Hello! I am Dr. Rich Sinda a physician here at Innovative Directions in Health. Here’s a little about me.
I completed my residency in 1994 and am a Board Certified Family Practice Physician. I have practiced in a variety of care centers: office-based, hospital and urgent care. In 2002, I became very frustrated when the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) study was released showing that hormones derived from horses given to menopausal women by mouth increased their risks for heart disease, strokes, blood clots and breast cancer. After the findings of this study a “knee jerk” response was made by the traditional medical community and presumed (in my opinion, wrongly presumed) that this study concludes all hormone replacement for women in all forms is dangerous. Modern large studies (like a large French study in 2010) showed this is not the case. Also, a study by the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) made up of research scientists and Ob/Gyn physicians, concluded that topical estrogen does NOT seem to have the same risk and IS much safer.
However, I was being urged to take all of my menopausal patients off of hormone replacement as quickly as possible – leaving these women high and dry and miserable with poor quality of life – I knew deep in my bones there MUST be a way to relieve the suffering and deterioration associated with menopause in a safe and effective manner. Telling women they had to suffer was not acceptable to me (or to them). So after over about 5 years of extensive reading and research, I found that a safe and effective path to post-menopausal hormone replacement DOES exist with bio-identical hormone therapy given in the right way. I joined into this practice at Innovative Directions in Health because I believe in keeping the body at optimal health by practicing prevention and replacing the hormones that already exist in our bodies to a safe level.
Since I have been using bioidentical hormones in my practice, I must say I have never seen any therapy transform the lives of my patients for the better. I look forward to seeing my post- menopausal patients. I have also become acutely aware of the vitamin and nutrient deficiencies that are rampant in people starting around mid-life and the need to supplement. Stay tuned, I’ll get more into that later.
– Rich