Common Side Effects And Risks Of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy

Bloating And Weight Gain

Bloating is a condition that results in the abdominal area feeling and looking too full. Numerous things can cause an individual to feel bloated, and some are related to hormones, while others are not. Weight gain can happen as a result of many different mechanisms that also may or may not be associated with a fluctuation in hormone levels. Bloating and weight gain can occur when the use of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy causes an individual to have hormone levels that are too high. Numerous bioidentical hormone replacement therapy drugs or supplements are not regulated in terms of dosage and potency. As a result, it is easy for this type of hormone replacement therapy to cause abnormally high levels of certain hormones in the body. For example, increased levels of estrogen or estrogen-like hormones will manifest as an increased amount of body fat in both men and women. Estrogen does this by making an individual less sensitive to the hormone responsible for blood glucose regulation called insulin. Too much glucose in the blood causes the body to store the excess glucose as fat. Too much body fat will show up on the scale as weight gain, and it will show up in the mirror as bloating. In addition, too much testosterone in women can produce effects similar to what high estrogen levels produce.

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Increased Risk Of Gallbladder Disease

Gallbladder disease is a range of conditions that adversely affect the gallbladder and its functions. These conditions include gallbladder inflammation, gallstones, bile duct blockage, and gallbladder infection. The gallbladder is responsible for storing the bile the liver produces before it moves into the small intestine to aid in digestion. Bile is released from the gallbladder into the duodenum through the sphincter of Oddi. However, when something is causing constriction of this sphincter, the bile will stay in the gallbladder too long. This mechanism is the cause of gallstone development. Progesterone is a hormone that causes the sphincter of Oddi to relax, allowing for the normal flow of bile into the duodenum. The use of bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can cause an individual to have an increased risk of gallbladder disease. This increased risk occurs because abnormally high levels of hormones such as testosterone and estrogen can cause progesterone levels to drop. This decrease can cause constriction of the sphincter of Oddi. Subsequently, bile is stored in the gallbladder for extended periods, resulting in the formation of gallstones.

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