Am I An Ideal Candidate
Whether youre in your 30s or past menopause, hormone replacement therapy could be the treatment youve been waiting for. This procedure has produced results in every age range and allows women to feel their best throughout their adult lives. Thanks to the natural sources of the hormones, most patients are approved for treatment. However, your doctor can help you determine your candidacy during a consultation.
Added Benefits Of Hrt
HRT reduces the risk of various chronic conditions that can affect postmenopausal women, including:
- diabetes taking HRT around the time of menopause reduces a womans risk of developing diabetes
- osteoporosis HRT prevents further bone density loss, preserving bone integrity and reducing the risk of fractures, but it is not usually recommended as the first choice of treatment for osteoporosis, except in younger postmenopausal women
- bowel cancer HRT slightly reduces the risk of colorectal cancer
- cardiovascular disease HRT has been shown to reduce cardiovascular disease markers when used around the time of menopause.
Contraception Pregnancy And Hrt
Oestrogen used in HRT is different from oestrogen used in the contraceptive pill, and is not as powerful.
This means it’s possible to become pregnant if you are taking HRT to control menopausal symptoms. In some cases, a woman can be fertile for up to 2 years after her last period if she is under 50, or for a year if she is over 50.
If you don’t want to get pregnant, you can use a non-hormonal method of contraception, such as a condom or diaphragm.
An alternative is the IUS , which is also licensed for heavy periods and as the progestogen part of HRT. You will need to add oestrogen as either a tablet, gel or patch.
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How Does This Therapy Work
Before your hormone replacement therapy begins, you need to come in for an initial consultation. During this consultation, we will discuss your lifestyle, symptoms, health history, and goals. Then, we will take a blood sample. This quick, simple blood test will tell us which hormones your body isnt producing enough of. That said, you should understand everyone has unique normal levels of hormones.
A blood test will give us a baseline to start from, and you will be monitored throughout the therapy process. Adjustments will be made as necessary based on your unique response to the therapy. We recommend tracking changes in the way you feel once your therapy process begins to help inform us of how we need to tweak your dosage. Additionally, questions are welcomed at any point during the therapy process.
Contact Us To Learn More
Hormone imbalance can affect women at every stage of their lives. Instead of living with symptoms of hormone deficiency, take back control of your life and consider hormone replacement therapy. Youll find that treatment can be adjusted to fit your needs at every age, and with the help of your doctor, you can continue to experience true balance for years to come. To learn more about this revolutionary treatment, find a Pellecome provider today and schedule an initial consultation today.
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Bioidentical Hormones For Women
Hormonal imbalance impacts thousands of females in the United States. Conditions like menopause, thyroid dysfunction, and hypoactive sexual desire problems are associated with abnormal balance hormones. The symptoms of hormonal imbalance can be life alarming. From mood swings and sleeping disorders to weight gain and hair loss, females suffering from symptoms of hormone imbalance may get relief from Bioidentical hormone therapy.
Females may feel better health and a higher quality of life when hormone balance is safely and efficiently restored with this therapy and an adequate treatment plan from a qualified doctor specializing in hormone health and hormone therapy.
Taking Estrogen With A Progestin Vs Estrogen Alone
Treating menopausal symptoms with estrogen and progestin together is known as estrogen-progestin therapy or combined hormone therapy. Although estrogen alone improves the symptoms of menopause, it increases the risk of cancer of the uterus . Adding a progestin to the estrogen lowers the risk of endometrial cancer back to normal. Because of this, EPT is given to women who still have a uterus . EPT can be given 2 ways:
- Continuous EPT means the same dose of estrogen and progestin is taken each day. Women often prefer continuous EPT because it rarely leads to menstrual-like bleeding.
- Sequential EPT means different amounts of each hormone are taken on specific days. There are different ways to do this. For example, estrogen can be taken by itself for 14 days, then estrogen plus progestin for 11 days, then neither hormone for 3 to 5 days. Other schedules involve taking progestin only every few months. This lowers the amount of progestin that you are exposed to. Monthly regimens are also thought to result in hormone levels that are more like the natural menstrual cycle. Cyclical EPT can produce bleeding like a menstrual period, but it can occur less often than monthly.
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When Do Menopause Symptoms Start And How Long Do They Last
Youve enteredmenopause when you havent had a period for 12 months in a row.
That moment ordinarily arrives between the ages of 48 and 55, generally after a transition with inconsistent bleeding.
Up to 80 percent of women experience hot flashes, technically called vasomotor symptoms.
Heat rises in the chest, face, and head, followed by flushing, perspiration, and sometimes chills. At night, you might find yourself waking up drenched with sweat.
Those sleep interruptions make fatigue the primary symptom of menopause around the world, Robin Phillips, a New York gynecologist and editor of The Menopause Bible: The Complete Practical Guide to Managing Your Menopause, told Healthline.
Doctors previously thought that vasomotor symptoms lasted from six months to two years, but they can last much longer. Half of all women who experience frequent hot flashes live with them for more than seven years, according to another major study .
If your first hot flashes come while youre still bleeding, the median is nearly 12 years.
African American women and women with more depression or anxiety also tend to endure symptoms longer.
We had women coming for help with menopause in their 60s, 70s, and 80s, David said. So we looked into the data.
The Mayo team found that more than 40 percent of women age 60 and up reported moderate or severe symptoms.
However, David pointed out that 60-plus women who were taking hormones had no hot flashes or night sweats.
Types Of Studies Of Hormone Therapy And Cancer Risk
Different types of studies can be used to look at cancer risk from menopausal hormone therapy .
Randomized controlled trials: In this kind of study, a group of patients get the drug being studied , and another group gets a placebo . Results from this kind of study are powerful because which group a patient is in is based on chance. This helps assure that the groups are similar in all ways, such as risk for cancer, except for the drug thats being studied. This is the best way to see the effects of a drug. These types of studies can also be double-blinded, which means neither the people in the study nor their doctors know which group they are in. This lowers the chance that thoughts or opinions about treatment could affect the study results. Unfortunately, these kinds of studies are costly, which limits the number of people in the study, how long the study can continue, and the number of studies done.
A major drawback of observational studies is that the people getting the treatment being studied may have different cancer risk factors than the people who arent. Plus, the treatment can differ between the people being studied. This makes it less clear that the differences seen are only due to the drug being studied and not other factors.
When observational studies and randomized controlled trials have different results, most experts give more weight to the results of the randomized controlled trial.
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Other Factors To Remember:
Hormone replacement therapy works very well and has multiple different options you can choose from. Based on the cost of just the prescription, you may want to say the pills are your best bet. However, we want you to remember that there are other factors involved.
The cost of the doctors visit is not in the price of the prescription. If you have a co-pay for a doctors appointment, this can quickly add up to hundreds of extra charges for your therapy.
The same is true with bloodwork to monitor your levels. You have to pay for these tests, as many insurance companies have caps on how many blood tests they will pay for in a given year.
What Hormones Are Used To Treat The Symptoms Of Menopause
The hormones most commonly used to treat symptoms of menopause are estrogen and progesterone. . Often, these 2 hormones are used together, but some women are given estrogen alone. Its important to know which hormones you are talking about when looking at the risks.
Common estrogen preparations used to treat menopausal symptoms include conjugated equine estrogens and estradiol, but several forms or types of estrogen are available.
There are also many progestins available, but medroxyprogesterone acetate , is often used with an estrogen to treat menopausal symptoms. Some preparations contain both an estrogen and a progestin.
Androgens are also sometimes used to treat menopausal symptoms. This is not common, though, and because only a few studies have looked at this practice, it isnt clear how safe it is in the long run.
Tibolone is a synthetic hormone drug that can act like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone in different tissues of the body. Because this drug isnt available in the US, its not discussed here.
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Other Treatments For Menopausal Symptoms
Studies have shown that some prescription medications can reduce hot flushes and sweats. These treatments may be an option if HRT cannot be used for health or other reasons, and should be discussed with a doctor.
The herbal medicine, black cohosh, may take the edge off hot flushes and sweats, but there is no data to support long-term use. There is also a rare liver condition that may be associated with the use of black cohosh.
Other complementary and alternative medicines have not been shown to be effective for menopausal symptoms when compared with dummy or placebo treatment in research studies.
Commercially available vaginal moisturisers may reduce vaginal dryness if used regularly. Consult your doctor about what will work best for you.
How Long Does It Take For Results To Take Effect
Patients love how quick-working this treatment is. It generally takes as little as a week for symptoms to begin to ease following treatment. Commonly, optimal results appear after about three weeks. Of course, the exact time will depend on what hormonal imbalance issues are affecting you and how your body functions. Lifestyle and health play a factor in this too.
We may make changes to your treatment or dosage to ensure youll experience the best outcomes, and well monitor your progress in the weeks following your treatment.
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What Are The Benefits Of Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy
If youre experiencing signs of a hormonal imbalance, youll be very pleased with the benefits you enjoy from this treatment. Hormones are crucial to all of human functioning, so when your hormones are off you notice physical, emotional, and mental symptoms. This means that treating the imbalance can likewise provide emotional, mental, and physical benefits.
What Conditions Are Treated By Bhrt
One of the challenges that we often see with a hormonal imbalance is that it manifests itself in many different ways. This can make it difficult to diagnose as many of these symptoms could also be the result of a different condition. However, there are a few symptoms that stand out and often signal that BHRT may be helpful.
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How Long Does This Treatment Take To Work
You can expect to start seeing the benefits of this treatment within 24 to 72 hours of receiving your treatment. However, some people dont see the benefits of hormone replacement therapy until one or two weeks following their treatment.
Your lifestyle choices, the dosage administered, and your bodys unique response to the treatment will determine how quickly the results become apparent. Be advised, you will receive better results if you incorporate healthy habits and nutritious meals into your lifestyle.
Hormones Specific To Men
Like women, men can experience a decline in the reproductive hormone testosterone. While people colloquially refer to this as male menopause, this is not exactly an appropriate description. This condition is called andropause, and it doesnt affect all men only some. This decline can result in depression, anxiety, fatigue, and low libido.
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Hormone Replacement : Is It Safe
At the Medical Transformation Center in Louisville, KY, we know that when your hormones are off, every area of your life is affected. The good news is theres a solution that is effective, simple, and accessible. We offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy, or BHRT, to balance your hormones and allow you to live life freely. A common question for those seeking hormone replacement therapy, though, is how long it takes. The good news is: not long!
Alleviation Of Symptoms In Cancer Patients
People who have undergone treatment for cancer that affected their hormone levels have reported that Bioidentical Hormone Replacement Therapy were able to find relief from symptoms such as migraine headaches, incontinence, insomnia, and low libido. Additionally, in a recent study, these patients experienced a recurrence rate of breast cancer that was no higher than average, suggesting that BHRT is a safe and effective treatment for these patients.
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Bioidentical Hormone Therapy For Men
Hormone replacement therapy for men uses testosterone to correct hormonal imbalances. At our office, we use testosterone pellets as a means of delivering the hormone to your body. Hormone therapy for men has many bodily process and physical benefits. Typically, hormone therapy for men is done to address the changes brought about by andropause. The main benefits of hormone therapy for men include:
- Less fatigue
- Less hair loss
- Improved libido
For men, the hormonal changes caused by andropause are sometimes less obvious and they are certainly less talked about. The most common and obvious sign of hormonal imbalances caused by andropause is a significantly reduced libido, including the ability to sustain arousal. Andropause is also a heavy contributor to hair loss, negative mood swings, and difficulty sleeping. Hormone therapy for men using testosterone pellets can vastly improve these symptoms.
Heres What The Results Showed
After a median follow-up of just over 10 years, 9.7% of men who were treated with radiation and leuporelin for 18 months had died from prostate cancer, compared to 13.3% of the men treated with radiation and leuporelin for six months. Adding zoledronic acid made no difference in either case.
The authors concluded that hormonal therapy is more effective at preventing prostate cancer death when its given for 18 months rather than six. And similar benefits were noted for other endpoints as well. For instance, prostate tumors were less likely to metastasize, or spread, among men in the longer duration treatment group, and it took longer for their cancers to become resistant to hormone therapy if it was reinitiated later.
In earlier clinical research, scientists discovered that hormonal therapy given for three years protects against prostate cancer death more effectively than a six-month treatment regimen. But three years of hormone therapy isnt easily tolerated, and evidence so far shows that 10-year survival rates after either 18 months or three years of hormonal therapy are similar, the authors of the new study claim.
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Why Should I Consider Stopping Hrt
When it comes to HRT, you have to take the good with the bad despite the array of associated benefits, including effective relief from hot flushes and depression, it also comes with a several risks.
Much of the research conducted over the last couple of decades suggests that HRT doubles the risk of developing ovarian cancer and increases the risk of breast cancer, even when taken for a relatively short period of 5 years or less This is especially true for women aged 60 or above. While it has also been proven that this risk can reduce over time, it is still higher in women after 10 years of taking the treatment, as compared to those who have never taken HRT. It is important to note that these risks have only been identified in the combined HRT treatment , not the estrogen-only type.
Evidence indicates that HRT reduces the risk of cardiovascular issues, such as heart disease and stroke, in women under 60 who begin treatment within 10 years of starting menopause. Conversely, the risk is likely to increase in women aged 60 or over.
For the above reasons, it is important that you take the medication at the lowest possible dose for the shortest period of time, especially if you fall within the higher end of the age spectrum. Talk with your doctor if you have any questions or concerns they will go through all of the benefits and risks with you to choose the best course of treatment and put your mind at ease.