Sex [Hormones] and the City
If, like the rest of Australia, you’ve caught a different type of fever, (think that of a Manolo Blahnik and Cosmopolitan type), you may have noticed that the character Samantha Jones, from the second instalment of the movie Sex and the City, embarks on not only a wide range of new adventures in Abu Dhabi, she also starts taking a wide combination of Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) drugs.
Certain pharmacies known as compounding pharmacies make up these medications in strengths tailored to your specific needs and depending on your hormone levels. If you feel that taking these supplements may help your situation, consult your local pharmacy or regular doctor for advice on how to proceed.
HRT isn’t just for New York socialites – it’s used widely by men and women in Australia and worldwide. Confused by all this new terminology? Let’s take a closer look at the details:
Melatonin
As Samantha boards her flight to the New Middle East, she takes melatonin to help get her beauty sleep. Melatonin is the hormone produced by your body to help you fall asleep. Regulated by sunlight, the body produces only a small amount while it’s very light, making you less sleepy, while during the darkness, you tend to produce a much larger amount, helping you achieve a deep and refreshing sleep! If your levels are low, taking a melatonin supplement is a great way of naturally achieving a better, deeper sleep.
Bio-identical Hormones
As experienced by Samantha, hot flushes, mood swings, decreased sex drive and irritability are just a few symptoms pointing to imbalanced hormones. These can be controlled with a range of bio-identical hormones such as testosterone, progesterone and oestrogen, tailored to an individual following a blood or saliva test.
From the age of 20, hormones start a slow process of decline, usually becoming more significant around the age of 50. In the movie, despite the jokes, Samantha is the one having the last laugh about retaining her vitality through her 50s, while her friends’ hormones continue to decrease. In the meantime she is full of life, reversing the aging process.
While this may not be for everyone, if you’re approaching this age box, it’s certainly something of interest to chat to your pharmacist or doctor about, with a range of options currently available.
