRT, but there is no one overseeing what they make to ensure they are using the right quantities or even the right ingredients. The use of compounded hormones is not advocated or recommended by any medical authority or menopause society anywhere in the world, including Australia, USA, and Canada. Quality control and non-regulation are two reasons why, but more importantly is that compounded progesterone, which is usually administered by a cream, is not effective enough to protect the uterus, like Utrogestan or progestins do.
Here are a few links you might like to read....
http://www.menopause.org.au/for-women/information-sheets/34-bioidentical-hormones-for-menopausal-symptomshttp://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm049311.htmhttp://www.menopause.org/publications/clinical-practice-materials/bioidentical-hormone-therapy/compounded-bioidentical-hormones-what%27s-the-harm-http://www.studd.co.uk/bioidentical_hormones.phpI'll just add a word of advice. If you want to get the conventional "natural" (or bioidentical) HRT don't walk into your doctor's office asking for "bioidentical" because very few GPs use that term, and will either have no idea what you're talking about, or they might think you are asking for the compounded hormones, and the majority of doctors will not prescribe compounded hormones. Just ask for estradiol or progesterone (Utrogestan). That will avoid all confusion.
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Topic: Biodentical HRT safety discussion on radio 4 (Read 3942 times)