By: Faye Hoffman

GLASTONBURY, Conn., SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WGGB) -- What if a doctor told you that you could get rid of all of your menopausal symptoms, the hot flashes, and night sweats, or get your energy and libido back with one prescription?  Some doctors believe hormones derived from yam or soy plants can do just that.

These hormones are called bioidenticals, because their chemical structure is the same as the hormones made in your body.  Some experts and celebrities like Suzanne Somers and Oprah believe that makes these hormones safe, but the jury is still out

Like many newer drugs on the market, there are patients who swear by bioidentical hormones, and doctors happy to prescribe them.  Dr. Alicia Stanton of BodyLogicMD says, "It makes more sense to replace something that your body is missing with something your body would normally make."  But other doctors, like Baystate Medical Center's Chief of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, are still skeptical.  "I don't think there's any reason to think that any of them are safer.  A hormone is a hormone, whether it comes from a plant or it's synthesized in a lab." says Dr. Cynthia Sites.

Bioidentical hormones have been around for years, but are just recently garnering a lot of celebrity attention.  Dr. Alicia Stanton, who runs a hormone-therapy-based practice in Glastonbury, Connecticut, just released her own book on the subject.  She thinks many of the problems plaguing her patients, everything from low libido to diabetes, can be solved through a combination of hormone-replacement, exercise and nutrition.  "I really feel like I'm doing the best thing I can for my patients.  I'm working at the root of the problem, not giving them a prescription to cover up their symptoms." says Stanton.

Two of her patients, Wendy and Charles Griffin, are certainly happy with the treatment they're getting from Dr. Stanton.  "All his friends were saying, 'if you're tired and depressed and don't want to make love, you should be going out and getting Cialis and Viagra and all these things.'" says Wendy Griffin.  "And we were thinking, 'how about we just feel the way we were'?" 

Dr. Stanton points to studies done in Europe on the safety and efficacy of these drugs, but Dr. Sites isn't convinced, and some of her patients aren't either.  "I see quite a few that come to me with their compounds in hand, and say, 'I've tried this and this and this, and I'm not getting any relief.'" says Sites.  

Part of the problem lies in those compounds.  The FDA does not approve compounded drugs, or mixtures prescribed by a doctor.  But a pharmacist at Western Mass. Compounding says they can make sure you get what the doctor ordered.  "We follow guidelines from the PCCA, the compounding association that we belong to, and they have all kinds of formulas." says pharmacist Susan Davignon.

Dr. Sites still recommends patients try traditional hormone replacement therapy, despite the increased risks of breast cancer, strokes, and heart disease.  Both she and Dr. Stanton agree more studies should be done, so that men and women with hormone deficiencies can get safe, reliable relief.  Dr. Sites says, "I think there could be something there with some bioidentical products, particularly transdermal estrogen."  Dr. Stanton adds, "I think (the FDA) sees the need, and they're working to move some of those products through."