What is the difference between Bio Identical HRT and Body Identical HRT?!

Is there any difference between bio identical HRT and body identical HRT or are they the same thing?  This question has been confusing me for a while and clearly confuses others too from posts I have seen on support groups and chatting to friends.  I wrote a post about my own journey through perimenopause and my decision to take HRT (read it here) but I still felt it was confusing and I wanted to research further so that the information I share on my blog is as clear as it can be.  So this is a fairly short post but hopefully it will still be helpful.

The best and simplest information I found was from The British Menopause Society and their statement here.

What is obvious is that the terms bio identical hormones and body identical hormones are constantly confused and that there is in fact a difference.

cBHRT
Compounding Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Spot the tiny 'c' in front here - this refers to the fact that the HRT is from a compounding pharmacy and the term bioidentical is used as market terminology for many of the private menopause clinics.  This type of HRT is not regulated and the cream form of progesterone prescribed will not protect your uterine lining.

rBHRT
Regulated Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
Again spot the tiny 'r' in front, this is what your GP might refer to as Body Identical HRT and it is regulated, it is body or bio identical and it is the most up to date and safest form of HRT available.  Usually in gel form rather than tablet (for oestrogen) and the progesterone is either Utrogestan (tablet or vaginal) or some women prefer to have the mirena coil to protect their uterine lining.  This HRT is regulated by NICE and your GP can prescribe it.  I went to a private clinic because I needed a much lower dose of progesterone (that isn't advised by NICE).

In terms of the safety of HRT since the big breast cancer scare way back - where a whole generation of women missed out on the benefits (and there are huge health benefits) of HRT - this is the best book I have been recommended - Oestrogen Matters, Why taking hormones in menopause can improve women's well-being and lengthen their lives, without raising the risk of breast cancer - I have not read it yet myself but I am planning to, 

So that is it, hopefully it will help clear up the matter to any of my readers that are confused and it will serve as a supplementary post to my original HRT post where I feel I didn't explain it properly (because I was still unsure myself)!!

Love from
Michelle xx

I'm just back from a fabulous fun weekend with my girlfriends where the subject of menopause came up quite a lot!  It is important to talk and share our experiences and support each other.  

Girls weekend in the Cotswolds

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