Hormone therapy involves supplementing hormones that are lacking or out of balance in the body. It can provide relief from symptoms and improve quality of life when done properly under medical supervision.
Common reasons people seek hormone therapy:
Types of hormone therapy:
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy (BHRT) involves customized treatment using hormones structurally identical to those naturally occurring in the human body. This is often viewed as a safer and more effective approach compared to synthetic hormone alternatives.
Testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) is commonly used in aging men to counteract dropping testosterone levels. Improving testosterone deficiencies can help build muscle, improve sexual function, and elevate mood.
Thyroid hormone replacement treats hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid causing weight gain, fatigue, hair loss, and other concerns.
Human growth hormone (HGH) therapy is controversial but claimed to help burn fat, build muscle, and tighten skin.
Patients seek hormone therapy for short-term relief of discomforts and long-term protection against age-related decline. When properly administered, hormone therapy offers wide-ranging and often life-changing benefits.
Symptom relief is the most immediate payoff reported by many hormone therapy patients. Individuals describe increased energy, more restful sleep, improved sexual desire and performance, better mood and cognitive function, reduction in anxiety or depression, and more.
Weight loss results from multiple hormonal impacts - increased metabolism, muscle building, healthier body composition, and reduced fluid retention. These effects motivate many to begin hormone imbalance treatment.
Bone and muscle preservation via hormonal balance aids significantly in strength, mobility, injury resilience, and independence later in life. Hormone optimization may reduce risk of osteoporosis.
Disease prevention is indicated in some studies that connect longevity to healthy hormone levels. Maintaining youthful hormonal balance may lower risks of diabetes, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disease.
Quality of life is perhaps the biggest motivator for hormone replacement therapy. Patients aim to recapture health, vitality, sexuality and positive mental state lost due to hormonal decline. In the right circumstances, customized bioidentical hormone treatments can help turn back the clock.
Since hormone imbalance negatively impacts nearly every body system, telling symptoms are diverse and often vague initially. A high index of suspicion is warranted, especially with patients noticing age-related changes. Comprehensive lab testing allows for accurate diagnostics.
Symptoms raising red flags for hormone deficiency include:
Men: erectile dysfunction, low libido, loss of strength, weight gain, brain fog, fatigue, irritability
Women: hot flashes, vaginal dryness, low libido, weight gain, anxiety, insomnia, irregular periods
Diagnostic tests pinpoint specific deficiencies:
Sequential retesting refines and monitors therapy adjustments for optimal wellness restoration. Ongoing care tracks progress, ensures safety, and identifies needs to modify protocols over time.
Hormone therapy is highly personalized due to individual variability. Precision balancing for each patient’s physiology is key to safety and effectiveness.
Below are functional medicine approaches leveraging the latest scientific findings in endocrinology, emphasizing holistic individualized care.
Testosterone acts well beyond sex drive and muscle mass. This vital hormone promotes physical and mental vitality for men throughout adulthood.
Restoring testosterone to youthful ranges in deficient men provides wide-spread benefits:
Low testosterone treatment protocols
Treatment regimens differ based on patient needs and preferences but commonly involve prescription testosterone creams/gels or injectable testosterone.
Topical treatments absorb directly through the skin, convenient for steady daily dosing. Though low-dose testosterone patches are also available, adhesive irritation risks often outweigh benefits for long-term management.
Injections involve periodic intramuscular testosterone shots, requiring clinic visits but avoiding skin diffusion variability of topicals. More stable blood levels result, combined with convenience lacking daily application.
We tailor rejuvenation plans optimizing impact while ensuring safety - adjusting testosterone dosage and delivery based on lab testing and patient feedback over time. Follow-up is critical both for progress evaluation and monitoring potential side effects. We partner closely supporting patients to enjoy the life-affirming results from therapy without assumption of unnecessary risks.
Both men and women can benefit from BHRT restoring optimal balance of key youthful hormones waning later in life.
In women, estrogen and/or progesterone declines during perimenopause menopause cause hot flashes, sleep disruption, libido loss, anxiety, fatigue and more.
In men, deficiencies beyond falling testosterone may involve DHEA, pregnenolone, thyroid and growth hormones - again depleting vitality, physiologic function and joie de vivre.
We identify specific shortfalls for each patient then administer customized prescriptions - bioidentical hormones structurally identical to your own - via creams or troches. Follow up testing and titration dials in ideal dosage balancing relief of symptoms and long term health.
Hormones frequently prescribed for BHRT:
Estrogen - Declines during menopause causing hot flashes, bone loss and other unwelcome effects
Progesterone - Also wanes for menopausal women, causing mood instability and sleep disruption
DHEA - Precursor of estrogen and testosterone, improves energy, immunity, muscles and mood
Pregnenolone - DHEA precursor key for memory cognition with age
Thyroid (T3/T4) - Regulates metabolism, energy, weight; Often underactive
Melatonin - Crucial for sleep/wake cycle and hormonal balance regulation
We skillfully leverage combinations of these bioidentical hormones tailored for your individual needs. You’ll enjoy both prompt relief from discomforts and enduring protection from chronic diseases potentially lying ahead if hormone depletion persists unchecked.
When thyroid function falters, metabolism crashes - causing stubborn weight gain, chronic fatigue and mood problems. Hashimoto’s disease often causes hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid.
Relieving hypothyroidism with thyroid hormone replacement can resolve multiple concerns:
We diagnose clinically and via thorough testing then prescribe bioidentical thyroid hormones to replenish low levels as needed. This precisely calibrated thyroid replacement helps normalize metabolism and reverses related effects.
Follow up testing tracks progress to ensure ideal treatment without overdosage. We also screen and advise for nutrient cofactors critical to balanced thyroid function - iodine, selenium, zinc, vitamin D, omega 3s, probiotics and more.
While hormone therapy provides big benefits, supporting lifestyle factors maximize therapeutic impact. We offer comprehensive guidance - nutrition, exercise, stress management and more - potentiating the positive potential.
Nutrition: What we eat and drink either amplifies or impedes hormonal therapy advantages. We help craft eating plans optimal for your needs - balance blood sugar, reduce inflammation, nourish microbiome.
Exercise: Staying active not only controls weight and disease. It enhances hormonal responsiveness for increased strength, higher libido and better body composition from therapy. We provide custom fitness guidance.
Stress modulation: Chronic overload from emotional, physic al or biochemical stress suppresses hormone function. Countering those impacts via meditation, social connection, improved sleep etc makes treatments more efficacious.
Ancillary therapies: Enhancing gut health optimizes absorption. Circadian rhythm alignment with melatonin amplifies hormonal interplay. Adrenal support reduces interference to treatment effects from excess cortisol.
We put all these lifestyle optimization practices within reach - counseling, community referrals, and more. Altogether they empower hormone therapy benefits exponentially.
While typically associated with menopause, hormone therapy is also used to help transgender people transition to their affirmed gender. Studies show it can significantly improve their mental health, quality of life, and ability to "pass" as their gender identity by changing fat distribution and development of secondary sex characteristics.
While hormone therapy offers great promise, finding expertise guiding you safely through complex nuances is paramount yet rare.
Benefits of undergoing treatment through Vitality Hormone Center include:
Bottom line - If you or someone you care about suffers from low energy, weight gain, diminished passion or purpose where a possible hormonal imbalance may be at play, contact us for a free 15 minute phone consult. Achieving your health goals and reclaiming personal vitality lies within reach.
Why - Symptom relief, disease protection, vigor/longevity restoration
Who - Perimenopause, menopause, andropause, hypothyroidism, low T, etc
Tests - Precision diagnostics via blood, saliva, urine assays
Types - TRT, BHRT, Thyroid, HGH controversially
Benefits - Weight, mood, sleep, sex drive, mental clarity, strength
Safety - Supervised titration and monitoring ensures, we “First do no harm”
Process - Prescription hormones via gels, creams, troches, patches, injections
Support - Nutrition tuning, fitness, stress reduction amplify outcomes
Monitoring - Follow up testing tracks progress, guides dosage calibration
Why Vitality Hormone Center? - Personalized care from integrative hormonal experts
Now is the time to regain your vitality. Ask us how today.
