Dr. Bilstrom Blogs
Which one of these statements about Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is most valid?
I thought I would start doing a new series of blog posts in the form of questions and answers. These are in the typical format used when doctors take tests. In fact, these are some of the practice test questions for my Integrative Medicine boards. Because these are...
Cortisol. More on this important hormone.
Just before dawn in Sun Valley, Idaho Now that we have completed the 5 consecutive blog posts on hormones for women, lets revisit the hormone cortisol. The "stress hormone." This is important for all. Women, men and children. Yes, children. Children themselves can be...
DHEA, and why women need to know about this hormone.
View from Sun Valley This is the fifth of 5 consecutive blog posts on women and hormones. I thought I would start with this photo as an example of how beautiful all can be when everything is well balanced. In Sun Valley, it's the mountains. In a women's body, it's all...
Why women need to have testosterone in their body.
It is not just men who need testosterone. Women need it too. Everybody needs it in the correct amounts. Just like estrogen and all the other hormones in the human body. Not too high. Not too low. Just right. So, what does testosterone do in a women's body? Increases...
Why women should never use medicines called progestins. Synthetic, artificial progesterone.
The word "progestin" is so similar to the name of the natural hormone "progesterone" in all our bodies. This can make things quite confusing. For both patients and doctors. Progestins, or "synthetic progesterone," were used commonly for years until studies started to...
So, why is progesterone so important for a woman?
We covered why estrogen is so important for a women in our last blog post. Now we will talk about progesterone. What are some symptoms of progesterone loss? Anxiety. Depression. Irritability. Mood swings. Insomnia. Pain and inflammation. Osteoporosis. Excessive...
So, why is estrogen so important for a women’s body?
We have spoken often about estrogen dominance as a huge driver of immune system dysregulation and more specifically autoimmune disease. And, at the same time, a huge driver of how women get all kinds of cancer. This can make estrogens seem like bad hormones to have....
What blood tests should I have run if I want to try and reverse this autoimmune disease?
Blood tests are an important portion of the tests that need to be run if someone wants to try and reverse the autoimmune disease process. When the right blood work is run, you will also get a sense of why you developed the autoimmune disease in the first place....
Part 2: “We tested your thyroid and it looks fine”: why patients hear this so much, why it’s wrong, and what tests to be run
Now that we know what thyroid blood tests need to be run and why, what should the results ideally be if a person is going to be functioning at their highest level? Or, perhaps like so many many people, what do my thyroid test results need to look like for me to know...
Part 1: “We tested your thyroid and it looks fine”: why patients hear this so much, why it’s wrong, and what tests to be run
Abnormal functioning of the thyroid hormones (yes, thyroid hormones. More than one. Several as a matter of fact) tends to be such a driver of chronic disease. Almost any symptom under the sun could be thyroid related. Identifying and optimizing thyroid hormones is it...
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