Treatment Location

Bioidentical Hormone Therapy For Women

What is Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy  “BHRT” for Women All About?

  • As the female body ages, it is increasingly unable to produce healthy levels of the hormones that her younger body once produced. Replacing the deficiency with natural hormones (just like her younger body produced) enables longevity with vitality. Symptoms related to hormone deficiency can be managed and often reversed by restoring the depleted hormones. Women treated for hormone deficiency report feeling younger with restored passion and zest for life.

When Do Perimenopause / Menopause Symptoms Begin? 

  • In our clinic we have seen perimenopause symptoms happen anytime during a women’s natural life cycle but for those that visit our clinics for treatment 39-45 seem to be the standard range.   Often menstrual cycles begin to vary during this period by 7 days or more in consecutive cycles. FSH levels begin to increase slightly while estradiol remains at preserved levels.
  • Symptoms of menopause often begin much earlier during the perimenopause transition at a median age of 47 or (4 to 6) years before a women’s natural menopause occurs. Vasomotor symptoms are most likely to occur up to 2 years after the last menstrual cycle, but this menopause phase lasts 1-6 years after the final menses.  What is happening in the body is the ovaries almost reach follicular exhaustion causing low levels of estradiol to be produced and the follicle-stimulating hormone levels (FSH) to begin to increase.
  • It is not uncommon that other medical conditions associated with aging be confused with perimenopause and menopause symptoms and make the transition difficult to recognize and treat.
  • Symptoms also occur directly and many years after menopause, hysterectomies, and ablations where surgeries and the natural course of the body’s transition leave an increase of FSH levels.
  • Almost all women with a uterus experience changes in their menstrual patterns in the perimenopause and menopause years, as a result of wildly changing hormone levels prior to ovarian follicular depletion.

What are the Symptoms of Menopause / Perimenopause Due to Hormone Depletion?

  • Poor Sleep / Sleep Disturbance
  • Depression, Decreased Sense of Well-Being
  • Hot Flashes
  • Night Sweats
  • Vaginal Dryness with arousal and that can get so advanced that itching and general discomfort occurs
  • Migraine Headache
  • Irritability, Mood Swings
  • Fatigue, Low Grade Apathy
  • Diminished Sex Drive / Low Libido
  • Mental Fog and Forgetfulness / Reduced Concentration
  • Diminished Focus and Memory
  • Increase in body fat, both subcutaneous and visceral, especially in the midsection
  • Elevated LDL (bad) cholesterol
  • Bladder problems
  • Anxiety/Palpitations
  • Crying Spells
  • Insomnia
  • Decrease in Bone Density (Osteoporosis, Osteopenia) is accelerated after menopause with a decrease of estrogen’s.
  • Joint Pain
  • Decreased Muscle Tone and Exercise Tolerance
  • Weak Immune System

What Are the Differences in Hormone Replacement Care?

  • Are bio-identical hormones used instead of pharmaceuticals?
  • Does the provider address all the hormones and understand the interrelationships between them?
  • Are treatment plans built unique for each patients’ symptoms, lab values and medical history?
  • Are lab values interpreted to optimize patients’ symptoms vs. accepting patients’ labs within “normal ranges?”
  • Are symptoms to hormone relationships understood so individualized adjustments can be made for each patient?
  • Is the right delivery system for EACH hormone used (i.e. Injection, Pellet, Creams, Tablet, Troche) these have drastic effects on outcomes?
  • Is the dosage of each hormone correct?
  • Is the frequency between treatments correct for you body’s metabolism?
  • Are the potential side effects managed appropriately?
  • Are risk factors managed?

What are the Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy “HRT”?

  • Reverse menopausal symptoms: hot flashes, night sweats, insomnia, and vaginal dryness
    • “Loss of hormones at menopause results in significant genital atrophy, vaginal dryness, introital stenosis, and painful intercourse.” Family Practice News 2005 March;58-59
  • Enhance sexual response, sexual desire, and level of sexual arousal
    • “Loss of testosterone causes loss of libido, energy, strength, sexual function, memory, cognition, muscle and bone. Testosterone replacement, as far as quality of life is concerned, is tremendous.” Medical Crossfire 2001 Jan;Vol.3 No.1:17-18
  • Increased motivation and sense of emotional well-being
    • “Estrogen protects against neuron-degeneration, changes in mood, cognition and behavior.” Clinical Genetics 1998 May;6(5):15-19.
  • Maintain and build bone (prevents/reverses osteoporosis)
    • “The largest study to date, the Nurses’ Health Study, demonstrated a 100% decrease in heart disease and cancer for estrogen users. It is never too late to initiate estrogen therapy to arrest the progression of osteoporosis and hip fractures.” Female Patient 2004 Oct;Vol 29: 35-41.
  • Decrease body fat/ increased muscle ton
    • “Estrogen lowers cortisol which in turn reduces abdominal fat.” Female Patient, 2001April; 26:18-24.
  • Improved cognition/ brain function
    • “Higher testosterone levels increase cognition and memory.” Neurology 2005 Mar. 8; 64-5:866-71.

For Questions on what to expect on your fist and second visit, Pricing, Insurance, HSA – Please visit our FAQ Section.

Do I Have Hormone Imbalance? 

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