SOLUTIONS FOR DISEASES OF MODERN CIVILIZATION
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ISSUE 2
Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter
21 March 2001
CONTENTS
Editorial - Why Build the Web Site?
Summary of Cases Dated 26 February Through 9 March 2001
Featured Supplement - AmlaPaste
Featured Test - Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel
Editorial - Why Build the Web Site?
ISSUE 2 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 21 March 2001
In the last newsletter I stated that my goal is to serve you by providing information, supplements, tests, and other helpful materials so that you may experience a more healthy life. It has been a pleasure to get started toward those ends.
During this infancy of the business, I wake up in the middle of the night sometimes wondering how to accomplish some of what I want to do. However, I don't have as many questions as to WHY I am putting together the site.
Why #1. Over the last four years I have seen so many people helped that I wanted to have more direct impact on that process. Up until now I have dealt exclusively with health care providers. Most days, I really look forward to my scheduled calls to doctors to help them interpret lab results. Now lately, I have been encouraged by dear friends to extend tests, products, and information to patients, too.
Why #2. I am 46. That is not really old, but...it sure does not feel the same as it used to when I was 16 or 26! Somewhere in there I lost a lot of my vitality. I have managed to gain quite a bit of it back, and now I'm working on the rest.
Why #3. As I got older, wouldn't you know, so did my family and friends. We all sort of started falling apart together. How many of my male friends have weight problems, blood sugar problems, or energy problems? How many of my female friends have been on hormones or thyroid medication? How many are really quite ill? Do I have something to offer them?
One friend in particular encouraged me to put together all the information I use on a daily basis to help female patients with hormone problems. He had spent so much time trying to search the Web for any information he could (hopefully) use to help his wife move into menopause. She had been to several physicians who really had not helped much and, as we learned after testing, had overdosed her on more than one hormone. After months of searching, some of the information he got online was marginally useful. In the meantime, she could hardly sleep, and life was rough.
Other female friends about my age have their family doctors tell them that their symptoms (hot flashes, migraines, etc.) are all pretty much just in their heads. My own wife's progesterone output is diminishing each year. We measure and map hers. So I know what the levels are. Most of my friends don't know; they just feel the effects of the change.
So, I have taken a step forward in an effort to help. The web site will grow and provide a way of interacting with the vast majority of you that I never will have the pleasure of meeting face to face. As it grows, please help me make it the best web site and newsletter possible. Thanks.
Summary of Cases Dated 26 February Through 9 March 2001
ISSUE 2 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 21 March 2001
In this two-week period I talked to 22 health care providers from 14 states. We discussed 37 tests on 28 patients. Twenty-two of those patients were women (average age 41, range 0 to 76); six were men (average age 45, range 11 to 77).
Of the 37 tests, 12 were the Adrenal Stress Index, six were the Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel, five were the Male Hormone Panel, four were the Female Hormone Panel, two were the Expanded Gastrointestinal Health Panel, two were the Regular Gastrointestinal Health Panel, and two were Expanded Male Hormone Panels. Then we discussed one each for the Long Post Menopause Hormone Panel, the Expanded Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel, the Food Intolerance Panel, and a DPD Bone Marker Test.
Four children were included in these two weeks, but, as usual, most of the lab results were for adult women.
As I looked over the results to pick out a couple of case studies, I was struck by some very sad statistics. My intent was to focus on tests for menopausal women. I tried to find some cases that I thought would be more interesting to my readers. And here is what I saw: five of the eight patients had had total hysterectomies. And of the remaining three patients, two were being given estrogen augmentation (by their previous doctors) to the point of overdose.
Let's look closer at some of these patients. These are current cases from a few days ago.
The first patient is a 44-year-old woman who had a total hysterectomy at age 31. She is taking thyroid medication, an estradiol patch some days, an estriol cream on other days, and progesterone cream. The progesterone was discontinued two weeks prior to testing. The results of the Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel (PHP1) showed low estrone, high estriol, and high progesterone.
The doctor and I talked about the tendency of progesterone creams to accumulate in subcutaneous fat and produce overdoses later (sometimes even months after the patient stops using the product). We discussed that, generally, women without ovaries need progesterone. So it made sense to switch to an oral or sublingual form of progesterone that would not accumulate. Fortunately, the strongest estrogen, estradiol, was not elevated but was in the physiological target range (the healthy range). We discussed a reduction or elimination of her estrogen supplementation.
A second patient is a 55-year-old woman who has been using a product containing estradiol. The results of the PHP1 showed elevated testosterone and estriol. We talked about reducing or eliminating the estrogen. The results also showed very high progesterone. This was a bit of a surprise, but because topical progesterone products are so easy to purchase and often produce overdoses, I suggested the doctor enquire further as to whether the patient had used one of these products.
The third patient is a 53-year-old woman who had had uterine cancer. She underwent a total hysterectomy and at a later date developed breast cancer. At this point in time, her PHP1 results show that she is low in DHEA and progesterone. Other hormones are in the physiologic target range. So she should take progesterone to offset the effects of the estrogens present. And she could consider taking a low dose of DHEA. DHEA (especially oral forms) may convert to testosterone or estrogen, so close monitoring by repeating the PHP1 will be important, especially with her history.
Featured Supplement - AmlaPaste
ISSUE 2 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 21 March 2001
In the last newsletter I discussed some of the effects of stress on our lives. Typically, at the onset of stress, our immune response drops. The Adrenal Stress Index measures something called Total Salivary Secretory IgA. It is an index to the total number of antibodies in our mouth, i.e. our first line of defense. Our stressful lives result in a reduced immune response and most undoubtedly contribute to why we are generally sicker than our grandparents.
AmlaPaste is a product imported from India where it has been used for millennia to enhance the immune system and allow people to live healthier lives.
Featured Test - Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel
ISSUE 2 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 21 March 2001
The Short Post Menopause Hormone Panel (PHP1) is a very useful test for any woman who has not had a period in three to five years. It works for women who have moved naturally into menopause or for those who have had their ovaries surgically removed. I use the test to determine baseline output of DHEA, testosterone, estrone, estradiol, estriol, and progesterone. Or I can use it to monitor effects of supplemental hormones.
The test consists of one saliva sample mailed to the laboratory.
Before the Male Hormone Panel existed, men often used the PHP1 to monitor their hormone levels.
Errata
ISSUE 2 — Dr. Mark Rhodes Newsletter, 21 March 2001
In section 2 of the Newsletter Issue 1, I wrote: "Twenty-eight of those patients were women...". It should have read: "Twenty-three of those patients were women...".
Warm regards,
Dr. Mark Rhodes, Ph.D.
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