Hormone imbalances affect women and men of many ages, causing frustrating and uncomfortable symptoms that can make living a happy and healthy life more difficult. For the treatment of these imbalances, we offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy at Zormeier Cosmetic Surgery & Longevity Center.
Understanding What Your Hormones Do
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy utilizes bioidentical hormones, which are almost identical to those that the human body produces. To understand how this therapy works, however, you need to know the function of hormones in your body.
Your endocrine glands create hormones. You can think of hormones as messengers that tell the various parts of your body when and how to function. They control many bodily processes, including:
- Metabolism
- Mood
- Sleep cycles
- Sexual function
- Growth and development
- Homeostasis
- Reproduction
Many of your normal bodily processes can malfunction if there is any hormone imbalance. Throughout your life, hormone levels can rise and fall. The most dramatic changes occur during puberty, pregnancy, and menopause, but there can be many reasons your hormones are out of balance.
Certain medications can cause this issue, as can high stress levels. Some conditions can lead to significant hormone imbalances, including autoimmune disorders, trauma to the adrenal glands, and tumors or growths. Some hormones begin to decrease naturally with age, especially in women. These are:
- Estrogen
- Progesterone
- Testosterone
Some of the common signs and symptoms that you may have an imbalance if you are a woman are:
- Hot flashes
- Vaginal dryness
- Problems sleeping
- Painful intercourse
- Decreased libido
- Weight gain
- Mood swings
- Night sweats
- Memory loss
- Confusion
For men, the symptoms can include:
- Decreased libido
- Decreased strength
- Decreased muscle mass
- Erectile dysfunction
- Less endurance
These symptoms can have serious negative effects on your life, which is where bioidentical hormone replacement therapy comes in.
What Is Hormone Replacement Therapy?
Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy uses hormones made from plants that mimic the ones your body makes. They can help improve most or all of the symptoms of a hormonal imbalance. Bioidentical hormones can come as patches, creams, pills, gels, and even as implanted pellets that slowly release the hormones as your body needs them.
But what is hormone replacement therapy intended to accomplish? The goal of hormone replacement therapy is to offer relief from the symptoms with the lowest possible dose. Bioidentical hormones for men and women can make that possible. The best candidates for hormone replacement therapy are people in overall good health but experiencing hormonal imbalances that impact their quality of life.
Those who might not be the right candidates are people who have had blood clots or are at risk of developing them, as well as those who smoke. If you have ever had any form of reproductive cancer, hormone replacement therapy is also not the right option. You may not be the best candidate if you have blood pressure issues.
Living a More Balanced Life: Benefits of Hormone Replacement Therapy
For women, one of the most impactful benefits of hormone replacement therapy is its ability to slow down or prevent bone loss. When women enter menopause, osteoporosis is a serious concern. Estrogen is vital for bone health, and menopause causes a drop in that hormone, potentially leading to bone issues.
With hormone replacement therapy, you can get the estrogen your bones need and help ensure your bone density remains at healthy levels. Another benefit of hormone replacement therapy is that it reduces the symptoms of menopause. Hot flashes, night sweats, headaches, and many other issues can disrupt your daily life, affecting your moods and making it difficult to sleep. Hormone replacement therapy allows your levels of estrogen and progesterone to even out.
This type of therapy also increases sex drive in both men and women. Hormonal imbalances wreak havoc on your libido, which can impact your relationships. By taking hormone replacements, you can start feeling more like yourself again. Bioidentical hormone replacement therapy also helps you maintain a stable weight. Hormone fluctuations can not only lead to weight gain, but they can also make losing weight much harder, even with diet and exercise.
Muscle definition can also weaken in men when their testosterone levels drop or are no longer in balance. By helping manage testosterone levels, bioidentical hormone replacement therapy can help you maintain muscles and keep building them when you exercise.
Getting Started With Hormone Replacement Therapy
If you experience symptoms of a hormonal imbalance, the best step you can take is to schedule a consultation with us. During this consultation, we will consider your symptoms, your medical history, and whether you take any medications that may interfere with the therapy.
We can walk you through the different types of hormone replacement therapy options and show you why we recommend bioidentical ones. We may perform routine blood, urine, or saliva tests to check your hormone levels and then decide on the dosage and the application of the hormones. You may start feeling relief from some of the worst symptoms two to three weeks after beginning the therapy, but many people must wait up to three months before feeling the full extent of the changes.
Feel More Like Yourself Once More With Hormone Replacement
Dealing with hormone imbalances can leave you feeling physically and psychologically low, impacting your relationships, your work, and even your enjoyment of favorite activities. At Zormeier Cosmetic Surgery & Longevity Center in Noblesville, IN, we offer bioidentical hormone replacement therapy to help you get back to your old self once again. Contact our team right now to schedule a consultation to see if hormone replacement therapy is the right option for you.