Understanding Clinical Indicators for Optimal Hormone Balance

Achieving an optimal balanced hormonal state, referred to as the Hormone Sweet Spot^™, is a clinical destination achieved by a dynamic process that involves regular monitoring through timely blood serum lab tests and assessing how you feel. This article provides an overview of clinical indicators, how they, in part, determine optimal female hormone balance, and their role in maintaining optimal mental and physical health over time.

The Genesis of Monitoring Clinical Indicators

After a few years of working with women taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT), I noticed that as women increased their estrogen blood serum levels, their moods, bodies, brain function, and energy — and many other ailments, improved over time.

I saw patterns of behavior that led me to believe that the positive mental and physical changes these women were experiencing were due to their response to estrogen. I was curious about these patterns and wanted to find a way to measure them as they increased hormone blood serum levels to full replenishment.

I sat down and designed a spreadsheet form that allows women taking HRT to regularly rate how they feel on a score sheet measured with blood serum labs to help them, their physicians, and hormone coaches determine and maintain optimal hormonal balance. It’s a simple assessment but provides terrific data to understand where you are in your hormone-balancing journey and maintain optimal hormonal balance for as long as you choose.

What Are Clinical Indicators?

Clinical indicators are signs or symptoms, whether physical, mental, or emotional, that provide insight into your hormone, mental, and physical health. These indicators are categorized into two types:

1. Negative Clinical Indicators: Symptoms that have a negative response that make women feel poorly, include:

• Headaches, weight gain, low energy, insomnia, migraines
• Mood swings, depression, anxiety, negative ruminating thoughts
• Hot flashes, night sweats, brain fog, disconnection, detachment

2. Positive Clinical Indicators: Symptoms that have a positive response that make women feel good, such as:

• Increased energy, stable moods, clear thinking, consistent happy demeanor
• Healthy libido, good sleep quality, pain-free and regular cycles, better digestion
• Increased coping skills, prettier skin, stronger hair and nails

Factors Influencing Clinical Indicators

In addition to hormone therapy, multiple factors can influence these indicators positively or negatively, many of which are within your control. Below are a few examples:

• Diet and gut health
• Exercise and lifestyle choices
• Exposure to endocrine disruptors and other environmental factors
• Stress levels and how they are managed

Monitoring and Managing Clinical Indicators in HRT

In the context of HRT, particularly therapeutic dosed rhythmic protocols, monitoring your clinical indicators over time is crucial. This monitoring helps your hormone team to adjust treatments to reach and maintain the Hormone Sweet Spot^™. This process begins within an hour of taking the right HRT system, and can typically span 12-24 months but varies by how healthy your overall health and gut health are, and how long you have been hormonally deficient. Once optimal hormone balance has been achieved, the goal is to maintain that balance for life.

The Role of Clinical Indicator Assessments (CIA)

Clinical indicators are systematically monitored through a digital assessment tool we call the Clinical Indicator Assessment (CIA), which includes 50 commonly experienced symptoms by women of all ages. Each symptom is rated on a scale from 0-4, with a total score potentially reaching 200. This score, with targeted blood serum labs, helps you and your hormone health team understand how well your current hormone therapy aligns with your body’s needs and guides necessary hormone adjustments, or a diet or lifestyle alteration. 

Timing and Frequency of Assessments

Assessment of clinical indicators is usually synchronized with your hormone blood serum lab testing schedules because how you feel works in real-time with your hormone levels, especially estrogen. Typically, we ask labs to be drawn on specific days of the menstrual cycle or hormone administration time — about once every four months, to ensure optimal hormonal balance is obtained and maintained. This way you will always know if your hormones are balanced.

Achieving and Maintaining the Hormone Sweet Spot

A good CIA score is generally 25 or lower, indicating fully restored hormone levels with minimal negative symptoms. Optimal hormonal balance (Hormone Sweet Spot^™) is achieved when blood labs concur with your CIA score. Maintaining such a score involves a holistic approach to your health — incorporating the right diet, living the right lifestyle, taking a therapeutic dosed rhythmic HRT system, and hormone therapy adjustments as needed based on ongoing assessments and blood labs. There is never a time when your hormones should become or remain deficient. You will feel it to your core if they are.

Challenges and Adjustments

Life changes, stress, or deviation from recommended lifestyle and dietary plans can lead to an increase in negative clinical indicators. In addition, your body’s requirement for hormones may change as you age which can change your hormone needs. An increase in your CIA score might indicate a need for a reassessment of your hormone blood levels and potential adjustments in your treatment regimen, or a dietary or lifestyle change.

Something To Think About

Clinical indicators are a vital tool in achieving and maintaining your hormonal balance. They allow you and your hormone team to make informed decisions, aiming for a high quality of life and sustained well-being. Regular monitoring and proactive management of these indicators are the key to long-term success in hormone health management.

What You Can Do

1. If it feels like you may be experiencing a fair share of negative clinical indicators and suspect it may be your hormones, take this Clinical Indicator Assessment (Hormone Balance Test). After submitting, you will receive an email to book a 20-minute complimentary consultation to discuss your results and answer any questions.
2. Learn as much as you can about the truth about estrogen. This will not be easy due to the lack of clinical data — but there is still some great information that sheds light on how important it is that every woman at every age has enough of it. Understanding estrogen is the first step in getting hormones balanced and maintaining that balance.
3. If you are tired of trying to figure out how to balance hormones on your own, I can hold your hand through the process and make your life better. Consider participating in my Balance Your Hormones Program. I designed it, especially for perimenopausal and menopausal women like you.

Estrogen works in real time. If ii is deficient, you will feel poorly. If you have enough of it, you will feel good.

 Every woman deserves to experience the happiness only estrogen can provide.

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