BIODENTICAL & HORMONE REPLACEMENT THERAPY

The approach of administering bioidentical hormones is straightforward and flexible.   Our physicians prescribe either creams, patches,  oral capsules, or injections. 

Hormones are absorbed through the skin when used in a cream or patch form and do affect your systemic blood levels – contrary to what you may have read. 

Oral capsules are absorbed through the digestive tract first and then reach the bloodstream.

Testosterone is not available orally.  We can and do prescribe injectable testosterone for some men when compounded highly concentrated testosterone cream has failed.

We generally recommend topical estrogen and testosterone for men and women as this provides a consistent daily dose, is highly flexible as it allows for twice-daily dosing if needed,  and results in less of a roller-coaster effect (high highs and low lows) that leave you with intermittent undesirable symptoms.

What sets our hormone replacement therapy services apart is found in

• Our delivery techniques
• The thorough tests we run to monitor your treatment
• The follow-up care you receive to make sure you are feeling your best on this therapy.

Every individual is unique and will respond differently.  Our providers have been optimizing hormones for  men and women of various ages for over a decade, and they were trained by the founders of this therapy.    

• Testosterone: For testosterone therapy, we use compounded testosterone creams prepared in Atrevis base to deliver the best absorbed testosterone at a dose tailored specifically to your body. Commercially available topical preparations like Androgel are ineffective and too low in concentration to deliver an appropriate dose for most men. Injectables can work well for some men, but there is a roller-coaster effect in the high levels on the injection day followed by low levels several days later.  This can significantly effect energy, emotions, and erectile function for a lot of men.  Oral testosterone is no longer recommended as it causes blood clots frequently and can lead to stroke.
• Estrogen: For estrogen therapy we often use topical creams, patches or oral or vaginal tablets. These will all deliver an even daily dose. Estrogen creams are compounded and tailored specifically to what your individual body needs. Oral capsules do add a little more work for your liver, as your digestive track processes the estrogen before delivering it to your blood stream; however this is still an easy and effective form to use.
• Progesterone: Progesterone is also delivered either as an oral capsule or a cream. Both work well. Oral progesterone capsules help many women sleep much deeper, but, like oral estrogen, they do require a little work from your liver to process through the digestive tract.

We do not recommend pellet therapy as this can cause many undesirable side effects, most commonly overdose if your doctor chooses the wrong dose for your body, or if your body is more sensitive to hormones than others.

After a few days on a new hormone regimen, people generally notice an increased sense of well-being and resolution of many common symptoms like hotflashes, nightsweats, low libido, and fatigue.

When a patient starts bioidentical hormones replacement they may initially experience some of the following negative effects:

• Bloating
• Acne
• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Mood swings.

Bioidentical hormone replacement treatment has the same dangers as standard hormone replacement therapy. (Please see above for a list of conditions that might render you ineligible for hormone replacement treatment.)

Hormone replacement treatment has been proven in studies to raise the risk of several disorders and diseases if it is prescribed in doses that are too high for your body, and if proper testing and management is not performed by your doctor. These disorders/diseases include

• Gallbladder disease
• Stroke
• Blood clots.

We now know that topical estrogen, when used topically with bioidentical hormones, does not increase risk of breast cancer.  Likewise, testosterone does not increase risk of prostate cancer.  Like many things in life, balance is key.  Too-low hormones is not good for you, and too high hormones or out of balance hormone levels (i.e. high estrogen and low progesterone) is also not good for you.  If you think about it, both breast and prostate cancers happen in women and men after age 50, when hormone levels are typically lower than they once were. 

If you have already had breast or prostate cancer, adding in bioidentical hormone replacement could cause that cancer to grow. This is why we recommend preventative screening for breast and prostate cancer to prevent this situation from happening.

Contact us for all the help that you need with bioidentical hormone replacement therapy. We are confident you’ll be impressed with the results!