Oprah Is Talking About Bioidentical Hormones for Menopause; Experts Weigh In

By Miranda Hitti
WebMD Health News

Reviewed By Louise Chang, MD

Jan. 15, 2009 -- Oprah Winfrey says menopause caught her "off guard" and that she's taking bioidentical hormones that have made a big improvement in how she feels.

Bioidentical hormones are one form of therapy for menopausal symptoms. Winfrey, who turns 55 this month, writes in February's edition of O, The Oprah Magazine that she felt "out of kilter" and had "issues" for two years that she suspected were hormonal. Upon a friend's recommendation, Winfrey went to a doctor who specializes in hormones.

Winfrey writes that the hormone specialist told her that her "hormonal tank was empty" and gave her a prescription for bioidentical estrogen.

"After one day on bioidentical estrogen, I felt the veil lift," Winfrey writes. "After three days, the sky was bluer, my brain was no longer fuzzy, my memory was sharper. I was literally singing and had a skip in my step."

Winfrey isn't recommending bioidentical hormones for every menopausal woman. Instead, she urges women to "take charge of your health" and says it's time to "start the conversation" about menopause and bioidentical hormones.

Oprah writes that bioidentical hormone therapy is controversial and confusing to many people.

What's the controversy about? Are bioidentical hormones better or safer than other hormone therapy? WebMD has answers from experts.

What Are Bioidentical Hormones?

"There is enormous confusion about the meaning of the term 'bioidentical,'" JoAnn Manson, MD, DrPH, tells WebMD via email.

"Bioidentical hormone preparations are medications that contain hormones that are an exact chemical match to those made naturally by humans," says Manson, who is chief of preventive medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and the Elizabeth F. Brigham Professor of Women's Health at Harvard Medical School.

Some bioidentical hormones are made by drug companies, are approved by the FDA, and are sold in standard doses. Other bioidentical hormone preparations are made at special pharmacies called compounding pharmacies, which make the preparations on a case-by-case basis for each patient. Those "custom-made" preparations aren't approved by the FDA.

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