Medical Reports: Hormone Help

WSVN -- Between work, school and gabbing on the phone, Corrine Monaco is a teenager on the run, but once a month her menstrual cycle would sideline her from all the fun.

Corrine Monaco: "My skin was bad and I was having bad cramps. I would be on the floor crying."

Corrine's doctor put her on birth control to help with the cramps and acne. At first it worked, but then it started making her sick.

Corrine Monaco: "My stomach was hurting all the time and I was sleeping a lot more than usual."

Doctors believe she was having an allergic reaction to the pill and took her off it.

Claudia Monaco: "The downside of not taking the birth control pill was the cramping came back and the acne came back."

Looking for a more natural approach, Corrine's mom took her to Dr. Erika Schwartz who specializes in bioidentical hormone replacement therapy.

Dr. Erika Schwartz: ""Bioidentical hormones are hormone medications that look identical to the hormones that your body makes estrogen, progesterone and testosterone."

The hormones are plant based and Dr. Schwartz prescribes a progesterone cream for teenagers to help with hormone imbalances, and PMS the bioidentical hormone cream is rubbed on the wrist twice a day the week before your period.

Dr. Erika Schwartz: "The right patient for the progesterone cream is a teenager who has severe PMS, whose periods are irregular who doesn't feel well and gets acne."

Many doctors question the safety of bioidentical hormones because the drugs are not regulated or approved by the FDA.

Dr. Jason James: "I think one of the concerns that we have regarding bioidentical hormones is they are supposedly safer but there is no clinical data, there is no history of trials to indicate they are any safer than the meds we use already."

For Corrine, the hormone cream was exactly what she needed to get back to her busy life.

Corrine Monaco: "I have seen a difference. My skin has cleared up and my cramps have gone away."

Lynn Martinez: "Dr. Erika invented her own bioidentical hormone cream it's called Pro-Cream and costs $29 for a two month supply."

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Dr. Jason James
OBGYN
7800 SW 87th Ave
Miami, FL 33173-3570
(305) 412-6004

Dr. Erika Schwartz
Pro-cream
www.drerika.com