It is good news that actress and author Staness Jonekos  is wanting to tell women to be more careful about their hormone balance when considering any replacement. She is wanting to share her story after having slathered herself with bio-identical hormones as promoted by Suzanne Somers.

We find it interesting that she took exception with Susan Somers being a layperson recommending an approach of bio-identical hormones in the form of compounded creams.

Now she herself, a layperson, is recommending that women simply follow the party line apparently offered by a group of standard practitioners and experts called 'The North American Menopause Society", whose position statement the actress quotes repeatedly as if gospel.

As a Harvard graduate and physician and Walter Reed trained RN with over 35 years experience helping women to balance their hormones, we would like for women to know something different.

In our practice, evaluating hormone levels before recommending treatment is only the beginning. We are shocked that any "medical society" would claim that women should not bother testing their hormones. These are the same doctors that insist on testing thyroid using the over-rated TSH test as the main - sometimes only - indicator of thyroid disease. Thyroid is as much a hormone as estrogen or progesterone. Cortisol is a critical hormone that doctors rarely address, that should be tested more often, using the accurate saliva methods as employed for research purposes by the National Institutes of Health.   

Some women do fine with standard pharmaceutical therapy, used sparingly. Others absolutely need the gentle fine-tuning available from compounded bio-identical pills and creams.

We take issue with this actress/author and others who try to denigrate the use of compounded hormones as "unregulated". When I write a prescription as a licensed MD; the compounder as a well-trained licensed pharmacist fills it exactly, and the woman gets a pill or cream made specifically for her situation. There is nothing "unregulated" about this - it is simply good medical practice.

I believe this author has done a disservice to women by saying that hormones should not be tested. She was most likely talking about estrogen and progesterone levels only. The word "hormone" also applies to thyroid and adrenal hormones, as well as others.

These should definitely be tested when a person has hormonal or menopausal symptoms that they are trying to correct.

We very much appreciate when non-licensed people become active in these debates. We must, however, insist upon clear, accurate, and comprehensive information, not simply following any party line.  

This author simply went from Suzanne Somers ideas to those of the North American Menopause Society. Each individual woman needs to make her own best choices from the information available, rather than adhering strictly to any dogmatic approach.



Karilee H. Shames PhD, RN, A-HNC
Richard L. Shames MD