Hormones are involved in so many different bodily processes, it is no surprise that a systemic disease like HIV can affect endocrine function or vice versa. Serious endocrine dysfunction occurs more often in people with AIDS or symptomatic HIV disease than in those with early-stage disease and mild immune suppression. Some endocrine disorders are associated with serious illness in general, including AIDS, and can be associated with reduced thyroid hormone production, or euthyroid sick syndrome which is when the thyroid gland itself is normal but its function is weakened.
The endocrine, nervous and immune systems are interrelated in ways that are not fully yet understood. The neuroimmune-endocrine connection is most evident in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which regulates cortisol production in response to bodily stress such as infection, inflammation, pain, fear or emotional distress. Cortisol suppresses many aspects of immune response. High cortisol levels are seen in individuals with many types of severe acute or chronic illness like AIDS.
It’s in an HIV+ person’s best interest to stay as robust and healthy (not frail) as possible to ward off unforeseen challenges to health and life. AIDS Wasting Syndrome occurs when you have AIDS and lose at least 10 percent of your body weight, especially muscle. You may have at least 30 days of diarrhea, or extreme weakness and fever that is not related to an infection. Although not a specific disease, AIDS Wasting Syndrome is a poorly understood condition of AIDS. It is less frequent than in the past, thanks to HIV medications called HAART but still poses a threat. It can make you frail and vulnerable to secondary or opportunistic infections and complications.
Two ways to stay healthy include removing toxins, especially in the liver as it is the main organ of detoxification in our bodies and optimizing hormones. As with most everything in life, balance is key; and if your hormones are out of sync, then your body can become completely out of whack.
Having either too much or too little of an essential hormone throws things off kilter and can lead to a disaster either way (just like having too much or little money, sex, sunshine or even chocolate). If your hormones are not balanced your body will not function properly. However, finding out what’s going on inside your body can sometimes be tricky to determine.
Consider a hormone a chemical messenger that transports a signal from one cell to another. Hormones are responsible for your body’s growth, development and energy. Like a symphony, your hormones interact with each other and each must be at optimal levels or the whole musical piece doesn’t work right, neither can your body function optimally. Only a small amount of hormone is required to alter a cell’s chemical reactions, so if something is “off” in your body an in depth analysis of your hormone levels can reveal the imbalance.
The hormones most familiar to men and women respectively and most often associated with muscle mass, libido and mood swings are testosterone and estrogen. When our body’s regular dose of these hormones decreases, we can physically see and feel the changes. Decreasing muscle mass, lower metabolism, weight gain, decreased libido, osteoporosis, thin, saggy and dry skin are usually associated with aging. However, our hormones do not decline because we age, but rather we age because our hormones decline.
Balancing hormones
When it comes to balancing hormones, Dr. Darren Farnesi is an expert and has studied anti-aging medicine and bioidentical hormone replacement therapy here in San Diego for more than 10 years. He specializes in anti-aging and functional/regenerative medicine. Dr. Farnesi explains there is no “quick fix” for unbalanced hormones. “This is not about just getting a prescription for estrogen or testosterone when your libido isn’t what it used to be.”
Dr. Farnesi uses an individualized approach and begins with laboratory tests of hormone levels (a so-called “hormone panel”). Then he prescribes a precise dosage of bioidentical estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, and/or DHEA that is prepared at a registered compounding pharmacy. Each patient is then monitored carefully through regular follow-up hormone panels to ensure he or she gets symptom relief at the lowest possible dosage.
Bioidentical hormones have a chemical structure identical to the hormones the human body naturally produces. They are appealing because they are natural and your body can metabolize them as it was designed to do with very little, if any, side effects. Moreover, the compounded bioidentical hormones can be matched individually to each person’s needs, something that’s just impossible with mass-produced products.
By contrast, synthetic hormones are intentionally different. Drug companies can’t patent a bioidentical structure, so they invent synthetic hormones that are patentable (Premarin, Prempro, and Provera being the most widely used examples). Synthetic hormones are quite strong and often produce intolerable side effects such as the retention of water, bloating, headache, nausea and possibly even cancer, according to research performed by the Women’s Health Initiative in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute. They found women taking a combination synthetic hormone, both estrogen and progestin, had an increased risk of developing breast cancer. This study found women taking synthetic hormones have a 24 percent increase in risk of breast cancer compared to those not taking synthetic hormones.
It’s crucial that you work with someone who knows how to balance all your hormones together and that’s why you should consider Dr. Farnesi in regards to getting your hormones checked out so you can truly be in tune with the symphony of life.
For more information on Hormone Replacement Therapy go to manageyourage.com
Darren Farnesi, MD is a Diplomate, American Board of Family Medicine; Diplomate, American Board of Anti-Aging, Functional and Regenerative Medicine; Advanced Fellow in Anti-Aging & Functional Medicine; San Diego Magazine – Top Doctors 2008 and medical director of Medical Age Management, Inc.
Medical Age Management offers a complete line of services including aesthetic, medical and surgical skin care; weight loss; functional medicine; nutrition; hormonal system balancing and bio-identical hormone replacement. Plenty of free parking. Located at the gateway to Hillcrest right in front of the rainbow flag. Please mention you saw this article when making your appointment.
Great post! This doesn’t limit itself to HIV/AIDS either. I work at a health clinic in tampa that specializes in BHRT and we see that by correcting imbalances, most diseased (or at least their symptoms) can be made completely manageable. Keep up the good work on informing the public of these benefits because they seem to be generally unknown so far! 🙂