Ladies, do you find yourself having reoccurring urinary tract infections or bladder irritation? Are there close calls when it comes to getting to the bathroom on time? If you are peri (before) or post (after) menopausal, it could be due to a decline in your hormones, particularly estrogen. These are common symptoms associated with declining levels of estrogen. As estrogen declines, the bladder lining becomes very thin and prone to irritation and infection. There may also be burning pain on urinating and difficulty in holding back urine. Estrogen is responsible for maintaining the lining of the bladder and promoting its blood supply and nutrition.
Prior pelvic floor injury from multiple or traumatic vaginal deliveries also contribute to a higher incidence of stress urinary incontinence in menopause. Urinary incontinence of all types is defined as a lack of bladder control where there is a sudden urge to go, leaking urine, and frequent urination. There are many causes, but the most basic is a gradual weakening of the pelvic nerves, organs and smooth muscles that are meant to work together to control urination.
Our bodies change with time and the inner pelvic muscles stretch and atrophy with age, pregnancy, gravity and trauma. Muscles can lose their elasticity with the lack of use and loss of estrogen. The vagina, bladder, and urethra all have estrogen receptor sites. These receptor cells are very sensitive to falling levels of estrogen. The bladder becomes more sensitive to many stimuli, resulting in an increase in the urge to urinate. Also, low testosterone results in diminished muscle tone, making it difficult to control the muscles that allow you to hold back the need to urinate. With these hormone deficiencies combined, they result in female incontinence and bladder leakage problems.
Researchers have found that hormone pills seem to worsen urinary incontinence, especially the leakage brought on by sneezing, laughing, coughing, or walking. Women using HRT (hormone replacement therapy) have more than double the risk of developing this particular type of incontinence, the study concluded, and the risk was especially worse for those taking pills containing estrogen alone as opposed to the combination pill of estrogen and progestin (synthetic hormones). Those taking estrogen-only pills had a 53 percent greater chance of developing any type of incontinence by the end of one year than women who were given a placebo. Women given pills containing both hormones experienced a 39 percent increase in risk. Oral estrogens should be taken with caution due to increased risks in breast cancer, blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks.
There are studies that have found that by supplementing with intravaginal bioidentical estriol in postmenopausal women with recurrent urinary tract infections, the incidence of UTIs (urinary tract infections) was significantly reduced. (Estriol is a vital protective estrogen against breast and uterine cancer that women lose with age.) Bioidentical hormones are hormones that have the same chemical structure as the ones you make in your body. The same chemical structure means your body recognizes it and knows how to use and metabolize it efficiently.
Estriol is a hormone which is made in the human ovary. It is one of the primary hormones of pregnancy and as a hormone replacement therapy it has been used in Europe for many decades. Estriol has been shown to not only improve urinary health but also to improve bone density, promote youthful skin, and improve sexual function. Because it belongs in the human body to begin with, replacing it at physiologic levels is logical especially when it benefits the body in so many ways. Estriol can be combined with other bioidentical hormones to help with bladder, urinary, and vaginal conditions. Because it occurs in nature, it cannot be patented by any company. However, it can be compounded at a specialty pharmacy.
Hormone balance and restoration can assist in urinary health. You don’t have to suffer from frequent urinary tract infections and bladder leakage problems. Find a practitioner trained in bioidentical hormones to work with you. It is through hormone balance and restoration that we can begin to feel whole again.
Call us at Custom Prescription Compounders. Trained bioidentical hormone compounders can work with your doctor to help you get your hormone balance back.
